ABA designer Kelly McKenna works with Los GatosSaratoga Union High School District community members during an interactive planning workshop. | Photo Credit (all): Courtesy of ABA Studios
By Mark Schoeman, AIA, and Lee Salin, FAIA
There鈥檚 the old saying that a failure to plan is a plan to fail. It鈥檚 a perspective we know well in the A/E/C industry, clients included. We can鈥檛 successfully design building solutions if we don鈥檛 define and understand the needs these solutions aim to address, which is why master planning is such a vital task in the overall process of managing facilities.
As we consider the state of education in America today, it鈥檚 clear that we are at an inflection point as educators are buffeted by multiple challenges. There are the lingering impacts of COVID-19, and the lessons learned to improve future pandemic responses to better support students, teachers, families and administrators. There is also the impact of technology on students鈥� socialemotional health and learning skills, which not only encompasses artificial intelligence but smartphones and social media, too.
To these factors, we can add ongoing ideological debates on how education is offered to students on a systemic basis, with the debate on voucher programs and 鈥渟chool choice鈥� being one of several flashpoints. And there鈥檚 more, of course. The question facing educators, then, is how do all these factors cohere into a pedagogical vision for the day-to-day student experience rooted in schools鈥� built environments?
To answer, it鈥檚 worth considering the ways in which master planning, enhanced by strategic visioning, can go beyond material thinking to serve K-12 districts as a cultural tool for navigating change.
Getting to the 鈥榃hy鈥�
Fundamentally, it鈥檚 about the rationale for undertaking a master plan 鈥� the underlying 鈥渨hy.鈥� At a minimum, master plans are meant to take a holistic look at facilities on a campus, or across a district, and contextualize specific needs (e.g. for deferred maintenance repairs, major modernizations and new structures) with timelines and funding. Yet we can go beyond thinking primarily in terms of facilities by engaging with, and incorporating, other elements, such as Education Specifications. Since these are where a district articulates its pedagogical thinking, these documents provide essential insights into the overall educational experience 鈥� teaching methods and tools, student engagement approaches and guidelines for evaluating student success in achieving learning objectives.
When it comes to thinking about how to teach given changing circumstances (e.g. the aforementioned pandemic impacts, technology and broader political environment), time spent developing (or updating) educational specifications and strategic plans 鈥� before beginning the master planning process can support more sophisticated results.
Rather than looking at facility improvements in isolation or in purely reactive terms, (e.g. what needs to be fixed in response to immediate needs), master planning efforts informed by clearly articulated and actionable pedagogical visions can define rich and multi-faceted improvements with long-term benefits. For example, if a classroom鈥檚 audiovisual technology is out of date, rather than simply upgrading to the latest equipment the master plan could consider the district鈥檚 hybrid learning strategy and how students can maintain the continuity of their learning experience in a variety of circumstances, whether at home or in the classroom.
The contextual and strategic approach to master planning can offer an added benefit, particularly when looking to apply pedagogical innovations to the many spaces that comprise a school. As effective master plans consider where buildings are placed, there鈥檚 an opportunity to understand why they relate to each other in the way they do 鈥� and judge whether this relationship really does serve the desired student learning experience. Furthermore, looking at how the parts of a campus come together allows for exploring underused areas in a building or campus, the interstitial spaces, to activate them in a way that further enhances the learning experience in line with pedagogical goals.
For example, a courtyard corner used for little more than seating could be enhanced with a garden planter to support STEM education in biology. Or an empty/utilitarian space within a circulation path could be supplied with seating, a whiteboard, and a Smart TV to become an interactive 鈥渃uriosity space鈥� for student project work and outside-the-classroom teacher interactions. Finally, viewing the various elements of a campus as a 鈥渘etwork鈥� supports more robust thinking about challenges related to wayfinding, safety and security.
Another consideration involves understanding a campus鈥� history and culture. First, this allows a school to continue to express and celebrate its identity and role in the community (e.g. through joint-ventures and after-hours programming). Second, this allows for understanding the history of changes in the campus and their impacts, positive and negative. Embedding a historical understanding of a campus (or multiple campuses) into the master plan can provide additional context for decisions made regarding future improvements.
Planning in Practice
So how should a district approach creating a richer, more multifaceted master plan that is more adaptable and resilient in the face of change? Crucially, it鈥檚 important to emphasize conversations with district staff, teachers, parents, and students to understand what their hopes and expectations are related to the learning experience. The goal is to explore more than just needs, but overall goals, constraints and opportunities 鈥� the 鈥渂ig picture鈥� of how students grow and develop throughout their academic journey. We can build on this deeper understanding by paying attention to thinking expressed in strategic documents such as Education Specifications 鈥� does it reflect not only a district鈥檚 current thinking about the learning experience but also strive to address projected evolutions, and disruptions due to technology and broader social context? Does it purposefully incorporate adaptability and resilience?
Whether updating an existing education specifications or starting fresh, prior to master planning it becomes all the more worthwhile to conduct strategic visioning that develops a clear and holistic 鈥減icture鈥� of the learning experience spanning past experience, current practice and potential future improvements. When all the above are combined, the outcome 鈥� a roadmap for navigating change 鈥� strengthens district leaders鈥� ability to respond to both immediate and longer-term challenges facing their students, teachers and communities.
Mark Schoeman, AIA, DBIA, is Design Principal at ABA Studios. Lee Salin, FAIA, is President and Managing Principal at ABA Studios.