Southern Region 2023 Conference Sessions

Sessions

April 3-6, 2023
Connect the Dots
Hyatt Regency Tulsa Downtown
100 East Second Street, Tulsa, OK 74103

2023 AIA/CES Conference Session Participation Form »

Tuesday, April 4, 2023 | 9:45 AM

Entrepreneurs, Experimenters, and Creatives: Agile Mindsets for Future Success

Promenade A

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Emerging generations of students are entering a world in a constant state of change. The 21st century has seen rapid technological advancement, shifts in cultural and social trends, significant global events, and evolutions in valued skills and competencies in the workforce. With emerging generations predicted to live decidedly into the 22nd century (…let that sink in), it is clear that the students entering our classrooms today will need to navigate an increasingly complex world with agility, creativity, and confidence. Success in the workforce of the future will demand more than pure content mastery- instead, students will require a well-developed, future-ready mindset that can serve as a foundation for lifelong learning. To become the Entrepreneurs, Experimenters, and Creatives the world will need, students require educational experiences that build valued core competencies and instill a relevant lens for solving interconnected, multidisciplinary problems in the real world. Exploring the relationship between these future-focused learning mindsets and the design of the learning environment, this presentation with connect research-based considerations with the design of Decatur ISD’s STEM Academy. This highly flexible, student-centered active learning environment embodies a next-gen connected, curiosity-driven approach to learning, inspiring student ingenuity in a high-energy space to promote a culture of innovation.

Learning Objectives:

Connect insights from research in social demography, education, and the behavioral and brain sciences to understand the complex influences shaping education in the 21st century.
Explore future-focused mindsets for education and how students’ learning experiences and environment could help to facilitate the development of valued skills and core competencies.
Integrate projections for the workforce of the future with relevant educational trends to develop relevant and innovative programs and learning experiences.
Apply a next-gen approach to facilitating impactful learning experiences to the design of innovative, exploratory, hands-on learning environments.

Core Competency:
Educational Visioning: Exhibits an understanding of best and next practices related to educational leadership, programming, teaching, learning, planning and facility design. Establishes credibility with educators, community members and design professionals while conceiving and leading a community-based visioning process. Demonstrates the ability to articulate the impact of learning environments on teaching and learning and uses that ability to facilitate a dialogue that uncovers the unique needs and long-range goals of an educational institution and its stakeholders – translating that into an actionable written/graphic program of requirements for the design practitioner.

Chloe Hosid, Education Design Research Specialist, Corgan
Chloe is a Design Researcher in Corgan’s education studio where she contributes research-based insight and design strategies to K-12 and higher education projects. She earned a Master of Architecture from the University of Kansas, a Master of Science in Applied Cognition and Neuroscience from the University of Texas at Dallas, and a certificate in Permaculture Design. Chloe has a passion for the altruistic nature of designing spaces for learning and for finding meaningful ways to promote health, wellbeing, and cognitive performance through thoughtful design and the integration of nature in the built environment.

John Westbrook, AIA, Project Manager, Senior Associate, Corgan
With over 14 years of experience at Corgan, John has devoted his career to PK-12 education. He has a distinct ability to translate school district visions into reality through consistent communication and hands-on involvement in their community. John has proven to be an asset to Corgan, executing tasks quickly, efficiently, and effectively. John holds a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Colorado and a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Texas at Arlington and is a registered architect in the state of Texas.

"The Building is Cool, but the People are Cooler" – Why teacher relationships are key to a successful building

Promenade B

This session stems from doctoral research on the teacher transition into innovative learning environments (ILEs) and will explore the relationship between the physical and organizational environment, a strong school community, and student-centered learning. Specific physical and organizational supports will be discussed as "nudges" to help reach a campus' educational goals and ensure alignment between the educational vision and actual use. This session will blend presenter instruction with participant engagement through a discussion-based activity highlighting empathy of the teacher experience and the holistic organizational and physical shifts required in the successful utilization of innovative learning spaces. Through this, participants will have the opportunity to apply best practices to their own unique situations and be prepared to navigate holistic discussions with school leadership and educators.

Learning Objectives:

Understand the value of holistic post-occupancy evaluation and how it can expand knowledge of teacher relationships and student deep learning.
Understand the power of interpersonal relationships in ensuring the intended educational experience and utilization of space.
Conceptualize how best practices apply to their own unique situations and how intentional planning of the built and organizational environment can support equitable experiences for all.
Understand how intentional physical and organizational supports can "nudge" users to change practice and increase collaboration.

Raechel French, PhD K12 Planner & Researcher, DLR Group
Dr. French is an educational planner and researcher at DLR Group, focusing on K-12 learning environments. Raechel received a double degree in Architecture and Psychology and completed postgraduate work in Facility Planning and Management, focusing on Human-Environment Relations. She recently completed her PhD in Education, studying the transition to innovative learning spaces. This affords a unique lens to her planning work with a focus on alignment between teaching and learning activities and the built environment.

Adaptive Learning: Connected Innovations for Next-Gen Education

Promenade C

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Innovative technologies can transform the education of yesterday into a future-forward catalyst for change – addressing gaps in learning, opportunity, and engagement. To navigate an increasingly complex future and connect students with the competencies and opportunities they need to excel, learners require learning that is personalized, agile, effective, and connected to the real world. Building on a future-focused mindset and balanced with hands-on learning experiences, adaptive technologies can foster content mastery, tailor learning to a student’s individual needs, and craft a learning path specific to them. This session will present a synergistic view on next-generation education. In-depth research on the theory and applications of adaptive learning systems will be explored alongside Amarillo ISD’s award-winning AmTech Career Academy, highlighting how technologies, innovative physical and virtual environments, and the curiosity and drive of students can be integrated to nurture student passions into bright and successful futures.

Learning Objectives:

Understand the definition of adaptive learning and how these systems can be implemented to support educational outcomes.
Explore current research and innovations in educational programs and technologies- including adaptive learning systems, extended reality technologies, and career-technology environments.
Take a deeper dive into redefining physical and virtual places of learning to facilitate future-forward, technology-driven learning experiences.
Gain a holistic perspective on facilitating next-generation learning by connecting student passions with learning opportunities that support content mastery, build marketable skillsets, and form desired 21st century skills.

Angie Stutsman, RID, Well AP, Corgan
Angie is a Senior Associate at Corgan who has brought her vast experience in the interior design of many Fortune 500 companies to the educational environment. Through her practice, she gained incredible insight to the parallels that exist between corporations and both K-12 and Higher Ed environments. She has worked on some of Corgan's most high-profile educational projects, elevating the interiors to mimic the real-world by creating flexible and adaptable spaces through a combination of creativity and attention to detail. As a WELL Accredited Professional, Angie has the knowledge and passion for creating spaces that are designed for the whole person.

Jason Mellard, AIA, LEED AP, Senior Associate, Corgan
Jason has over 16 years of experience dedicated to education architecture with a keen interest in the overlay of educational advancements, personalized learning, technology infrastructure and virtual and physical environments. He has a passion for crafting spaces that inspire, inform and innovate, partnering with clients to foster collaboration between students, educators and professionals. Jason has been published numerous times on best practices and innovations.

1 + 1 = Win for Austin's Special Needs Community

Promenade D

The Rosedale School and Dell Children’s Comprehensive Care Clinic are joined together in a new Austin ISD facility as a unique model for educational and medical support for children with significant medical and behavioral needs. This collaboration improves learning, care and access to services for fragile student and patient populations and their families. Learn how Austin ISD and Dell Children’s Medical Group came together to form this unique partnership and how planning and design expertise executed a first of its kind campus for children with significant special needs.

Learning Objectives:

Learn distinctions between specialized instructional spaces for students with disabilities including students who are medically fragile, students with social/behavioral needs, and students ages 18-21 preparing for life after graduation with a focus on specific emotional and physical accommodations to support educational learning goals.
Learn distinctions of family-centered pediatric care for medically fragile children including physical medicine, rehabilitation, child/adolescent psychology, and nutritional counseling including emotional and physical accommodations for patient care.
Learn health and wellness benefits to individuals with significant special needs and their families created through collaborative educational and medical services co-existing in a single facility including benefits to the larger special need community.
Learn human-centered universal design strategies specific for students and patients with significant special needs and which are useful consideration for ALL individuals.

Core Competency:
Ethics/Professionalism: Provides leadership and stewardship for the responsible investment of public and private funding into school facilities – while being a known advocate for the importance of the learning environment on a child’s future. They lead and have a record of leading transparent processes that help communities find common ground in developing solutions to complex and sensitive issues – advocating for long term solutions that address the needs of all children and stakeholders including underserved groups.

Elizabeth Dickey, Principal, Rosedale School, Austin ISD
Elizabeth has been the principal at Rosedale School for fifteen years. Prior to coming to Austin ISD she was a special education teacher, grant coordinator and assistant principal. She attended the University of Texas at Austin for her undergraduate degree and received her master’s in Educational Leadership at the University of Houston. Elizabeth served on the Texas Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities and was the 2021 Austin ISD Principal of the Year.

Rahel Berhane, Medical Director, Dell Children’s Comprehensive Care Clinic
Over the last ten years, Dr. Berhane has spent time working with innovative people to design and implement a family-centered comprehensive clinic for families of children with special needs. She is interested in transforming the care environment for families and children with complex medical conditions. Dr. Berhane serves as Medical Director of the Children's Comprehensive Care Clinic. She also serves on the Health and Human Services Commission advisory committee for the STARKids program.

Chad Johnson, Director of PK-12, Page
Chad is the Director of PK-12 Academic for Page. He is a multi-faceted architect, designer, educational planner and project manager. He is passionate about creating thoughtful, student-focused design that engages with students and educators. He is a father of a son with significant special needs and speaks often to the benefits and impacts of thoughtful universal design within school and community environments for all individuals.

Tuesday, April 4, 2023 | 11:00 AM

Beyond the Cells and Bells

Promenade A

While the pandemic had an immediate effect on moving learning outside of the traditional classroom, there had already been a trend away from the traditional “Cells and Bells” method by which students move from room to room on a set bell schedule. This trend was supercharged by the pressing needs of the pandemic and has further evolved as the resulting mental and physical health challenges still challenge our schools. This presentation will look at the trends that are defining the design of our post-pandemic schools to allow for more flexibility for our teachers and learners, the increased emphasis on connecting students to mental health resources, the wider variety of academic support services that districts are introducing, and the broader ability students have to tailor their learning experience. The trends will be explored both through an academic lens to provide broader context to the ideas and through an architectural lens that will showcase how the trends are affecting the way in which we design.

Learning Objectives:

Learners will understand the importance of design in student’s access to mental health services.
Learners will be exposed to a series of programmatic tools that they can implement on their next school project.
Learners will gain knowledge about how to program for non-traditional learning environments to increase physical safety.
Learners will be able to help implement pedagogical changes through both the design process and implementation phases of a project.

Sarah Gould, AIA, A4LE, Owner, KKT Architects
Sarah is the President and CEO of KKT Architects. Education and community are her passions, and she works closely with most school districts in the region. Sarah is Past-President of Oklahoma A4LE and serves on the board of the Foundation for Tulsa Schools. She earned her Master of Architecture from the University of Texas, Austin and her Master of Architectural Urban Studies from the University of Oklahoma, Tulsa.

Francis Wilmore, AIA, A4LE, LEED AP BD+C, Director of Design, Principal, KKT Architects
As Director of Design at KKT Architects, Francis pairs theoretical visioning with client-focused project design to develop a culture of forward-thinking solutions within the office. His passion for pushing boundaries and finding synergetic relationships within constraints leads to the design of non-traditional education spaces that create new opportunities for teaching and learning. He has been honored with numerous awards for his design work and service within the profession.

“I Want My School to Help the Community”

Promenade B

If you were born between 2009 and 2012, your view of the space and world around you is quite different. This generation wants to invest in making their community and their world a better place and their expectation is that their school will do exactly that. Would you let an eleven year old design your new Middle School” Well, students at The Branch School in Houston, Texas were given the chance to create their ultimate school and when asked what their end goal was, one student answered: “I want my school to help the community”. With the help of Kirksey Architects and Harvey Builders, learners in grades 6 through 8 actively participated in the design of their middle school and used a Project Based Learning curriculum to understand the design process, the importance of sustainability in building and the science of construction. Hear from them, in their own words, about what they wanted this building to accomplish for their education and for their development as peacekeepers, problem solvers and stewards of their world. Listen to the School Board President and the design team explain how the learners created a thoughtful and sustainable solution for their own Middle School. Engage in the same activities that were used to gather insight from the students and the teachers so you can incorporate these activities and lessons at your own school and with your students. Learn about the innovative ideas incorporated into design to help achieve LEED certification and maximum energy efficiency resulting in overall savings for the school. Finally, see the finished product and celebrate the accomplishments of these students in their new space. Come find out if the students were able to design a school that will help their community and find out just how that is happening.

Learning Objectives:

What is Generation Alpha? What are they watching and reading? What can we learn from this demographic and how can it shape our schools? What are activities, games and lessons that you can use in your own district to gather information from your learners to help you design a school building that responds to their wants and needs?
Understand sustainable design solutions that lead to overall energy efficiency and subsequently cost savings for the school district over the life of the building.
How did The Branch School incorporate what they learned from the end users into the final product and what was successful and what did they learn?

Jody Sergi, AIA, LEED AP, Associate Vice President, Kirksey Architecture
Jody is an Associate Vice President at Kirksey. She was the Project Manager for The Branch School and has worked in K-12 and Higher Education projects almost exclusively during her career. She earned her B.Arch from The University of Cincinnati and became a LEED AP in 2003. She has served on the Board of Directors for the USGBC and has Chaired the AIA Gulf Coast Green Conference. Jody is an advocate for green schools and believes that schools can have a low impact on the earth and a huge influence on the way children learn.

Michelle Old, AIA, LEED AP, Associate Vice President, Kirksey Architecture
Michelle is an Associate Vice President and Lead Designer at Kirksey. In her 13-year career, she has worked on award-wining projects ranging from early childhood facilities to higher education institutions, and made an impact in education through design. Michelle has been a speaker at several conventions and in 2016 was named and exhibited as one of Houston’s Emerging Voices by the Young Architects Forum. Several of her projects have won awards, including AIA Houston Design Awards. She led the design on The Branch School's new building and worked to intertwine the design with their curriculum.

Do You See What I See?: Same Space, Different Views

Promenade C

Join us for an interactive session in which we examine the lenses of designers and users of our learning spaces. Educational designers incorporate incredibly subtle and powerful elements in their visioning and design, but what do our school administrators and classroom teachers see? School administrators and classroom teachers strive to design subtle and powerful elements into educational experiences - do our educational designers see what they see? A growing trend in public education is a major increase in teacher and campus administrator turnover each year. In this session, participants will analyze examples of design in educational spaces from the perspective of other stakeholders. We will also discuss how we can intuitively design so that those who were never a part of the visioning can effectively utilize and enhance the functionality of our spaces for our students.

Learning Objectives:

Explore the concept of affordance from multiple stakeholder perspectives.
Expand understanding of use of design spaces and elements, post-occupancy.
Understand the factors and effects of high turnover of school administrators and classroom teachers on educational design.
Collaborate in multi-disciplinary groups to experience a learning activity.

Core Competency:
Design of Educational Facilities: Acts as a resource to the design team in providing ongoing guidance and support to ensure that the emerging and ultimate design aligns with the established community vision, education goals, future programming, written design standards, best/next practices and education policy.

Brenda Swirczynski, Elementary Science Coordinator, Birdville ISD
Brenda’s work has centered on designing experiences to promote science literacy. As a classroom teacher, outdoor educator, and a university instructor, she has been privileged to collaborate with varied audiences on multi-disciplinary projects. Brenda received her Bachelor’s degree in Education and Master’s in Environmental Science from the University of North Texas. Currently serving as the Elementary Science Coordinator in Birdville ISD, she is a proud member of Cohort 9 of the Advanced Academy pursuing her ALEP.

Irene Nigaglioni, President, IN2 Architecture
Irene offers varied experience in institutional facilities. Her experience in the design of academic facilities ranges from renovation to new construction. As President of IN2 Architecture, Irene is involved in all aspects of a project, including master planning, schematic design, design development, construction documents and contract administration. Irene is considered a leader in Educational Planning, as she keeps up with the latest instructional curriculum trends in school design and has earned recognition for this receiving the A4LE Lifetime Achievement Award. She is very active in A4LE, serving as Chair of the Southern Region Foundation. She is also very active in the lecture circuit, presenting at conferences such as A4LE, Ed Spaces, TASA/TASB, School Facilities Forum, and CASH. Irene serves on the CHPS Board of Directors, has served on the CHPS National Technical Committee, and is part of the TX-CHPS leadership.

Making the Connection: How to Evolve Your CTE Program through Private Partnerships

Promenade D

With an ever-tightening grip on school finances and current economic conditions, districts are forced to think outside of the box to fund costly CTE programs. Learn how several districts leveraged a variety of partnerships to grow teacher knowledge, acquire specialized equipment, and design forward-thinking environments while helping students grow their professional networks. Districts benefit financially but also from the increased community support for academic programs and the school system. The question is WHY would a foundation, community, or private company want to be a partner? Relationships are mutually beneficial allowing companies to create employee pipelines and communities to build a sense of belonging. Creating loyalty prior to the students’ post-secondary journey is critically important to ensure sustainability for community success. Presenters will answer questions to spark ideas on how they can relay information back to their community and engage others to create buy-in.

Learning Objectives:

Learn how partnerships with foundations, private entities, and communities' benefit CTE programs through creative funding for teacher training, equipment, and buildings.
Learn how the partnerships are mutually beneficial in order to better position themselves to develop such relationships.
Learn how using knowledge from business and community leaders shape a more authentic experience for students.
Understand how teachers can benefit from relevant and timely industry knowledge in order to give students a competitive advantage in their post-secondary endeavors.

Core Competency:
Community Engagement: Leads the internal and external communities through a discovery process that articulates and communicates a community-based foundational vision, forming the basis of a plan for the design of the learning environment. The vision is achieved through a combination of rigorous research, group facilitation, strategic conversations, qualitative and quantitative surveys and workshops. Demonstrates the skill to resolve stakeholder issues while embedding a community's unique vision into the vision for its schools.

Meredith Watessek, Senior Associate, Educational Planner, Stantec
Meredith has served 22 years in the education industry. She spent nearly nine years as Fort Bend ISD’s Director of Career and Technical Education, and her classroom experience includes both CTE and dance education. In college, Meredith was an interior design major before graduating with a Bachelor of Business in Marketing. Her Master's degree is in Educational Leadership. Meredith uses her diverse background to help deliver progressive design and positively impact the learning environment.

Brett Holzle, Principal, Stantec
Brett is a licensed Architect with over 16 years of experience designing and planning educational spaces. Brett believes in the power of CTE programs, no matter how big or small, to change students’ lives by creating unique opportunities for learning. He has helped clients and stakeholder groups to navigate complex standalone CTE centers as well as smaller innovative programs with tight budgets.

Tuesday, April 4, 2023 | 2:00 PM

Learn, Make, Explore... Designing Discovery Lab

Promenade A

Discovery Lab’s exhibits and programming encourage the development of executive function and process skills, including critical thinking, problem solving, communication, collaboration, creativity, and innovation. Educational content focuses on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM), and health and wellness, and complements and supplements current school curriculum. The presentation will showcase the process behind designing a project that facilitates and contributes to Discovery Lab’s mission, from site selection to building planning to budget management and the execution of design and construction details.

Learning Objectives:

Learn how architecture can represent and contribute to an organization’s mission.
Make attendees aware of the importance of hearing, understanding, and buying into an organization’s mission statement.
Explore ways to implement an organization’s mission through design decisions.
Design. We will show examples of the specific design concepts and elements of the building that reinforce Discovery Lab’s goals and mission.

Jim Boulware, AIA, Principal, KKT Architects, Inc.
As a Principal and Designer, Jim approaches the design process as a problem-solving exercise. He listens to his clients and together they prioritize the project requirements and goals, then they develop a solution that meets the client’s needs. The aesthetic appearance and style of the building takes its spirit from this problem-solving process, giving each project its own identity. Jim graduated from Oklahoma State University, School of Architecture.

Sarah Gould, AIA, A4LE, Owner, KKT Architects, Inc.
Sarah is the President and CEO of KKT Architects. Education and community are her passions, and she works closely with most school districts in the region. Sarah is Past-President of Oklahoma A4LE and serves on the board of the Foundation for Tulsa Schools. She earned her Master of Architecture from the University of Texas, Austin and her Master of Architectural Urban Studies from the University of Oklahoma, Tulsa.

Connecting 100 Years of Education, Architecture and Community at Lakeview Elementary in Sugar Land Texas

Promenade B

As we move into the third decade of the 21st century public school education is seeing some of its earliest buildings move from just old to historic. For those communities, 100 plus year old buildings represent heart and soul of a community, and come wrapped in the nostalgia, traditions and stories of families, teachers, parents and students, past and present. How do school districts acknowledge and represent the desires of a community past, while making the very important and required changes and requirements for their present and future. Lakeview Elementary in Fort Bend ISD through a thoughtful process and collaboration between district, community and architect was able to bring the 105 year old Sugarland School campus into the 21st century. The process married together the nostalgia of generations of school and neighborhood experience with the requirements around high performance, energy efficient buildings, safety and security, and creating inclusive learning environments, both indoor and outdoor that celebrate learning for pre-k through 5th grade students, in this one of the most ethnically diverse counties in the country. This presentation will offer strategies, tools and insight into how others might manage and realize a successful marriage of the old architecture and modern education requirements. This project is registered for LEED for Schools

Learning Objectives:

Effective community engagement and master planning strategies to foster and facilitate consensus design and planning.
Historic Building and Site analysis and assessment tools and strategies to ensure safe and cost effective design solutions.
Optimizing Education Specifications around unique communities of learning.
The power of storytelling from masterplan to graphic design

Nicola Springer, AIA, LEED AP, NCARB, EVP, Director of pK-12 Projects, Kirksey Architecture
Nicola is an Executive Vice President and the Director of pK-12 Projects at Kirksey Architecture. With over 22 years of educational design experience, Nicola believes that architecture and the process of design should inspire creativity, engage all users, and promote a sustainable, healthy and happy existence. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from Princeton University and a Master of Architecture from Rice University. Nicola has spoken professionally on the influences and advances of 21st century education at Regional and National Conferences including A4LE National, Gulf Coast Green, The Green School National Conference and the TxA Annual Convention.

Ashley Dixon, Director Construction, D&C Bond Design and Construction Dept., Fort Bend ISD
Ashley is the is the Director of Construction for Fort Bend ISDs Bond 2018 Program. Ashley has over twenty years of experience in the design and construction industry. With almost a decade helping to lead and deliver projects for Fort Bend ISD, Ashley has also helped to build and implement the district's Education Specifications. Ashley’s position allows her to collaborate closely with board trustees, the District COO, Superintendent and the communities that they serve. Ashley is a graduate of Texas Tech University, and is a Registered Architect in the State of Texas.

Jody Sergi, AIA, LEED AP, Associate Vice President, Kirksey Architecture
Jody is an Architect and Associate Vice President at Kirksey. She was the Project Manager for The Branch School. Jody has worked in K-12 and Higher Education projects almost exclusively during her 22 year career. She earned her BArch from The University of Cincinnati and became a LEED AP in 2003. She has served on the Board of Directors for the USGBC and has Chaired the AIA Gulf Coast Green Conference. Jody is an advocate for green schools and believes that schools can have a low impact on the earth and a huge influence on the way children learn.

Exploring the Connectivity Between Sense of Place and Outdoors, How the New Roark Early Education Center Transforms the Learner's Experience

Promenade C

School buildings can play a very important role in students' physical and mental wellbeing and educators and designers must make conscious decisions to ensure facilities improve their health in every way. Children in their early years develop rapidly. They are curious, adventurous, and fearless. How can we as educators and designers enhance and support their mental and physical wellbeing? Roark EEC, Willis ISD is an example of an overarching goal with relevant applications of design strategies and outdoor learning that create a sense of place and improve student and teacher mental and physical wellbeing. Early engaging visioning workshops set the needs for the new early education center and how a day in a life of an early learner could directly influence their learning environment.

Learning Objectives:

Determine how a safe, secure and code compliant building impacts project life cycle and healthy occupants.
Envision the opportunities possible with introducing outdoor learning into daily activities of an early learner.
In depth knowledge on what goes into planning and executing high quality early education environments.
See how physical improvements and sensory learning transform quality of early education.

Parul Vyas, Principal, Stantec Architects Inc
Parul, a Principal at Stantec, partners with educators and community leaders to facilitate 21st century learning environments for the future generation. In her career span of over 24 years, she has executed a variety of K-12 projects that provide our students with rewarding academic experience. Her philosophy of efficiency in design & construction and best practices partnered with continuous learning ensures a thoughtful and successful project. Parul believes that the facilities should be designed to fulfil the growth and enrichment of the student and staff using it. As a Principal she is responsible for business development, growth and development of employees as well as delivering the highest quality of design excellence. Parul also serves on the Gulf Coast A4LE chapter and is on track for ALEP designation December 2022.

Calandra Lewis, Principal, Roark EEC, Willis ISD
Calandra has been serving the Willis ISD school district for many years as the Principal of Roark Early Education Center. She was key to the visioning workshops for the future of the campus. The school was established in August 2018 as a stand-alone Early Education Center. Early Education. After four years on our previous Roark school campus, on August 4, 2022, she was involved with moving into the state-of-the-art new Roark EEC. At Roark, the VISION is to create Little Learners into Big Leaders for student success. Roark's MISSION is to develop social/emotional skills to foster independence and instill a love of lifelong learning for ALL. Calandra is passionate and committed to make the district's vision for the EEC a reality.

The Power of Experiential Graphic Design to Amplify Students’ Self Worth and Sense of Belonging

Promenade D

Virtually every building has some form of wayfinding – such as signs that allow people to know where they are in the building and how to get to where they want to go. The concept of Experiential Graphic Design advances the idea dramatically by including information systems that not only guide people through the physical environment of a building, but also enhance their understanding and experience of the space, add comfort, pride, and connection to a greater whole. Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD partnered with VLK Architects for a comprehensive addition/renovation to the historical campus of Perry Middle School. Through a highly collaborative process that included district employees, students, and community members, the team developed a branded vision for the campus that could be integrated seamlessly with the architectural design and provide enhanced experiences for students and visitors alike. Many students find middle school bewildering; not only as the academics become more rigorous and complicated, but as puberty has dramatic influences on both bodies and minds. Perry Middle School is home to grades 6th through 8th, meaning the younger students can be very different physically and mentally from the older ones. To address this significant difference between students, each grade level was intentionally grouped together as a village in the campus. Each village is branded to address the stages of growth an eagle (the school’s mascot) goes through in its life and as the students grow throughout their middle school career. The 6th grade village is known as the Nest, 7th grade is the Perch, and 8th grade students have reached the Summit. Another significant aspect of this process was ensuring that the rich history of Perry Middle School was carried through into the updated campus. Through a number of focused sessions with the district, VLK worked with CFB ISD to identify artifacts, historical elements, reclaimed pieces of the building, and more, to create a dedicated “museum” area in a public area of the campus. Students, staff, parents, and visitors are easily able to experience the history of the campus, while appreciating the innovative experience provided to students in the renovated campus.

Learning Objectives:

Identify the benefits of Experiential Design and explore how to include it early in the process through Project Management to ensure it is part of the comprehensive design.
Investigate through audience participation how others view Experiential Design and how it is implemented in their experiences.
Explore the critical role Project Planning and Design plays in the involving community to collaborate on parts of the design process.
Discuss the impact Experiential Design can have on the social emotional wellbeing of students.

Malcolm Mulroney, Chief Operations Officer, Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD
Talented, analytical, and creative Project Manager and Commercial Developer with over 10 years of experience managing large-scale construction and renovation projects. Balances projects’ scope, budget, and schedule to achieve the highest value. Excellent attention to detail coupled with an ability to communicate with everyone from on-site contractors to the clients’ boardroom. Owns a project from beginning to end, while exercising the responsibility and accountability to make decisions, coordinate teams, and be responsive to stakeholders.

Cody Jones, Creative Manager, VLK Architects, Inc.
As Creative Manager, Cody oversees VLK marketing’s creative team to execute creative pieces including Experience Magazine, digital media, and collateral for all market sectors and graphics for Statements of Qualification. Along with the team, she developed the firms school branding and experiential graphics process, VLK | PIXEL, to be scalable to a variety of project types and has been instrumental in creating the documents from which these projects are bid and installed.

Tuesday, April 4, 2023 | 3:30 PM

UNTANGLING HISTORY FOR A BETTER FUTURE: Reimagining a 1967 High School Campus through Community Engagement and Modern Integration

Promenade A

The average age of a high school in Texas is 45 years old and a lot has changed since 1977, (1967 in the case of JJ Pearce High School for Richardson ISD). Multiple small additions were added throughout the 1970s, 80s and early 90s adding to academic isolation and student discontinuity throughout a 450,000sf existing high school. With second tier suburban school districts building vast new high schools, how can semi-urban school districts similar to Richardson ISD maintain equitable facilities supporting next-generational learning? Establishing an educational vision and transformational design direction is critical when transforming legacy high school campuses with the types of learning spaces today’s student need to be successful. Join us for an informative presentation highlighting interactive community and design workshops that led to flexible, collaborative and next-generational solutions.

Learning Objectives:

Showcase the transformation from the original 1967 building through 2024.
Identify the importance of clear wayfinding, organized planning, and school brand.
Highlight innovative space making to supportive collaborative learning.
Demonstrate how effective and innovative educational spaces combined with supportive furniture can reinforce future ready skills for college or career.

Patrick Glenn, AIA, REFP, LEED AP, LE Fellow, Partner | Managing Principal, Glenn|Partners
Patrick offers 27 years of educational leadership, planning and architectural design experience spanning a wide range of educational clients. Having planned more than $2B in school construction during his career, Patrick offers unique expertise to help foster creative, flexible and long-term design strategies to better enhance a more personalized, and collaborative learning environment while addressing many of the critical issues facing next-generation students of tomorrow.

Greg Estes, RA, Partner | Senior Project Architect, Glenn|Partners
Greg has over 15 years of experience and focuses mostly on project delivery, as he enjoys being involved in the initial concept ideas, design process, documentation and construction administration for all projects, including new construction, addition and renovation. Greg’s passion for architecture is being the catalyst for clear and conceptual design, but more importantly being the clients’ voice and point of contact throughout the entire project.

Tania Caudill, RA, Project Manager, Glenn|Partners
Tania offers more than a decade of K12 project experience in the North Texas market. Tania has the ability to synthesize the Owner’s needs and enhance the educational environment with the design solution communicated effectively throughout the Construction Documents. Throughout the course of the project, Tania works alongside her clients to help coordinate schedule control, scope control, and cost control, while ensuring the client’s vision is maintained.

McKenzie Phillips, RID, Senior Interior Designer, Glenn|Partners
McKenzie has 7 years of experience in the corporate interiors, higher education and K12 education markets. McKenzie takes pride in developing value-driven solutions and listens carefully to each client’s unique set of needs. McKenzie is passionate about creating innovative learning environments for students and facilitators while developing meaningful client relationships. She designs for the combined visual and functional human experience of spaces and uses this ideology in every step of her design process.

Sandra Hayes, Assistant Superintendent for Operations, Richardson ISD

Thrive Together – Conscious Design Considering 6 Stages of Development from Childhood to Adulthood

Promenade B

Success and happiness go hand in hand. This is what it means to thrive. Having the opportunity to learn, grow, achieve, and find community provides the foundation for lifelong fulfillment. The Thrive philosophy was created to show how the conscious design of environments can impact human happiness and health for all. Considering the six stages of development (Moral, Spiritual, Physical, the Thrive philosophy encapsulates thoughtful consideration of every space—where all are supported, encouraged, and given the tools to succeed and grow. A Thrive environment is designed with collaboration, inclusion, active learning, health, safety, sensory stimulation, and emotional wellness in mind.

Learning Objectives:

The Thrive philosophy dives deep into acknowledging different behaviors and styles and integrating them into one space. The first objective is for designers to transcend trends and focus on the user.
The second objective is understanding Gen Z and how traditional methods are simply part of the past.
The third objective is to show how much the pandemic affected Gen Z and their behavior, what motivates them and what challenges they are facing.
The fourth objective is to be able to integrate multiple generations ( Baby boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z) under one environment while addressing the 6 key aspects of human development.

Polly Moore, VP of Marketing, MooreCo Inc
During her tenure at MooreCo, Polly has influenced the design process, following industry trends and using her experience and love of fashion to improve each brand. Her goal is to create products with purpose that resonate with customers across all markets. Polly puts human intellectual and emotional development at the core of every design through her Thrive Design Philosophy. Over the years, Thrive, has become a research based philosophy with research, collaborations and research from experts across the world in the fields of psychology, neuroscience, physical therapy, ethics and more.

No "One-size-fits-all" Solution: Ten pre-K campus additions & playgrounds, three jurisdictions, and a fast-growing district

Promenade C

Northwest ISD is one of the fastest growing districts in North Texas, spanning three counties and 14 municipalities across 234 square miles, with only about 30% build out. When the state mandated full-day Pre-K, NISD led efforts to support its new students with additions—two classrooms and more current playground equipment—at ten of its campuses. The prototypical nature of the facilities in question might suggest a simple process, but this rapid growth posed a challenge: how to design equitable yet site-specific additions while also satisfying three different jurisdictions’ diverging interpretations of the code. Storm shelters specifically created challenges during the permitting process, causing three campuses to ultimately not receive this advantage. To maintain the project schedule and delivery, the ten campuses were divided into two packages of five, each package using different subs to perform the work.

Learning Objectives:

What we learned about future programming while planning for pre-k additions.
Designing equitable additions while making sure they are site specific for each campus.
Navigating 3 jurisdictions and different interpretations of the code in regard to storm shelters. IBC, IEBC, and TEA.
Project delivery – advantages and challenges of working across 10 campuses at once.

Core Competency:
Educational Facility Implementation, Project Management/Project Delivery: Has a working understanding of how the following areas impact the facility program: regulations and policies; project delivery methodologies; scheduling; preventative maintenance; life-cycle planning; and systems commissioning.

Sarah Stewart, MBA, Executive Director of Planning, Northwest Independent School District
Sarah is a graduate of Northwest High School who has worked for the district for nearly 15 years as Construction Manager, Executive Director of Construction, and now Executive Director of Planning. She is a graduate of The University of Texas at Arlington and has a Master of Business Administration. As the Executive Director of Planning for Northwest ISD, Sarah oversees bond projects, programming, planning and facility design of all educational spaces for the district.

Tommy Osborne, AIA, LEED AP, Executive Director of Construction, Northwest Independent School District
Tommy is a licensed architect with over 26 years of design, construction, and maintenance experience in a variety of project types and market sectors. He is a 1992 graduate of the College of Architecture, Planning & Design at Kansas State University. As the Executive Director of Construction for Northwest ISD, Tommy oversees a team that drives all the bond projects and other building related projects within the district.

Barbara Rystrom, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C, Senior Project Manager, Perkins&Will
Based in the Dallas studio of Perkins&Will, Barbara is a Senior Project Architect with over 20 years of experience in the architecture and construction industry, working to create learning environments that are safe, future-ready, and secure. Her passion for design coupled with her innovative thinking produces spaces that inspire and support education while promoting physical, emotional, and academic safety.

Leveraging Research-Based Strategies for Powerful Inclusion, Community Impact and Design Responses in Early Childhood

Promenade D

Across the U.S. there’s a large demand for early childhood centers supporting marginalized and underserved communities. These are the same communities in which the voices most in need are often the voices least likely to be heard. We need better methods to connect with these critical voices – we need processes that incorporate the rigor found in the research sphere. This session will introduce attendees to rigorous research methods translated into community engagement techniques. It will also shed light on lessons learned including some of the behavioral tendencies within these communities that makes engagement so challenging for many design teams. We’ll tap into a variety of reasons these barriers emerge and share some strategies to deploy more inclusive and robust engagement methods that yield more insightful outcomes, leading to design outcomes better tailored to the specific needs of each unique community. Attendees will also have an opportunity to interact with one of our highly successful toolkits; the UDL Deck of Spaces – Early Childhood Edition. This 50-card deck, designed specifically for early childhood learners, was co-authored by education and research specialists from across the country, and is aligned with the framework of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) that originated out of Harvard University’s Graduate Education Program. The deck is easy to engage with, yet it leads to rich conversations and prompts immediate insights into more exciting design possibilities. It opens a world of opportunities founded on research-based space design strategies that support the developmental and emotional needs of young children, and the variabilities of all these learners.

Learning Objectives:

Design and facilitate effective engagement processes to succeed in the engagement of all end-users, particularly with communities that are disadvantaged and multi-cultural. This includes lessons learned on the unique behavioral characteristics in some of these communities.
Gain skills in how to address challenging issues on inclusion and belonging, both during the engagement process and in the completed facility. They will be able to connect pertinent DEIB issues to space design in ways that positively impact children’s growth experiences and well-being.
Explain how UDL provides a lens for connecting with stakeholders, and how it can foreground opportunities to design for inclusion. They will also take UDL-linked thought starters back to their own facilities for possible integration into the design of their facilities.
Connect design research to the impacts of space design on children’s physical and mental health, as well as social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes.

Lexi Tengco, AIA, Vice President, Multistudio
Lexi is a licensed architect who leads design on a variety of early learning facilities. She is actively involved as an ACE (Architect, Contractor, Engineer) Mentor and is passionate about education and engaging end users in the spaces being designed for them. She is well-versed in the implementation of UDL principles in her education work, seeking to create highly equitable and inclusive environments for every learner. By engaging and empowering community members through the process, she builds lasting relationships with the people she interacts with. As a client leader with Multistudio, she continually explores her passion in meaningful human-centered design.

David Reid, ALEP, Principal, Multistudio
David is a co-founder of STEAM-Studio and Education Practice Leader for Multistudio. His team has a deep focus on the science of learning, driven by collaborative research with educators, anthropologists, psychologists, and others. For each of the last five years, his education design work has been recognized nationally for innovation. In 2017, David co-authored the book: Unleashing Creative Genius: STEAM Studio’s Impact on Learning, featuring the research outcomes of this experimental learning program located in the offices of Multistudio. In 2021, David co-authored the UDL Deck of Spaces, Early Childhood Edition, a toolkit to align space design for young children with the learning framework of Universal Design for Learning.

Wednesday, April 5, 2023 | 9:30 AM

Superintendents Panel

Tulsa South 1st Floor

Rob Miller, Superintendent, Bixby Public Schools
Rob is in his 5th year as superintendent of Bixby Public Schools, a 6A suburban school district in southeast Tulsa County in Oklahoma. The district serves over 7,000 students and is growing rapidly.

Dr. Joe Kucera, Superintendent, Lorena ISD
Dr. Joe Kucera is in his 7th year as superintendent of Lorena ISD, a 3A mid-sized school district in Waco, Texas. The district currently has 1800 students and is a destination school district.

David Alexander, Superintendent, Ascension Public Schools
David is in his 7th year as superintendent of Ascension Public Schools, is one of the largest school districts in Louisiana. The district serves 24,000 students in 31 schools and 3 programs.

Kelly Hayes, Deputy Superintendent, Springdale School District
Kelly is the Deputy Superintendent for Springdale School District in Arkansas. The district serves 22,000 students in over 30 schools.

Wednesday, April 5, 2023 | 1:30 PM

School Safety – The Voice of Students

Promenade A

Who better to share what makes a student feel safe than students? Join us on this journey as a moderated panel of students discuss how we can improve school safety, what makes them feel safe, and what we need to keep top-of-mind as we prepare for the future.

Learning Objectives:

Practice management
Programming and analysis
Project planning and design

Russ Johnson, Board of Trustees, Lorena ISD
Russ is a trustee for the Lorena Independent School District, a destination district in Central Texas boasting a 100% graduation rate. The topic of school safety is both a personal and professional vendetta for Russ! Despite the work ahead to continuously improve our facilities, operations, and other aspects, Russ believes that schools are still one of the safest places for our children. Russ has supported public education for nearly three decades as the CEO of a national technology and security consulting firm, board president for the Southern Region of A4LE, husband to an elementary school principal, and father to seven girls, all products of public education.

Students
Panel of students with information will be provided if session is selected, due to required parent and district permissions.

Activating “Place” for Place-Based Learning and Holistic Wellbeing

Promenade B

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When the spaces we inhabit are endowed with meaning and support our needs, they become emotionally connected places of significance that provide opportunities for growth and connection, and support wellbeing. The sensory and cognitive experience of engaging with “place” evolves as children develop, making the activation of “place” in their education and alignment between a child’s development and their learning environment an opportunity for thoughtful design to enhance connection and support exploration, engagement, belongingness, and holistic wellbeing. Situated in the hill country, the design of Cypress Springs Elementary in Dripping Springs ISD connects students to the natural landscape and provides a beneficial sense of “place” to support students’ growth and overall educational experience. This presentation will connect research-based insights from place attachment theory and the place-based learning model with the design to explore the ways in which design can activate “place” in education for learning and wellbeing.

Learning Objectives:

Develop an understanding of place attachment theory and the significance of cognitive-emotional person-place bonds in school facilities for supporting wellbeing.
Explore place-based learning and the many ways connecting students to “place” can inspire engaging learning experiences and community connections.
Recognize developmental considerations for connecting students to “place” and engaging them with place-based learning opportunities.
Apply insights from place attachment theory and place-based learning to the design of spaces for learning.

Erin Ortwein, AIA, NCARB, Senior Associate, Corgan
Erin is an Architect and Senior Associate in the Austin Education studio. She brings creative design solutions with technical problem-solving skills to every endeavor. As a leader and integral member of the team, she focuses on project communication and design from initial concept through construction. Beyond the architectural realm, she has a background in educational curriculum design and implementation.

Chloe Hosid, M.Sc., Education Design Researcher, Corgan
Chloe is a Design Researcher in Corgan’s education studio where she contributes research-based insight and design strategies to K-12 and higher education projects. She earned a Master of Architecture, a Master of Science in Applied Cognition and Neuroscience, and a certificate in Permaculture Design. Chloe is passionate about the altruistic nature of designing spaces for learning and for meaningfully promoting health, wellbeing, and cognitive performance through thoughtful, research-based design.

Nine to Nine: Transformation at SMU's Cox School of Business

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Promenade C

Twenty-first century pedagogy and competition for top students & faculty are driving changes in facilities for learning, and Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business is completely updating its physical home in response to these imperatives. The result of a detailed benchmarking and feasibility process, exploring space needs to meet both pedagogical and demographic trends, Cox’s initiative totally reconfigures its existing 165,000 SF while adding over 65,000 SF of new space. Learning is shaped, for better or worse, by the environment in which it takes place, and research shows that business schools are most successful at attracting, engaging, retaining and preparing students in a setting that encourages them to remain in the building even during downtime, facilitating collaboration and informal interaction. This presentation will review strategies used to transform traditional, static, disconnected buildings into a dynamic, flexible, innovative learning environment. Three key ideas inform the new design:

Enhancing connectivity, facilitating collaboration, and creating a 9 to 9 environment
Defining effective new learning spaces in the existing buildings
Creating a leading-edge business school environment while respecting campus architectural legacy & spirit

This presentation will describe tools used, strategies explored and lessons learned through this landmark project which will position Cox for its next 100 years.

Learning Objectives:

Using benchmarking against peer institutions and rebalancing space to meet today’s needs.
Understanding technology and space implications of today’s business pedagogy and their impact on facilities.
Respond to the unique Architectural and Construction implications of renovation for education.
Strategic planning of renovation projects to create versatile, economical, effective learning spaces.

Jonathan Rollins, AIA, NCARB, Principal, GFF Architects
Jonathan is a principal and education practice leader with GFF, a 140-person firm based in Dallas. His practice is focused on education and cultural facilities, with an additional emphasis on historic preservation. He holds an AB from Princeton University and an M.Arch from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and has been a design instructor at the Boston Architectural Center and a design critic at the Rhode Island School of Design and the GSD.

Disaster Recovery, Not If, When!

Promenade D

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The morning of August 12, 2016 started as the first day of the Fall Semester for many school districts in South Louisiana. As schools welcomed students, a low-pressure air mass slowly moved into south Louisiana from the Gulf of Mexico, darkening the skies of the Baton Rouge Metroplex and the surrounding area, bringing torrential rains, severe flooding, mass evacuations, and the deaths of 13 citizens in the first few hours of the catastrophe. Residents found themselves ill prepared for the historical and devastating August 2016 Floods. Rainfall rates exceeded 2 to 3 inches an hour, with the most inundated areas receiving over 2 feet in many areas because of the storm system remaining stationary for many hours. Total accumulation peaked at 31.39 inches in Watson, Louisiana, which is located northeast of Baton Rouge. Louisiana Governor, John Bel Edwards, called the disaster an "… unprecedented flood event" and declared a state of emergency. The storm went on to cause $10–15 billion in damage and ranked as the seventh most expensive natural disaster in the US since 1978. Twenty-two school systems throughout South Louisiana were forced into massive closures when most districts were not prepared to facilitate remote learning. The East Baton Rouge Parish School System (EBRPSS), 2nd largest district in Louisiana, was helmed by Superintendent Warren Drake. The EBRPSS damages exceeded $90M, which included facilities, furniture, equipment, technology, books and system vehicles such as buses. The district worked to navigate FEMA policies, insurance deductibles and labor shortages due to displacement of staff. Several lessons were learned during this time. Disasters are occurring with more frequency, and in places once thought safe. Category 4 storm, Hurricane Ida, carved a path from New Orleans to the Northeast region of the United States, causing the deaths of 13 citizens in New York alone. Disasters come in many forms whether natural or manmade. School districts, counties, and cities must take a proactive approach to natural disasters in response to “when” an event will cause a major disruption to the education process. Please join us to learn the best proactive practices in preparing for the inevitable, navigating through the recovery process along with the intricate web of federal funding opportunities, and how to implement measures to become more resilient.

Learning Objectives:

Natural Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation
Designing Facilities for Resiliency in a Proactive Approach to Disaster Recovery
Understanding the Engagement and Intersection of Building Codes, Life Safety and FEMA guidelines
Sustainable Approaches to Hazard Mitigation

Warren Drake, Senior Business Development Executive, CSRS
Warren has served the public as a teacher, principal and superintendent of two Louisiana school districts. In 2002 he was selected to be the first superintendent of the Zachary Community School District, which under his leadership was the #1 academic district in the state for 10 consecutive years. After working for the Louisiana Department of Education, Drake was unanimously selected to serve as superintendent of the East Baton Rouge Parish school district in 2015, the second largest in the state. He reorganized the central office and reduced the budget by 60 million dollars all while increasing test scores. While in Zachary, Drake engaged CSRS to provide program management services for the building program which included 4 new schools and many athletic upgrades. While in Baton Rouge, Drake worked with CSRS on program management services as well as grants management with FEMA, after the great flood of 2016. Warren Drake has received many awards during his tenure including Magnet Schools of America Superintendent of the Year, LSU Centennial Excellence Award and Hall of Distinction, and East Baton Rouge Parish Principal of the Year. Drake currently serves as Senior Business Development Executive with CSRS serving school districts and communities. Born in Homer, Louisiana, Drake is married to Catherine, and they have three children and three grandchildren.

David Alexander, Superintendent, Ascension Parish Schools (APSB)

Todd Mann, Senior Program Manager and Architect, CSRS

Thursday, April 6, 2023 | 8:00 AM

Design with Security in Mind

Promenade A

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Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) is based on the principle that proper design and effective use of buildings and public spaces can lead to a reduction in the fear and incidence of crime while improving the quality of life for citizens. In addition to learning how to implement CPTED in everyday land development designs you will learn how to assess conditions in your neighborhood and apply practical access control (doors, fences), surveillance (lighting, windows, landscaping), territorial reinforcement (signs, sidewalks, ordinances), and maintenance (code enforcement, community clean ups) to improve your community, your neighborhood, and/or your facility. The primary goal this training is to provide individuals involved in the planning and design of educational facilities with introductory information on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) to enhance Safety through Programming & Analysis, Project Planning & Design, and Maintenance or Post-Occupancy of School Facilities. CPTED can be used to enhance community safety and security. Participants will learn to implement CPTED principles, foster relationships with partners, and acquire the skills and abilities required to reduce crime in a variety of settings and situations.

Learning Objectives:

Recognize the types of environments that attract or discourage criminal behavior.
Define CPTED and describe its historical development.
Be familiar with the fundamental principles of CPTED and articulate strategies that support each principle.
Demonstrate successful application of CPTED in a variety of settings.
Clearly define the importance, meaning, and role of maintenance, landscaping, and traffic calming in CPTED.
Recognize CPTED can be used to deny individuals the opportunity to commit acts of criminal behavior and terrorism, while reducing physical injury and property damage if they do occur.
Identify and communicate with key partners in community and who may be able to assist with CPTED strategies.

Jeremiah Kamerer, Senior Project Manager, Venturi Engineers, LLC
Jeremiah, PE is a graduate from The Pennsylvania State University with bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. As a Professional Engineer and Subject Matter Expert (SME) in design documentation, his experience spans land development applications from the zoning process to construction administration. Jeremiah has employed his knowledge as a Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Specialist to enhance the security measures from large commercial projects to local, federal, and institutional (K-Higher Ed) clients.

Right This Way: Harnessing School Spirit and Security

Promenade B

Interior graphics and signage not only boost school pride and assist with communication, but effective, colorful graphics can aid in safety and security. As part of launching the 2020 Dallas ISD Bond program, the district adopted the solution of a district-wide brand identity for all schools. The branding style guide ensures equity for all campuses by defining the official school colors, crest, logos, and messaging for each campus. With the addition of 3 significant buildings on this historically significant Dallas ISD Bryan Adams High School campus, the need to design a safe and secure environment was paramount. Find out how the team was able to harness the cougar spirit in their pursuit of excellence while creating unmistakable and recognizable spaces throughout the buildings and campus. Join us as we discuss the importance of wayfinding systems and how a proper wayfinding strategy is a vital component to the well-being and safety of a campus, combining art and wayfinding to create a sense of pride, security, and ownership staking the campus’ identity in the community.

Learning Objectives:

Learn how wayfinding increases a sense of security.
Engage with the District to learn the importance of defining a district-wide branding guide.
Learn how the team engaged the stakeholders and built consensus among all departments.
Discover how graphic design and wayfinding can reimagine a campus.

Anne Hildenbrand, AIA, ALEP, Associate Principal, BRW Architects
With over 25 years of experience in K12 design, Anne has a broad range of expertise in quality control, programming, sustainable design, product specification, and cost and code analysis. Anne leads project teams fostering client relationships on many of the education studio’s most complex projects. Having recently served as the A4LE North Texas Chapter President and on the TASA Facilities Committee for the TEA Facilities Standards, she frequently speaks at education conferences and industry association engagements.

Katy Lenihan, RA Director of Design, Dallas Independent School District
Katy is a licensed Architect with over twenty years of professional experience designing and managing projects from inception through design and construction. Currently managing over $200 million in projects for Dallas ISD, Katy believes architects and managers should engage all project stakeholders and team members to foster communication. Her strengths include leadership, collaboration, communication, and project execution.

Mentorship and Outreach at the intersection of Education and Design

Promenade C

As members of A4LE we improve education outcomes in our communities by improving the spaces where learning happens. These relationships between schools and design professionals offer unique opportunities for mentorship and outreach from the AEC industry to our education institutions. This presentation will showcase a program for mentorship and outreach that our firm has developed to engage the next generation of diverse students to think like a designer or even pursue a career in the AEC industry. We will share our multi-pronged approach to community outreach and hear directly from participants about how it is improving student awareness and inspiring the next generation of diverse design thinkers.

Learning Objectives:

Learn how mentorship and outreach programs directly benefit the mental health of students, teachers, and school administrators.
Learn how diverse outreach impacts company culture and employee interactions.
Learn how the hands-on collaborative nature of AEC projects provides the perfect forum for building tangible life skills for underserved communities.
Learn some practical ideas and achievable take-aways for starting outreach programs within your community.

Cindy Chanslor, Education Consultant, KKT Architects
Cindy is an education consultant at KKT Architects that oversees the firm's mentorship and outreach programs. She is passionate about education and about developing the next generation of design thinkers. Through after-school programming combined with in-office internships and job shadows, Cindy is working to reach a diverse range of middle and high school students to expose them to the AEC industry. In addition, she coordinates collegiate shadows for students that are considering or have recently entered a program related to architecture and design. Cindy is a graduate of Northeastern State University and holds a BS in Elementary Education.

Closing the Loop: Shouldn't Post-occupancy Professional Learning be the New Normal for Teachers' Adoption of Newly Designed Learning Spaces?

Promenade D

We will hear the success stories of three different school districts with very different challenges in adopting modern learning spaces. Each of these schools implemented post-occupancy training for teachers that focused on how and why to use their new, collaborative spaces. Get a glimpse into teachers' fears, concerns, and reservations as they apply their creativity and generate excitement for the first day of school. In this interactive learning session, participants will work together collaboratively in team-based conversations and hands-on activities.

Learning Objectives:

Learn how the design and furnishings of a learning environment can transform teaching and learning.
Learn how post-occupancy professional learning for teachers can maximize the learning experience for students.
Explore current research and best practices in teaching and how modern learning environments support it.
Explain the need for developing teacher buy-in and training to use new learning spaces.

Patricia Cadigan, ALEP, M.Ed., VP / Learning Environments, Artcobell
Patricia has 28 years of experience in public education including more than 17 years in school administration. She began her career in education as a science teacher and then served as an assistant principal at the middle school level and principal at both the elementary and high school levels. In the last three years, she served as the Executive Director of Bond Projects, allowing her to bring all her experiences in teaching, learning, and leadership to create a vision of transformation. Implementing modern flexible furnishings and 1:1 technology devices, she helped transform learning throughout the district. Now, serving as the Vice President of Learning Environments at Artcobell, her passion is to help design innovative learning environments and provide professional learning for teachers to create change and impact student learning.

Thursday, April 6, 2023 | 9:15 AM

The Learning Tree – The Possibilities of Mass Timber Construction in the Southern Region

Promenade A

MASS TIMBER is considered as one of the most sustainable, resilient and cost effective structural framing and building systems. Quiet construction sites, shorter construction time, lighter foundation loads, and health and wellbeing advantages from Biophilic Design are some of the reasons that Mass Timber is gaining traction in the design and construction market. Schools today, if planned and designed with forethought, can take advantage of the pre-fabricated, modular nature of this construction type to deliver beautiful, expressive, durable and easy to maintain educational facilities. Through the use of mass timber a school building would have half the embodied carbon of a traditional educational building, and with the fact that mass timber elements are 5x lighter than the corresponding concrete and 15x lighter than the corresponding steel the overall system is lighter on the entire construction process. With the development of fabrication facilities in Alabama and Arkansas the feasibility of utilizing mass timber as a construction system has become increasingly viable in the Southeastern United Sates Kirksey is at the forefront of the mass timber construction in the region with the design and construction of several mass timber projects. This presentation will allow you to hear from the owner and the architect how mass timber can be implemented successfully for education focused communities.

Learning Objectives:

Discuss code compliance and design aspects related to the use of mass timber systems in education projects.
Review different applications of exposed mass timber in education projects, highlighting efficiencies that can be gained through grid and programmatic layout.
Explore the design of mass timber for criteria such as fire resistance and life safety, emphasizing the role of construction type selection.
Highlight how mass timber framing can be utilized as structure, finish and learning component in education facilities.

Nicola Springer, AIA, LEED AP, EVP, Director, Kirksey Architecture
Nicola is an Executive Vice President and the Director of pK-12 Projects at Kirksey Architecture. With over 22 years of educational design experience, Nicola believes that architecture and the process of design should inspire creativity, engage all users, and promote a sustainable, healthy and happy existence. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from Princeton University and a Master of Architecture from Rice University. Nicola has spoken professionally on the influences and advances of 21st century education at Regional and National Conferences.

Chuck Smith, Associate Vice Chancellor, Fiscal Initiatives, San Jacinto College
Chuck has held senior facilities positions with San Jacinto College, Houston Community College, Texas Woman’s University, and Texas State Technical College. He has supervised the planning and construction of approximately $1 billion in higher education facilities and been active on advisory panels with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the Texas Regional Collaboratives for Excellence in Science Education, and the Texas College and University Facilities Professionals organization. A former Marine Officer, he holds a Bachelor of Science in Ocean Engineering from Texas A&M, as well as a Master of Business Administration from Syracuse University.

Darrell Whatley, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, Vice President, Kirksey Architecture
Darrell is a Vice President and Senior Project Manager with Kirksey. He has 23 years of experience focusing on education buildings ranging from classroom buildings to workforce training facilities, and from student housing to dining halls. As the project manager for the nation’s largest collegiate instructional building for San Jacinto Community College at 122,000 sqf, and a 5 story, 166 bed, 56,000 sqf dormitory for Rice University, Darrell has developed new detailed design and project delivery approaches in mass timber for these facilities.

Pushing the Boundaries of Traditional Thought with an Innovative Process of Planning and Design

Promenade B

Cypress-Fairbanks ISD and Huckabee established an innovative approach to planning and design that pushed the boundaries of traditional thought for a new elementary school. The district desired a more thought-provoking process that would connect the expertise, perspective and experience of all parties and bring fresh ideas around space, instruction and operations for consideration. Through the process, the team explored new learning methodologies, diversity in space design, and a shift in organizational thought for bringing a new campus online. In this presentation, the team will share unique attributes of their approach and how it connected the ideas of all parties to form a collective voice in the design of their transformational elementary school.

Learning Objectives:

Define what it means to “push boundaries” within the process of planning.
Learn how to create and foster an inclusive process of planning.
Explore methodologies that bring new ideas to the forefront and allow for deeper reflection on their impact.
Identify keys to success related to mindset and practices that support long-term success of your investment.

Roy Sprague, AIA, CSI, ALEP, LE Fellow, Chief Operations Officer / Associate Superintendent, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD
Roy has overseen the design and construction of over $3.6 billion of new construction and renovations of K-12 educational and support facilities for Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, the third largest school district in the state of Texas and the 23rd largest district in the nation. His awards and honors include the 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award in the A4LE Southern Region and a finalist for the A4LE International Lifetime Achievement Award. In October 2019, Roy was selected as a LE Fellow in A4LE.

Dan Grosz, ALEP Director, Design & Facilities Planning, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD
Dan is the Director of Design and Facilities Planning at Cypress-Fairbanks ISD. He earned his ALEP in the summer of 2018.

Brendon Hoffman, AIA, Principal / Director of Houston, Huckabee
Brendon is a Principal and Director of Houston Office at Huckabee. His career has focused on educational architecture, and he is highly engaged in the local chapter of A4LE, currently serving on its Board.

Embracing the “Nature” of Learning

Promenade C

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Challenges with student engagement, mental and emotional health, and classroom behavior yield strained learning environments, limiting the potential for impactful, effective, and meaningful learning experiences. The science of how children learn emphasizes the power of play- visceral, exploratory, cooperative, curiosity-driven experiences that naturally yield the formation of knowledge that connects to and arises from the real world. This playful, or “unstructured”, perspective on learning supports children’s natural pattern of engagement with the world, encourages active, student-led learning, connects learning across content areas, supports a next-generation perspective on education, and yields skills that are valued for success in the 21st century.

Reintegrating opportunities for playful, unstructured learning into the learning environment can come in many forms. One of the most authentic opportunities to activate unstructured learning through connections with outdoor environments, where the restorative and stimulating power of nature has been found to improve learning, behavior, and mood. Guided by research-based insight and presented through the lens of Denton ISD’s Newton Rayzor Elementary and Calhoun Middle School, this session will explore the nature of learning, the benefits of learning in nature, and untapped opportunities to integrate playful, unstructured learning into the design of school facilities, both inside and out.

Learning Objectives:

Explore research from the behavioral and brain sciences and education to understand the science of how children learn: through play.
Recognize the differences between structured and unstructured learning, and the benefits of unstructured learning experiences for learning, behavior, and wellbeing.
Understand the benefits of engaging with and learning in natural environments through the lens of research in environmental psychology.
Apply research-based insights to meaningfully integrate unstructured learning into the design of spaces for learning, including design strategies for both indoor and outdoor learning spaces.

Beverly Fornof, Project Manager, Senior Associate, Corgan
As a Project Manager in Corgan’s education studio, Beverly is committed to seeing her projects through the duration of the design and construction process. After earning her Master of Architecture from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, she has dedicated her 14-year career to the education architecture design profession. Beverly brings her experience and passion for learning environments to all of her clients and is an active leader in the education design community.

Brandon Boyter, Executive Director of Construction, Planning & Growth, Denton ISD
Brandon has over 28 years’ experience in public education with 23 years in the field of school facility construction and management. Brandon is passionate about sustainable practices rooted in the concepts of building science. He brings a vast depth of knowledge from his previous positions at Frisco ISD and Allen ISD. Brandon has just changed districts and now is the Executive Director of Construction, Planning and Growth for Denton ISD. His insights on school buildings are shaped by his knowledge on school facility operations along with his experience as a certified teacher and coach.

A Universal Framework for Design that Connects Brain Research, Emergency Management and Trauma-Informed Care

Promenade D

This session focuses on a universal framework that can be used for the design of learning environments by connecting three drivers: Brain Research, The Five Phases of Emergency Management and Trauma-Informed Care. By understanding these drivers, attendees can incorporate a holistic, human-centric and evidence-based approach that considers the needs of all building occupants and creates a more inclusive environment for learning. Session leaders will provide a high-level overview of the framework while also sharing specific examples for engaging users in these discussions, understanding the research, listening to the community and connecting it all together for the benefit of students and staff.

Learning Objectives:

Discover how Brain Research and design go hand-in-hand to influence how students learn, process and recall information.
Gain a deeper understanding of The Five Phases of Emergency Management—it’s more than just the hardening of schools!
Understand the core principles of Trauma-Informed Care and how to evaluate physical space and make changes that lower the stress level of users.
Learn methodologies for how to connect these three drivers within facility design.

Linda Gail Walker, M.Ed., Executive Director of Innovation and Impact, MeTEOR Education
Linda is an author, speaker and Executive Director of Innovation at MeTEOR Education. She is a leader in the area of trauma-informed care and how to create pro-social learning environments that address safety and security in schools.

Kerri Brady, AIA, REFP, Vice President of Educational Practice, Huckabee
Kerri serves on the board of directors for the Texas School Safety Center as the architect member; helped lead the charge to rewrite the School Facility Standards for the State of Texas—which included a safety and security component; and supported the development of the Trauma-informed Design Evaluation Tool for K-12 Schools. She is an architect at Huckabee and focuses her work on K-12 visioning, planning and design.

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