Most educators we talk to, no matter where they come from, are able to articulate a desire for what school can and should be in order to best serve students. You know, learning that is irresistible! The challenge to that vision for schools is all the logistics, mandates, systems, and barriers that exist. We find that while most educators know what the student experience can and should be like, many feel like they don’t have the time, the training, or the systemic support to get there. This challenge becomes especially visible when a school district builds new facilities designed toward this desired vision for school. Innovative spaces are created, but not everyone is able to take full advantage of what the building offers.
To meet this challenge, early in 2022, Partnerships and Fanning Howey formed an exclusive relationship for serving schools across the country. This partnership is designed to ensure the vision outlined in the planning and design process for new facilities is understood and embraced by all stakeholders, and that all teachers and administrators are empowered to use the building in ways that align with innovative instructional approaches.
Partnerships provides value by helping educators who are not directly involved in the planning and design process to maximize their use of new facilities. Every architectural firm that schools work with will design a warm, safe, dry, and probably beautiful facility. But there is only one architectural firm that will not only be a design partner, but also an educational partner. From facilities master planning, through design, construction and long after move-in the Partnership/Fanning Howey relationship allows us to support schools in creating a shared vision for the student experience, outline a road map for building the capacity of adults to reach the vision, continue support through professional development and real-time coaching, and even walk right alongside teachers in the first year of living in the new facility to ensure that teaching and learning are aligned with the vision. Talk about irresistible!
For more information, reach out to Emmy Beeson at Partnerships, or Zac Sprunger at Fanning Howey.
Emmy - emmy@partnershipsforall.org
Zac - zsprunger@fhai.com