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Past Events
Chapter Workshop – In-Person or Virtual
May 17, 2023
4:30 – 6:30 pm Eastern
Gilbane Building Company
1200 Intrepid Ave Suite 405
Philadelphia, PA 19112
Street parking only – take the elevator to 4th floor.
Dynamics of Gathering
Does Space Matter? Teacher Learning in Changing Contexts »
In this workshop, we will explore the critical role that teachers play in shaping the learning environment, and how the built environment can have a powerful influence on students' academic achievement, identity, and sense of belonging. We will examine the importance of spatial proficiency for teachers and how it can promote better utilization of classroom spaces, ultimately leading to positive student outcomes.
Learning Objectives:
- Understanding the relationship between spatial fluency and student outcomes, including academic achievement, identity, and sense of belonging.
- Exploring the role of design in creating effective learning environments that promote collaboration, inclusivity, and innovation.
- Examining the impact of furniture selection on the utilization of classroom spaces and the promotion of effective teaching practices.
- Developing strategies for integrating spatial fluency and design principles into classroom spaces to support student success.
Speaker:
Jill Ackers is a middle school teacher at heart. After teaching Algebra and Geometry for many years, she became a school leader, professor, and author and has consulted with schools and organizations worldwide to transform various learning ecosystems. As an educator with 25+ years of experience, Jill brings her passion for constructivist learning, languages, and technology to educators through authentic, relevant professional development. She has launched new schools, been a school leader in private and public institutions, and taught PreK-12 programs, including the first Dual Language Project-Based Learning School in Dallas, Texas. She has redesigned university professional development programs and was a founding designer for Southern Methodist University's (SMU) first urban transformational leadership master's program, where Jill coached principals in school turnaround and adaptive change management. As a Learning Design Principal, Jill has worked with architects and designers to develop districtwide master plans, and pedagogical master plans to align bond money with long-term professional development initiatives. As an accredited learning environment planner, Jill supports the interconnectedness of pedagogy and space – and how space plays a profound role in curriculum delivery.
Timeline:
Light appetizers and drinks included
| 4:30 – 5:00 pm |
Arrival, networking |
| 5:00 – 6:00 pm |
Workshop |
| 6:00 – 6:30 pm |
Networking |
Members and School District Personnel: Free | Non-members: $20
Sponsorships: $250
Event Sponsor:
Chapter Happy Hour
Friday, April 28, 2023
5:00 – 7:00 PM
Harper's Garden
31 South 18th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Meet your fellow Chapter members and join us a for a drink! One drink and light appetizers will be provided.
Tour & Lunch
March 23, 2023
11:30 am – 1:30 pm Eastern
Rossmoyne Elementary
1225 Rossmoyne Road
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
Please arrive 10 minutes early and park in the general parking lot. Enter at the main entrance.
Lunch to follow.
White Paper: The Design of a Future-Ready Classroom – When Pedagogy and Space Collide »
School Website »
Members and School District Personnel: Free | Non-members: $20
Sponsorships: $250
Event Sponsor:
Two Chapter Happy Hours
November 10, 2022
4:00 – 6:00 pm
Philadelphia, PA
Wissahickon Brewing Company
3705 W School House Ln,
Philadelphia, PA 19129
FREE event, but must register. Appetizers included.
Event Sponsor: $250
Event Sponsors:
Laurel, MD
Jailbreak Brewing Company
9445 Washington Blvd N, STE F,
Laurel, MD 20723
FREE event, but must register. Appetizers included.
Event Sponsor: $250
POSTPONED: Chapter Tour & Happy Hour
NEW DATE TBA
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
3:00 pm
Rossmoyne Elementary
1225 Rossmoyne Road
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
Join us on a tour of the new Rossmoyne Elementary lead by RLPS Architects, Brett Sanders, Director of Operations West Shore School District and Designer David Stubbs. Networking happy hour to follow.
Members: Free | Non-members: $20
Event Sponsors: $250
Event Sponsors:
Webinar & Tour
Tuesday, November 9, 2021
3:00 – 4:00 pm Eastern
55 W. Frederick St
Walkersville, MD 21793
(behind Walkersville Middle School)
1 AIA CEU Available
Rock Creek School: A School For Students With Diverse Educational and Medical Needs
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Rock Creek School provides special education programs for Frederick County students with complex medical conditions and severe intellectual, physical, emotional, hearing, vision and learning disabilities. The school offers a life-skills curriculum with emphasis on functional academic skills, social skills, training, community-based instruction, personal management, and communication skills. Previously located in a building in Frederick City, Rock Creek School was a 55,000 sq ft building that opened in 1972 as a special education day school. While there had been a variety of systemic improvements made over the years, no significant renovations or improvements had been made in the 49-year life of the building. A feasibility study determined replacement was the most cost-effective modernization option. After years of planning, design, and construction, the new 79,000 sq. ft. Rock Creek School opened in July 2021. Please join us to learn more about the special needs and program requirements of the student population, and special design considerations that went into the making of a school for students with diverse educational and medical needs.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify challenges inherent to planning a public school for students with complex medical conditions and severe intellectual, physical, emotional, hearing, vision and learning disabilities.
- Identify educational space programming requirements specific to the Rock Creek student population.
- Identify special design considerations required to meet the specific educational program specifications.
- Identify construction challenges associated with the special design considerations.
Presenters:
Katie Buckley, Principal, Rock Creek School, Frederick County Public Schools
Beth Pasierb, AICP, Supervisor of Facilities Planning, Frederick County Public Schools
Kori Purdum Matheis, Architect of Record, Profitt & Associates Architects
Cathy Purple Cherry, Special Needs Consultant, Purple Cherry Architects
Sandy Carpenter, Project Manager, Design Architect, Becker Morgan Group, Inc.
A limited number may attend the webinar in person at the school and tour the building following the webinar.
The tour is limited to 15.
If the registration option for the in-person tour is no longer available, you may still register for the virtual event.
Virtual participation is unlimited.
Members: Free | Non-members: $20
Sponsorships: $250
Event Sponsor:
Webinar
Friday, September 24, 2021
12:00 – 1:00 pm Eastern
Research-Inspired Design: Moving from Anecdote to Evidence
The design of high performance learning environments suggests a significant linkage between design and educational outcomes, but often these connections are only anecdotal. To help close the gap, several years ago, Perkins Eastman began evaluating the performance of its major school design projects. That exploration has progressively grown into studies that now encompass dozens of buildings across districts and involve multi-disciplinary teams of architectural and academic researchers. These studies have begun to inform design decisions, challenge design guidelines, and bolster district school construction funding requests.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn how design projects can integrate design research
- Learn how design research can challenge assumptions
- Learn how engaging other disciplines can enhance our research capabilities
- Learn how districts can support and leverage design research
Presenters:
Sean O’Donnell, FAIA LEED AP, Principal, Perkins Eastman & Co-Director, Consortium for Design and Education Outcomes
Karen Gioconda, Project Manager and Interior Designer, Perkins Eastman
Juan Guarin, Sustainability Specialist, Perkins Eastman
Members: Free | Non-members: $20
Sponsorships: $250
Virtual Event
Friday, May 21, 2021
12:00 – 1:00 pm EDT
WATERSHEDucation:
How to integrate green infrastructure into learning
School ‘greenscapes’ are a system of outdoor learning environments and natural play areas that connect curriculum to nature through the practical application of learned concepts, across curriculum for all grade levels and subjects. They are stages for discovery, learning and imaginative play. They are living systems that work to reduce the volume of stormwater entering combined sewers using green infrastructure and to expand stormwater treatment capacity with traditional infrastructure improvements.
Meet our Team of Presenters from the School District of Philadelphia:
Megan Garner,
Sustainability Manager
Emma Melvin, Green Infrastructure Program Manager
Daniel P. Mullin, RLA,
Site Improvement Coordinator
Learning Objectives:
- How decisions made during the design process directly impact stormwater management, site maintenance, and curricular connections;
- How climate change is impacting green stormwater infrastructure design in our cities, through the experience of Philadelphia;
- How the outdoor environment can be the new classroom.
Member: Free | Non-member $20
Sponsorship: $250
Virtual Panel
Friday, April 23, 2021
12:00 – 1:00 pm Eastern Time
Capital Funding: What’s on the Horizon?
2021 and Beyond
Today, funding for capital improvements is even more challenging than usual. State and local revenues have been hit hard by the pandemic, yet the need for sufficient high-quality learning environments has never been greater. Federal funding adds a new dimension to capital planning. Join our panel of national and state-level experts for a vibrant discussion of trends, legislative outlooks, and changing priorities for funding school facilities in the near and mid-term.
Learning Objectives:
- About the impacts that the pandemic has had on current and future capital funding programs.
- Whether and how effectively equity is addressed in capital funding programs.
- How climate change is affecting priorities and costs.
- How to be ready if and when federal funding comes through.
Speakers:
Mary Filardo, Executive Director, 21st Century School Fund
John Woolums, Esquire, Director of Governmental Relations, Maryland Association of Boards of Education
Wayne K. McCullough, DBA, PCSBA Executive Director, PASBO
Moderators:
Sarah Woodhead AIA, Principal, DLR Group
Elizabeth Pasierb, Facilities Planning Supervisor, Frederick County, MD, Public Schools
Member: Free | Non-member $20
Sponsorship: $250
Registration closes April 22
Virtual Webinar
March 26, 2021
11:45 am – 1:00 pm Eastern Time
Engagement & the Brain
How the educational environment affects student's brains
Surveys across the nation have shown significant improvement in engagement scores for students
in STEAM programs without explaining why. What if one of the key elements to the success of STEAM programs is actually “just” the brain? The act of physical movement during learning spurs the development of new nerve cells from stem cells in the hippocampus, creating more accessible storage space in your hard drive. Exciting new neuroscience studies demonstrate strong correlations between the core elements of STEAM programs (movement, student choice and collaboration) and brain growth, development, and focus. This discussion will explore how the field of educational neuroscience links the brain to STEAM education and how design, furniture and curriculum enhance the learning process.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand how scientific information about the human brain works while engaged or not engaged in learning environments.
- Comprehend how research in educational neuroscience links core elements of STEAM curriculum to enhanced brain activity and growth.
- Know what design elements and furniture can be deployed to help foster brain activity and growth.
- Distinguish how educators are using STEAM curriculums and the benefits they are seeing at their school.
Member: Free | Non-member $20
Must register by 5 pm Eastern on March 25
Sponsors:
Zoom Discussion & Tour
Thursday, October 15, 2020
3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
Net Zero Energy School Virtual Tours
Baltimore City Schools
Join us for a panel discussion, virtual building tours and lessons learned on October 15. CEU's pending.
View recording »
For password contact Carla Cummins at
[email protected]
Members $5 | Non-members $10
Contact Kieran Wilmes at
[email protected] for sponsorship information.
Sponsors:
Chapter Tour
NEW DATE: Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
3:00 – 5:00 pm
1250 Constitution Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the A4LE Chesapeake Bay / Delaware Valley Chapter Tour of Maury Elementary School is rescheduled for Tuesday, November 5th from 3:00 to 5:00 pm.
Maury Elementary School
Join us for a panel discussion, building tour and networking + happy hour!
Maury Elementary School is a cornerstone modernization project for east Capitol Hill. Physically, the design creatively maintains the existing, historic 1880s 4-square classroom building and integrates an addition as compactly as possible on the tight, urban site. A glass-edged atrium seamlessly connects the historic with the new to celebrate the original historic façade while amplifying transparency and indoor-outdoor connections. The school’s mission encompasses offering a nurturing environment to its community of involved learners, fostering creativity, cultivating curiosity, and forming lasting connections to develop self-empowered citizens. The re-imagined school promotes and elevates this mission. Design principles that contributed to the newly-opened school include embodying core values of both the school and neighborhood community; maximizing open space for play and community use; and creating a unique sense of place that inspires, attracts, and sparks children’s love of learning.
CEUs pending
Jointly sponsored with the Washington DC Committee on Architecture for Education (AIA|DC CAE).
Contact Sarah Woodhead at
[email protected] for sponsorship information.
Free to attend: Please RSVP
Event Sponsor:
Chapter Tour
Thursday, April 25, 2019
12:00 pm
12501 Dalewood Drive, Silver Spring, MD 20906
Thomas Edison High School of Technology
Join us for a special event at Thomas Edison High School of Technology that highlights the theme of career readiness that permeates the k12 conversation today. We will showcase the students, programs and learning spaces that comprise this new 170,000sf career + technology-focused high school. Edison students choose from 18 unique programs and experience success through hands-on learning that prepares them for college and future careers. We will hear their unique stories as we tour the new facility and see many diverse programs on display.
Our tour will also include a visit to the Junior Achievement Finance Park, located on the top floor of Edison. This 20,000sf facility houses 7th graders from across all Montgomery County in an immersive, half-day simulation focused on financial literacy and making intelligent financial decisions that last a lifetime.
More info on
Edison’s programs.
Continuing Education:
2.25 LU
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Learning Objectives:
- Observe how the creation of professional-grade learning environments across a variety of career and technology education (CTE) programs help to promote professionalism, valuable soft skills and employability for students.
- Explore the use of natural daylighting and outdoor connections to enhance the learning experience and the wellbeing of building occupants.
- Illustrate how a CTE school can become a valuable community asset, with skills-based learning and career-focused programs that provide beneficial services to local businesses and the surrounding community.
- Examine the positive impacts of transparency throughout the learning environment promoting safety, showcasing programs + student work and creating strong visual connections between building programs + occupants.
Itinerary:
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12:00 – 12:10 pm |
Arrival + Registration @ Lobby/Showcase
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| 12:10 – 12:45 pm |
Lunch + Student Panel @ Café Edison
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| 12:45 – 1:15 pm |
Junior Achievement Finance Park tour
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| 1:15 – 2:15 pm |
Edison CTE tour
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| 2:15 – 2:30 pm |
Final Q+A - Adjourn from Lobby/Showcase
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Event Sponsors:
Cost (includes lunch in Café Edison):
$25 for members
$45 for non-members
$5 for school district/government employees
Due to logistical constraints, we must limit registration to the first 45 applicants; these will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis – please register in a timely manner to secure your spot!
Parking:
TEHST is co-located on the same property as Wheaton High School, with some site construction activities still ongoing. Free parking is available for event guests in the green designated areas on the
attached parking map. If these areas are full, overflow parking on the adjacent neighborhood streets, following posted parking signage. Carpooling is strongly encouraged.
Registration:
Please plan to arrive promptly at 12:00 pm to allow for a timely lunch service at Café Edison. To help with a streamlined check-in process that complies with school security policy, please provide your driver’s license # when registering