Imagine what schools would look like if students were able to design them

Picture a school where students come to learn about

renewable energy, solar panels, and wind turbines. A place where teachers use

their classrooms as educational tools for instruction and where school is no

longer a boring place, but an extraordinary space to have fun while learning!

This may sound outside the realm of possibility to some, but to the students

who participated in the Council of Educational Facility Planners

International’s (CEFPI) School of the

Future Design Competition this week, the possibilities are real.

The annual competition is open to middle school students,

and challenges teams to create 21^st century school designs that not

only enhance learning but conserve resources and engage the surrounding

community. This year’s competition showcased six teams from across the country.

Each team competed in a series of local, state, and regional competitions to

earn a spot at the national level. The teams presented to a panel of twenty

jurors from various organizations, showcasing their creativity in both the

planning and design phases of their individual projects.

The six teams came from far and wide, including; Wake

Forest, North Carolina; Houston, Texas; Detroit, Michigan; Wasilla, Alaska;

Newtown, Connecticut; and Phoenix, Arizona. Students were accompanied by their

teachers and mentors, who helped facilitate meetings during and after school so

students could work on their designs. For some of these

students, it was not only their first time visiting Washington, D.C.,

but their first time on an airplane.

All of the student teams presented with the upmost poise and

composure that had most of the judges floored and speechless, “After the

presentations concluded, I left the day feeling

uplifted and incredibly hopeful. I left inspired knowing that the next generation

of youth is equipped with the skills to leave the world a better place for

everyone” said Jerry Newberry, Executive Director of the NEA Health Information Network and juror on this year’s design competition

panel.

Design highlights included an art classroom that takes into

consideration the needs of students with wheelchairs and is ADA compliant; a

school that is made out of 90% recycled materials; a building that accommodates

student’s predominant learning styles; and one that uses solatubes, a green

roof, transitional classrooms, and rain barrels.

Two teams tied for first place: Teeland

Middle School in Alaska

and Seneca Middle

School in Michigan.

Both of these teams took ideas from their communities and merged the history

and culture from their immediate surroundings with 21^st century

designs. Students from Seneca

Middle School decided that

for their project, they would build a school on the former Tiger Stadium. By

preserving the historic baseball field to teach students about the environment

and sustainability, students would use a portion of the stadium grounds to farm

and grow organic fruits and vegetables.

Students from Teeland

Middle School created a

school underground that was more eco-friendly and that looked like the

landscapes from Wasilla. The school integrated community, environment, and

sustainability by including hydrponic gardens, vertical wind turbines, and a

swimming pool for the community to use.

Both teams spent a considerable amount of time outside of

school talking to various community members, working with architects, and using

complex technical programs to make their designs come to life.

To learn about CEFPI’s 2012 School of the Future Design Competition or to register go to

www.cefpi.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageID=3550.