Starting Point
Reconsidering Space Use
School Administrator, October 2017


Whenever I think about the impact of school facilities on learning, I’m drawn back to my days as a freshman entering Auburn High School in my hometown of Auburn, N.Y. In fall 1970, about 3,000 teenagers were brought together for the first time, following the merger of East, Central and West high schools and the city’s Catholic secondary school, in a spanking new, three-floor building that had the modern amenities of its day.

That new facility made a marked difference on many young lives, academically, socially and culturally — a point referenced by some of the contributors to this issue of our magazine.

We’re pleased to offer you the insights and advice from some of the more experienced voices on the subject of facilities in K-12 learning today. They include Heidi Hayes Jacobs, author of Bold Moves for Schools: How We Create Remarkable Learning Environments; Prakash Nair, a school architect specialist and author of Blueprint for Tomorrow: Redesigning Schools for Student-Centered Learning; and Sarah Woodhead, who worked for three school districts before moving into the private-sector school design field.

We hope their thinking might spark yours the next opportunity you have to construct or renovate a facility in your community.

Editor, School Administrator
Voice: 703-875-0745
E-mail: jgoldman@aasa.org
Twitter: @JPGoldman