Education White Papers

Innovative Science Room Design for the Next Generation

A new set of voluntary, rigorous and internationally-benchmarked standards for K-12 science education were released. The standards, known formally as the Next Generation Science Standards, were developed, written and revised by a team of teachers and education leaders from 26 different states across the country.  The Next Generation Science Standards aim to pull together inquiry and practice and recognize the role of engineering. This set of science standards will work best only when facilities support this new approach to learning.

First and Second Generation Security Design Features for Schools

As a school administrator, school board member, teacher, parent or student we all are asking the same question.  What measures are in place to help prevent the tragedy that happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut from happening at my school? As architects we have the tools and technology to design a wide variety of security features in schools, but not all school districts have the capital to implement them.

The Changing Face of Academic Libraries

The needs of academic library users are quickly evolving.  The central theme of information retrieval persists, but the mechanisms for information retrieval are quickly changing as is the type and quantity of information which is now easily accessible.  The professional librarian, previously viewed as an essential and beneficial part of the student experience, is now being supplanted by student’s direct access of information technology.  Academic library services must continue to change to properly support student needs.

Classroom Flexibility is Key in the Future - Designing for the 21st Century Learner

Technology in the K12 Classroom

Project Lead the Way - Getting to know the program and its components

Project Lead the Way was conceived just over a decade ago to help address the shortage of engineers in the United States as well as to bolster STEM programs (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). The program is now found in all 50 states and in approximately 4,200 schools and serves 400,000 students. The course of study termed “Pathway to Engineering” is a High School program, while its Middle School predecessor is called “Gateway to Technology.”

Building New or Renovating Your School: A Process of Evaluation

Schools are at the heart of our communities, literally and quite often physically. The decision to repair, renovate or replace an education building is a complex one to make. Residents may be loyal to an old school that has touched their lives. Potential sites for a new school may be limited in a community, possibly inadequate for educational needs and cost is always a significant factor.

The Importance of Education Master Planning for Facilities

The educational facilities master plan is an important business planning document that provides a basis for sound management decisions relative to your school facilities. This planning process allows school administrators to examine the condition of their buildings and decide whether to maintain, remodel, upgrade or replace. In addition, it provides a key component to the strategic plan and mission of an organization. The master plan provides both short- and long-range planning solutions which should be used as a road map that is reviewed and updated every three to five years.

Stretching Your School District’s Budget Creative and Cost-Saving Funding Strategies

Today’s public schools are facing increasing pressure on many fronts. At the same time, communities are asking for greater educational opportunities for students in terms of technology, advanced classes and extracurricular activities. The political and social climate for school referenda has also become increasingly complex. In short, schools must find creative ways to stretch their dollars in order to remain competitive. Plunkett Raysich Architects has worked with school districts across Wisconsin on facility planning, architectural design and offers a Facility Maintenance Program. Working with innovative leaders at some of the top school districts in Wisconsin, Plunkett Raysich Architects’ Education Studio has learned a great deal about funding strategies for schools. These strategies include areas such as shared campuses, public and private partnerships, and non-profit foundations, as well as cost-saving approaches like facilities maintenance and energy performance contracting. These strategies present workable ideas and potential solutions for schools nationwide.

What is the Capacity of my School - and why is it shrinking?

Plunkett Raysich Architects has completed over 2,500 educational projects across the Midwest through its education design studio. Our clients, whose schools are facing increasing and declining enrollment numbers, frequently ask these two questions: “What is the capacity of my school?” and “Why does it seem that our schools had more capacity 10 years ago?” School capacity is the basis, and starting point, for decisions that may result in new construction, renovations or consolidations. However, it’s not easy to determine how many students a school can hold. Definitions of a school’s capacity vary substantially because capacity is a complex issue.

Facilities Maintenance: The New Future

School buildings are at the mercy of many cost-cutting forces today, leading to a sharper focus on building maintainability. Without the ability to raise taxes, school districts need to focus on creating savings. School board members are keenly aware of their accountability as tax dollars are spent on building maintenance. Facilities maintenance staff must do more with fewer resources as budgets are tightened and fewer employees are asked to do more. At the same time, community expectations for buildings are rising…

Factors in Dealing with Declining Enrollment

The Cycle of Change - At one time or another, every school district will deal with declining enrollment. Looking at United States population data, we are told that the “Baby Boomer” generation (those born from 1946 – 1965) are 78 million in number. The next generation, “Generation X”, is 40 million in number. The “Echo” Generation of the Baby Boomers, “Generation Y”, is 80 million in number. One can see the possible local implications of these changes in population from this data. This is not to state that every community and school district will experience proportionate change. Local factors in any community can affect a different outcome.

A Better Place to Learn - new ideas about how to design or remodel schools that focus on flexibility

A challenge that rural school sometimes face is how to deal with changes in student population. Rural schools do not have quite the flexibility that larger urban school districts have in re-districting and shifting student population. Recently, I gave a presentation on this very topic at the WIRSA Rural Conference in Wausau, WI. As I drove one early morning through the rural roads leading to Allamakee Community School District in Waukon, IA, I noticed a yellow school bus making its way at the next hill a half a mile in the distance. At that moment I thought about schools being the “common denominator” with respect to creating equal opportunity across our nation and to provide an education to our students. This paper will discuss methods to provide flexibility via floor planning concepts, the use of technology, and the use of furniture as highlighted by a Project Lead the Way approach we have developed.

Creating the Best Learning Environments for Success in the 21st Century

What Has Changed? Think of how the world has changed in the past 50, 100, 200 years. Today’s youth have the internet, the personal computer, the personal computer that fits in their pockets. Technology isn’t for just for a top tier minority, it’s for the masses. The global economy is shrinking. And yet, the classroom remains much as it did in the early 1900’s – rows of desks facing an instructor in front of a blackboard. Because the world has changed, education must change, and so the buildings in which we educate must change.

Achieving Breakthroughs in University Laboratory Design

The complexity of design in today’s university laboratories requires an innovative project approach. The design team for the new Microbial Sciences Building at the University of Wisconsin – Madison faced a challenging interdisciplinary collaboration: three departments planned to share lab space in a single building. This visionary concept in academia demanded an all-new project approach from the design teams at CO Architects, Plunkett Raysich Architects LLP (PRA), and lab consultant Earl Walls Associates. The project consolidates and enables UW-Madison’s multidisciplinary program in Microbial Sciences.

University Housing Has Need for Speed Design-Build Process Delivers

Housing is an important university marketing tool. That’s because it is a factor for students deciding where to attend school. Thus, when the University of Wisconsin-Platteville needed a new apartment-style residence hall, administrators knew time was money. Rather than travel the familiar but lengthy traditional state building process, administrators switched gears. UW-Platteville opted for a design-build process. What they received pleased everyone. The new hall arrived a year early, complete with amenities today’s students demand – and thriving universities must deliver – for enhancing their educational experiences. There was a special bonus: Southwest Hall would cost the university almost $5 million less than a comparable state residence, a savings of nearly 25%. Student feedback has been positive and residence hall is at capacity with the demand still high.