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| Customer Service | Place Ad 44k Like Aloha, ALAN! Logout | Manage Online Account Tuesday, February 07, 2012 77.0°F SEARCH Archive Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun retweet Share 0 COURTESY BRAINSPACES ADS BY GOOGLE Solar for Zero Down Eliminate Your HECO Bill Today With Zero Down Payment www.bonterrasolar.com Costco Jobs Find the Right Job For You. Apply For the Position Now! www.staradvertiser.com > EditorialsPremium > Print Email Comment | View Comments Most Popular Save Post Retweet New spaces for brain waves Ideas are shared to inspire creative school settings beyond Hawaii’s current factory-like facilities By Vicki Viotti POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jan 29, 2012 LAST UPDATED: 02:14 a.m. HST, Jan 29, 2012 Learning can and does happen everywhere, but few now doubt an engaging setting for the students can help immensely. A group of experts in innovative school design recently have been telling Hawaii educators how profoundly the physical environment affects schooling, and they point out ways in which the state's public schools fall short. One of them, an architect named Stephen Bingler, has taken a look at some of the islands' campuses. "What I see are schools that were built in the 1950s and 1960s that are based on models that don't work anymore," Bingler said. Namely, these are schools in the "factory" configuration, in which cookie-cutter classrooms are lined up along hallways, each of them basically replicating the function of the one-room schoolhouse of the 19th century. The factory model has been breaking down, he said, but since about half of all Hawaii schools are at least 50 years old, that's what you find here. Bingler was among the group speaking here recently at "Facilities Matter: The Case for 21st Century Schools," a symposium held at the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine. The event was hosted by the local think tank Hawaii Institute for Public Affairs and was presented by the professional association Council of Educational Facility Planners International. Both HIPA and CEFPI agree on the next step for Hawaii: prodding public policymakers toward a remaking of the state's aging school facilities. A common planning trend — and often a fiscally efficient strategy — is to locate schools adjacent to recreation and other compatible neighborhood resources and businesses, making them more integrated with the community, added David Edwards, CEFPI chairman. Overhauling school facilities as part of a broader 5 boats run aground off Maui due to wind and surf - 03:45 p.m. 5 tourists rescued in high surf off Kauai beach - 01:49 p.m. Hawaiian Airlines passenger traffic up in January - 01:47 p.m. Waimanalo man sentenced to 17 years for selling meth View All | Breaking News » Health Options Extreme devotion to fad diets can sap key nutrients Ferd's Words Clearly, Bradshaw missed valuable Pro Bowl lesson Kokua Line Kahala Mall revises stance on View All | Columns » Latest News/Updates Columns Home News Sports Business Editorial Features Pulse Travel Multimedia e-Edition Classifieds Cars Jobs Homes Dining Out Back Issues Corrections Obituaries Traffic Special Projects Movies TV Week About Us Customer Service New spaces for brain waves - Hawaii News - Honolulu Star-Ad... http://www.staradvertiser.com/editorialspremium/138281034.ht... 1 of 4 2/7/12 4:06 PM
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New spaces for brain wavesIdeas are shared to inspire creative school settings beyond Hawaii’s current factory-likefacilities
By Vicki Viotti
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jan 29, 2012LAST UPDATED: 02:14 a.m. HST, Jan 29, 2012
Learning can and does happen everywhere, but few nowdoubt an engaging setting for the students can helpimmensely. A group of experts in innovative school designrecently have been telling Hawaii educators how profoundlythe physical environment affects schooling, and they pointout ways in which the state's public schools fall short.
One of them, an architect named Stephen Bingler, hastaken a look at some of the islands' campuses.
"What I see are schools that were built in the 1950s and1960s that are based on models that don't work anymore,"Bingler said. Namely, these are schools in the "factory"configuration, in which cookie-cutter classrooms are linedup along hallways, each of them basically replicating thefunction of the one-room schoolhouse of the 19th century.
The factory model has been breaking down, he said, butsince about half of all Hawaii schools are at least 50 yearsold, that's what you find here.
Bingler was among the group speaking here recently at"Facilities Matter: The Case for 21st Century Schools," asymposium held at the University of Hawaii John A. BurnsSchool of Medicine.
The event was hosted by the local think tank HawaiiInstitute for Public Affairs and was presented by theprofessional association Council of Educational FacilityPlanners International. Both HIPA and CEFPI agree on thenext step for Hawaii: prodding public policymakers toward aremaking of the state's aging school facilities.
A common planning trend — and often a fiscally efficientstrategy — is to locate schools adjacent to recreation andother compatible neighborhood resources and businesses,making them more integrated with the community, addedDavid Edwards, CEFPI chairman.
Overhauling school facilities as part of a broader
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redevelopment strategy through creating a land trust forschool properties is what HIPA has been studying for twoyears, said William Kaneko, HIPA's president and chiefexecutive officer. The state's Public Land DevelopmentCorp., created in legislation last session, would deal with farmore than school lands but is positioned to be themechanism to accomplish it.
Up until this point, there's been relatively little money spent to change the landscape of Hawaii schools. Mary Filardo isexecutive director of the 21st Century School Fund, an advocacy group that has studied school districts' expenditures onconstruction and capital improvements between 1995 and 2008. Hawaii is at the bottom of the list for per-capita outlays.
"Hawaii was spending about $300 per pupil on it, and for the period from 2005 to 2008, the national average was$1,000," she said. "So when you look at that many years of under-budget, you have a big hole that you have to climb outof. You can see it, in the condition of the facilities."
A BILL now in Congress would provide $30 billion nationally for school facilities, she said; Hawaii's share would be about$82 million. Filardo's organization is pushing for more regular federal supplementation of school facility money to takesome budgetary pressure off poorer school districts in particular.
Besides technology upgrades and a superficially engaging design, she said, the new approach assumes good air qualityand other creature comforts. Among the other basic elements, she listed incorporation of natural lighting and views, anda location that suits the community.
Bingler founded a community-based planning and architectural firm called Concordia, best known in recent years fordeveloping the Unified New Orleans Plan for the city's rebuilding following Hurricane Katrina. Redesigning those schoolsfurther fueled his passion for creating spaces more attuned to contemporary educational needs.
"All these kids aren't widgets; they aren't born the same way," he said. "Some are more visual-spatial in the way thatthey learn, and some are even kinesthetic in the way that they learn. They need to move; they can't sit in rows all daylong and just listen to a teacher.
"We're in this new world, a new world of lots of different ways of thinking about what learning is, and more customizedlearning for every kid," Bingler added. "And so, it stands to reason that the old factory model doesn't fit some of thesenew ideas, and you can't take new wine and pour it into an old bottle."
What's called 21st-century design tends to be more space-efficient and vertical, especially in urban facilities. Theemphasis, said planner and architect Amy Yurko, is on making spaces that both fit the desired curriculum and aresomewhat fluid, adaptable to different needs.
Yurko is the founder and director of BrainSpaces, a Chicago-based design company that specializes in architecture foreducation. She was named CEFPI Planner of the Year in 2011, and last year the company's redevelopment of theMarysville Getchell High School campus about 35 miles north of Seattle won a major prize, the CEFPI James D.McConnell Award.
More about the project, including a video, is online (brainspaces. com/index_files/GetchellHS.htm).
Successful school redevelopment is an outcome that requires a close look at individual community needs, Yurko said,and the planning process should be a collaboration with the people who will use the facility. Federal funds for schoolswon't be well invested without such planning, she added.
"It's sort of more about assessing whether the project is shovel-worthy than it's just shovel-ready," Yurko said. "Is it goingto make a worthwhile learning environment, or is it just going to make a school?"
The Jan. 14 symposium drew about 120 planners and educators, with Gov. Neil Abercrombie giving keynote remarks. Inthe crowded auditorium sat Randy Moore, assistant superintendent with the Department of Education Office of SchoolFacilities and Support Services.
Moore agreed that urban properties such as Queen Kaahumanu Elementary School would be ripe for redevelopment,part of the land being used for a condominium and generating tax revenue to support that and other school projects. ButMoore said after the event that budgetary realities may mean a much more gradual scheme will be needed, withrenovating rather than razing the more realistic solution in many cases.
"It's not what do we do with the new schools but how do we make the existing schools more responsive to the 21stcentury educational programming," he said. Leveraging redevelopment money for school reconstruction is "one of thearrows in the quiver" but not the only one to be used, Moore said.
Lloyd Haraguchi, the first executive director of the new development corporation was also there, and found thepresentations "very innovative."
"I thought there was a lot of good in the concept of the 21st century school," he said. "Going vertical is part of the wholething — using the spaces more efficiently, using smaller areas for teaching, yet providing for the other needs, athleticneeds, libraries, cafeterias."
Haraguchi said his agency will be surveying the state's 260 campuses to identify the best candidates for redevelopment,underscoring that some prospects may be on the neighbor islands as well as on Oahu.
Perhaps in preparation for that, lawmakers will be considering legislation that would enable revenue from any campusredevelopment to go to a fund dedicated for educational use, said state Sen. Jill Tokuda, who chairs the Senate'sCommittee on Education.
"My longterm hope is to amend the bill in committee to see that the Board of Education should work with the Public LandDevelopment Corp. to determine what other uses, what developments would be most appropriate," she said.
The concept of 21st century schools should be what guides school improvements, starting immediately, she said.
"The real hope would be we can move in that direction as we are making major repairs and maintenance," Tokuda said."The idea would be to do it right."
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Name: hihon06Comment:
tiwtsfm wrote:
on January 29,2012 | 05:11AM
The first sentence says it all. Our school facilities should be safe first of all. Then how about improving curriculum, teacherquality, and increasing instructional time, either by increasing or lengthening days.days. This article is a big smoke screenagainst the real problems with education in Hawaii.
Steve96785 wrote:
on January 29,2012 | 04:24PM
Our schools, and most public schools in the nation are built on an outmmoded community model, with facctory styleplant design and pegogical mentality. Our entire system has improved since the early '80s, but at glacial speeds withfequent retreats. Our exit exam [HSTEC] used to be a joke, and many of us came into education to raise the rigoracross the curriculum, with the intent to greatly improve the quality of our graduates' skill sets. We now have muchbetter exams, but no exit exams required to demonstrate skills and knowledge.
HAL9000 wrote:
on January 29,2012 | 09:39PM
I have a solution. We need to put more money into school buildings. then cut the pay further for teachers, so that we can hireranyone. We will have a bigger pool of people to apply for the job if we lower the wage. that will enable us to hirer more peopleto teach our children. Let's raise their medical so that the employee pays 80% of their medical and the employer pays 20%.That will shut those greedy teachers up.
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