INTRODUCTION
Schools are often seen as "centers of community," accommodating a variety of activities that support education. Far from the one-room schoolhouse of the distant past, a school is actually a composite of several different building types. All at once, the school is a learning environment, a library, a performance space, a restaurant, a social-services center and a conference center for use by students and community members. As we begin to plan our schools, we must make sure that the educational goals and the community goals lead the building program; this takes teamwork.
Well-developed planning documents and thoughtful team development methods are important preliminary steps to a successful school facility project. Planning documents create shared vision, maximize human and financial resources, and develop standards to instill quality. Teamwork is equally important to a successful school construction project since an unusually large number of people are involved in building a school. Indeed, very few construction processes require the interaction of a more diverse combination of players.
The process of school construction involves a large number of players: educators, parents, community members, architects, engineers, consultants, and state agencies to name a few. Their interaction, roles and responsibilities throughout a school construction project are often confusing and always complex. Team members, in many cases, never having interacted before, must collaborate closely to build a school.
This section presents articles about funding, site selection, demographics, Facility Master Planning, writing Educational Specifications, Team Building, and how to select your Design & Construction Team.
- JoAnn Koplin
Planning & Teamwork Articles
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