Read Transcript:

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Jessica Westerduin: Welcome to the “Better Learning Podcast.” My name is Jessica Westerduin, and I’m your host today, where we explore what it truly means to lead, design, and serve through a radically student-centered mindset.

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For us, being radically student-centered is about making courageous decisions, listening deeply to student voices, and designing learning environments and systems that help every learner thrive.

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Each episode, we sit down with education leaders who are living this out in real ways through their leadership, their culture, and the ways in which they lead every day.

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Today, we are excited to welcome two new members to our podcast.

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We have Regan Shields Ives, who serves as a principal and studio leader for Finegold Alexander Architects, and Amy Vachon, who serves as the principal at Gladstone at Barrows Elementary School in the Cranston Public School District in Rhode Island.

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In today’s conversation, we’ll discuss how they personally define radically student-centered and how that mindset, mindset is shaping real outcomes for students and communities in the Cranston Public School District.

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I’m going to have both of you introduce yourselves.

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Regan, if we could start with you.

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Please walk us through your journey with education design and

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Regan Shields Ives: Sure.

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So Regan Shields Ives, and I have been working in the K-12 space for about 22 years of my career at this point, and it really allows me to unite my passion for architecture and education.

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I just really love the, the, the process of, you know, taking this educational idea and transforming it into the built form and working with educators like Amy and others along the way, um, and students as well.

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It really is a rewarding process when we get to the final result and, you know, the building is done and it, it’s truly a reflection of the educational goals for, um, for the particular district.

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Jessica Westerduin: Absolutely.

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And 22 years, I’m very excited about to hear from that expertise as well.

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Have you always been in K to 12 design?

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Regan Shields Ives: So our firm has a, a wide range of different sectors, but that is one area that I got started on earlier in my career and just something, you know, really clicked.

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I loved the process of designing schools.

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So I do other, uh, project types as well, but that is one specific area that I really love and, and focus on.

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Jessica Westerduin: Absolutely.

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Thank you for sharing.

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And Amy, if you wouldn’t mind introducing yourself and your education journey.

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Amy Vachon: My name is Amy Vashun.

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I’m the principal at Gladstone Elementary School Jessica, I have two buildings actually.

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We’re in swing spaces while our new school is being built.

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We’re moving in after the end of this year.

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It should be done by May 1st, which is really exciting.

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But yes, I facilitate leading two buildings all week long.

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Um, I’ve been in education for 23 years.

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I’ve been, um, as a principal in Cranston for four years.

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I was assistant principal in Cranston for two years, and then prior to that, I was an instructional coach working both with students and teachers, um, in Connecticut for a couple of years.

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A technology teacher, kindergarten through fifth grade, and I spent 14 years in the classroom as an elementary teacher.

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So a lot of elementary time.

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Jessica Westerduin: much.

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Absolutely.

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Was there a favorite grade to teach, Amy?

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Amy Vachon: all day long.

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The best curriculum, absolutely.

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Yep.

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Jessica Westerduin: Ooh.

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Curriculum-wise, absolutely.

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It was second grade for me, as an elementary, uh, teacher as well.

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So very exciting to learn more about that as we go through our conversation today.

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Um, we are going to start with kind of de- defining what radically student-centered means to you, um, or, you know, an image that comes to mind when you’re thinking of really student– radically student-centers.

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And so when you hear radically student-centered, kind of what does that mean, for you?

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And any, and anyone can start.

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Amy Vachon: So I think for me it, it’s throwing traditional out the window.

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Gladstone, especially for my building, we’ve spent a lot of time kind of growing out of our model that we currently have.

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Traditional is not necessarily the best approach when we’re teaching kids, especially in, in my opinion, elementary students.

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engagement and flexibility kind of go, go in– go hand in hand, in my opinion.

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And having, you know, young children sitting in one space all day long, with the same adult really is just not a great approach.

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Um, and we’ve experienced it firsthand over the course of the last, you know, 20 years with kids disengaging and, you know, our academic skill gaps happening across the nation.

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And I think that the introduction of like project-based learning has really opened doors for, um, a lot of districts and schools to kind of think about being outside the box and not thinking traditionally anymore.

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I know personally we’ve spent a lot of time with like co-teaching and not necessarily teaching all content areas, just to kind of diversify the day for both staff and students movement, um, flexible furniture.

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So there’s a lot of pieces that we’ve tried to start to change, more naturally before we get into our new school, which will kind of aid in that process more, easily for us ’cause we have bigger spaces and these community-style learning opportunities.

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But, it can be done in a traditional setting.

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You can do it.

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And, you know, my staff has worked really hard to, to learn how to do that over the course of the last couple of years with, with me.

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Jessica Westerduin: absolutely.

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And thank you so much for sharing.

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I, I appreciated that, I didn’t hear furniture, right?

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It was more about being radically student-centered is about the learning and the teaching, right?

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We’re, we’re constantly going back to what we’re putting in front of the students too, and, and I love that because it is more about what experiences and how we’re setting the students up for success and less about the design, right?

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Um, and I love that when we get to talk a little bit about Gladstone, you’re actually taking the curriculum and the strategies you guys are already doing in the school, and now you’re building a space that kind of matches that.

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and that is incredibly, um, student-centered when you really think about, uh, wha- what you’re, what experience and what you’re putting in front of those students.

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Absolutely.

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Reagan, what about you?

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What do you, what do you find, or if you wanna build off of Amy or anything else that you wanna tell?

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Regan Shields Ives: I, I would build off of a lot of what Amy said, and it’s, it’s telling because we’re working so closely on the Gladstone Elementary School project.

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But to, go back to the concept of radically student-centered, our approach to design, very similar to what Amy said, you know, sort of throwing the norm out the window, we tried to, you
know, eliminate any preconceived notions of what we thought this building should look like from a design standpoint, and really started at the core of the educational goals of the project.

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So before, you know, we even put our design lens on, we spent a lot of time understanding how they wanted to teach and learn within this building, and
how shaping these spaces really had an impact on the ability to facilitate this, you know, newer, different educational approach to teaching and learning.

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So it was a learning curve for us, too, at the beginning to really understand, just the, arrangement and adjacencies of spaces and how
some things that might be kind of typical in a school just don’t really belong in this particular, you know, design and this approach.

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So it was, it was very fascinating to have the whole process come together.

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But then, you know, as we started putting the design, you know, really starting to, to design the space, there was a lot of, you know, back and forth, probably more so than in other school projects where we’ve, you know,
went back and forth with the educational planner, constantly making sure that every design update, changes that we needed to make, because there is a, a sort of l- logistical, you know, other, constructability side to design.

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So things did need to change at, you know, different phases of the design process.

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But always going back to make sure that this was, you know, still focused on the student need, the educator’s need, um, so that at the end of the day, you
know, when we open the, the doors, when Amy opens the doors next fall, it’s genuinely a reflection of, you know, the, the radically student-centered design.

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Jessica Westerduin: Absolutely.

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And I think it’s so important, I know we’ll get to this in the conversation about how much emphasis was put on making sure everyone was at the table, and that you constantly went back to that vision process and, and collaborating with each other.

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Because so many times we see projects like this that work in silos that aren’t able or aren’t willing to do that extra of like, “Let’s get on a call real quick because so and so is not happening.”

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And we see those missed opportunities come out and play out with the student outcomes when we have those happen as well.

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So I, I very much appreciate you, you sharing.

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And it actually led right into my first question was, because we have this unique opportunity, we have the architect and the design and the visionary and the head of the school together, could you guys talk about,
you know, that, that trust building and that collaboration when you first started together, and how you got to a place where you are and you feel like you know and you’re guiding to each other towards the same thing?

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So how did you really build that collaboration and that trust?

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Amy Vachon: So it’s interesting ’cause, um, Cranston’s been working on designing new schools now for quite some time.

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Um, there were two projects before, Gladstone took off.

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So there have been other architects that have worked with the district.

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and so Gladstone kind of at the beginning was transitioning, and then Reagan got brought in.

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And so it was like, “Oh, no,” you know, “Is this going to be my partnership or is something gonna change again?” And so hesitation at first because I had experienced
change in this project, and worry because I wanna make sure that what the vision is that we see and the needs of Gladstone community are being met with our building design.

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And I think I had such a unique opportunity in this project because, like Ragan said, I don’t think that there would’ve been as much communication between the
building leader and the architects that Cranston gave to me, which I’m so grateful for because my project is absolutely amazing, and I’ll say that a million times.

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but it was tough at first because, you know, we had, we had put some work in already to get prepared.

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We were starting to get ready to transition out of old Gladstone and into swing spaces and, you know, that was a scary thought for my staff.

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And Ragan and team came in and they were like, “Hey, we’re here and we’re working with you, and we wanna hear your voices and what your thoughts are.

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And it can be the biggest wish list, and yeah, we’re not gonna be able to give you all of it, but we’re gonna do our best to meet the
needs of what your staff and students is looking for.” And I think that that was so refreshing for us, to know that we were being heard.

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Um, and not just me, my teachers and my students.

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and I think that was like the start of our, our relationship and, and, and that built from there.

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So it was definitely scary at first, but I think Ragan and team were just so accommodating right from the beginning for us that we felt, you know, open and willing to work with them.

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Regan Shields Ives: And I’ll just build on that.

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We, at the beginning of the design process, you know, we had been given some parameters, but we set up these student engagement, teacher engagement visioning sessions.

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And for us, that was so exciting because it was the first time we really got to interface with the educators, with the students.

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and I think it just brought the whole team together and to that point about, building trust or dispelling any, you know, concerns somebody might have that, we’re coming in and we’re just gonna take over and, you know, turn this in a different direction.

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So it was over the course of, uh, a number of days, a few weeks, and we did follow-ups and, and repeats and so, you know, to the point where we’d come back and engage with the students for other reasons and other aspects of the project.

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And, you know, we started to see familiar faces, and it just really brought the whole community together.

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And, you know, we were happy to share even during the construction phase of the project, updates on the project so that the students could really
see, you know, their, their ideas and some of the, the things that they shared with us early on, you know, really being constructed and, and built.

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Jessica Westerduin: Yeah.

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And that empowerment, right?

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Seeing that their voices really do matter.

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And I’m hearing a lot of you were able to say, or this relationship was able to say, “This is what we’re gonna do, and I’m gonna tell you
why, and these are things we can’t do.” And I think that’s something that we do have to name too, is that, you know, there are limitations.

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We wanna dream absolutely as big as we possibly can, but we also need to be, you know, smart with our budgetary decisions and ensure
again, that we don’t have something that maybe looks nice but isn’t functional, and you made sure to stay with that functionality.

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And thinking about those priorities for the Gladstone, I know that there are, there are two communities combining, correct?

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Into the, the one elementary, um, from what I was able to see.

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Can you talk about, you know, what are, were some of the priorities of this, you know, capital project

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Amy Vachon: So

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Jessica Westerduin: or of the ongoing capital project?

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Amy Vachon: think the, the communication was so very important.

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uh, every step along the way, my students have been given updates.

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they’ve seen the construction happening in real time with drone footage.

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uh, we were able to tour, uh, and go in and kind of give a video of, of what the building would be for them, at the end of last year, which was so exciting.

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They have designed furniture that will be coming to the new school, so they’ve had a voice of what they thought would be a good piece of furniture that would benefit all of our kids, um, and that is being designed for them to come in.

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we did a session with our staff at the beginning, where we kind of like showed them some blueprints, and they kind of like looked at the space and like we were able to have like real conversations about, “Okay, this door is not gonna work because this.

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Like, this is what we experience on a day-to-day basis with this group of students, and it would be smarter if we had a door here.” Or, “We need acoustics in the
music room because our music teacher travels the entire building, and w- all we hear is singing and band instruments all day, and we don’t wanna have that anymore.”

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So it was like real conversations that, you know, Regan and the team were able to take back and put into the design.

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So that communication, that open line where my teachers would have questions for me, and I could email Regan, and somebody would shoot me back an, a response right away.

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And to this day, you know, I’ve, I’ve written Regan recently about some changes, and I’m like: Can you just fill me in?

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And she always comes back to me right away.

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I don’t ever have a concern about the communication.

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And I think the team in Cranston has been great with that too.

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I’ve brought in, I’ve been brought into a lot of the meetings, which has been so super helpful to keep my staff aware of what’s happening.

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as far as the schools coming together, we are acquiring one of the other elementary schools.

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so they were brought in later in the design process, and there’s just some pieces that I don’t have control over whether, of who comes to the new school.

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Whereas my staff all naturally travels, it’s just different for that building.

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So we didn’t wanna provide professional development for teachers that might not be coming to the new school.

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And we also weren’t sure if all of the building was coming, if some of the building was coming.

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So to give all of the information to all of the students wasn’t necessarily appropriate while we were going through the building process.

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However, they have been included now on all of the updates to the construction, as of the last few, um, meetings that we’ve had with, with Gildan.

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So that’s been really exciting.

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And we’re go- We’re actually going over for the last one, um, on April 2nd.

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So our students will see the last construction update, both at Arlington and Gladstone, um, before the building is complete on May 1st.

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Jessica Westerduin: That is very exciting for all of them too, I’m, I’m absolutely sure.

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And y- uh, you had said most of the students are moving, but some of the students or teachers won’t be moving with them too, but still have the option to be included in this process.

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It’s still part of their public school district, which I was curious about, um, there’s high schools, there’s middle schools, there’s elementary schools.

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From a little bit of digging I could do, it’s a very large district, and how can we bring in the other schools that might not be, you know, getting this immediate, budget, new furniture, new building, but are still part, right?

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They’re gonna come into this elementary school or maybe move and go to a middle school and, and that cohesiveness.

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Do you have any, you know, either tips or, or things that you guys are thinking about for the

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Amy Vachon: So Cranston has definitely done small projects, um, within some of the secondary buildings so that there’s some transfer.

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we’ve done project-based learning for kindergarten through 12th grade.

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So all of, um, the trainings that the elementary teachers received for these new spaces was delivered to, um, all of the secondary level.

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So that has been very helpful and something that has been followed through with, because I do think that that provides that radical thinking for students and giving them voice and choice.

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and it’s very appropriate for second- secondary level for sure.

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Um, so that is something that has been in place in Cranston for seven years now and building to building, you see different projects that are happening.

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So that was, i- is definitely important.

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I know that Cranston is probably looking to make adjustments down the line, but these projects, um, Eden Park, Garden City, and Gladstone were part of one specific bond for the city, so now it would be for them to continue the work in a, in a separate entity.

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Jessica Westerduin: Yeah, absolutely.

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That curriculum cohesiveness is absolutely going to benefit all the students who are going through this process too, because, you know, kind of like we talked
about, it’s really about the differences that we’re seeing with the students and how we put materials in front of them or ask them to engage in the materials, right?

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but definitely a huge district that is investing a lot in making sure that these, you know, these students, uh, feel included and feel inclusive, especially with the community too.

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I know that curiosity centers were brought up, and that’s something you guys were doing and you guys are looking into.

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Could anyone talk more about, you know, what the goal for teaching and the learning experience in these curiosity centers, which sparked my interest immediately?

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Amy Vachon: I think one of the hot topics that we had constantly was that we just didn’t have space.

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You know, Gladstone, um, I, I had a very big building before, and 500 plus students, and there was just never any space.

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And so that was always at the forefront of our discussions when it came to this project.

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You know, it’s not just the, the classroom space, but it’s the space around us and how can we utilize it as a team so that it’s fluid, but it’s also versatile for everyone.

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So I have a lot of support teams, reading intervention, math intervention, speech and language, um, pathologists, um, occupational
therap- therapists, physical therapists that work in my building, and they’re constantly, like, finding a corner to do their service time.

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The Curiosity Center provides all of those elements, so anybody could take that space and utilize it.

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There’s also sensory pieces that are built into it.

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So, you know, if we have dysregulated students that are just not transitioning well, we have that ability to use those sensory approaches no matter where you are in the building.

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It doesn’t necessarily have to be in the social worker or the school psychologist office.

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but it’s an opportunity to build independence as well.

00:20:40.999 –> 00:20:48.629
So our students, especially, you know, in second through fifth grade, we want them to learn how to do things independently.

00:20:48.899 –> 00:21:15.367
And so working outside of their learning community and being trusted to be in an independent setting is what we’re requiring them to want to be, to be able to do So it was really just
an opportunity for space to be shared and also for us to, you know, allow our students to have more choice and nec– and be more independent in comparison to being in a regular classroom

00:21:15.732 –> 00:21:22.282
Regan Shields Ives: And how that translates to the architecture, the building is actually very compact and very efficient.

00:21:22.332 –> 00:21:34.831
We have the learning communities, these, you know, different neighborhoods where the different grades, you know, do, a core work, you know, of their learning, teaching and learning in those spaces.

00:21:34.831 –> 00:21:56.691
But when we talked about having these shared spaces that were also flexible but encompassed things, programs like the library, media center, the gym, the cafeteria, we wanted to create a, a space where it just drew everybody together.

00:21:56.691 –> 00:22:09.331
So we have the learning communities kind of anchored on either side, and then the curiosity center is all the space in between that houses those particular shared use programs.

00:22:10.041 –> 00:22:20.901
So the maker space, the art classroom, music, uh, the media center, library, these are all spaces that the h- entire school community will flow into.

00:22:20.901 –> 00:22:23.291
And so they’re really at the center of the building.

00:22:23.291 –> 00:22:37.075
And if you were to see the, you know, the, the building, the design of it, you can almost even tell like where this curiosity center is because, you know, the learning neighborhoods are these, kind of controlled blocks on either side.

00:22:37.075 –> 00:22:46.516
And then we have this, you know, design that kind of cascades down, um, you know, from the top floor down all the way down to the lower level where the gym is located.

00:22:47.026 –> 00:23:04.108
And that is, this program shared use space, not only for the school community, but one of the design challenges for us was to create a design where some of these components could be used by the greater Cranston community after hours, on weekends.

00:23:04.468 –> 00:23:18.668
And so to your earlier question about, you know, how do we draw in the rest of the community that may not be using this building on a daily basis, there’s definitely opportunity for other people to, to, you know, have the opportunity to use the building.

00:23:19.330 –> 00:23:20.350
Jessica Westerduin: Yeah, absolutely.

00:23:20.350 –> 00:23:30.000
And I believe I was reading, you know, this building for adaptability because we don’t know what education is gonna look like in five and 10 and 15 and 20 years.

00:23:30.110 –> 00:23:40.780
And the, the flow of those learning communities going into this, the centers and the classrooms in itself just allow students to feel very engaged and inviting, right?

00:23:40.780 –> 00:23:45.370
It invites them to be in this new space and, and maybe think about learning in, in a different way.

00:23:45.770 –> 00:23:48.770
Um, which I, I mean, the blueprint itself looks incredible.

00:23:53.864 –> 00:23:58.594
You know, when we work with schools at K12, it’s not just about furniture or design, it’s about impact.

00:23:58.874 –> 00:24:02.964
Our radically student-centered approach puts students at the center of every decision.

00:24:03.344 –> 00:24:11.374
From that first conversation to the final walkthrough, we’re focused on creating spaces that actually work for the kids, the teachers, and the community.

00:24:11.694 –> 00:24:15.444
So if you’re looking to do more than just check a box on your next project, let’s talk.

00:24:15.754 –> 00:24:25.544
Visit k12.com, that’s K-A-Y-T-W-E-L-V-E.com, and see how we’re helping schools transform learning one student at a time.

00:24:26.034 –> 00:24:30.074
Because at K12, it’s not just about projects and furniture, it’s about purpose.

00:24:35.811 –> 00:24:42.441
Jessica Westerduin: what are you– If there was one thing that you’re most excited about, doors open, Amy and Regan, both of you should answer it.

00:24:42.441 –> 00:24:43.961
Doors are open day one.

00:24:44.021 –> 00:24:46.691
What are you most excited about?

00:24:46.691 –> 00:24:50.811
Either student, teacher, community, what are you most excited about and proud of?

00:24:50.881 –> 00:24:52.141
Let’s try both of those.

00:24:52.987 –> 00:24:59.207
Amy Vachon: I am so excited to be back together as a, as a whole community per-personally.

00:24:59.707 –> 00:25:05.677
Um, it’s been a very, very cumbersome three years for us to be separated.

00:25:06.102 –> 00:25:11.422
I-if I can give a shout-out to my staff, uh, we are such a team.

00:25:11.565 –> 00:25:14.625
you know, like I said, this– I’m going into seven years in Cranston.

00:25:15.305 –> 00:25:19.705
Gladstone team has been together, for the most part, much longer than that.

00:25:19.735 –> 00:25:26.335
They, these teachers don’t leave Gladstone, and there’s a reason, because they work so well together, and they love our st- our community.

00:25:26.855 –> 00:25:31.195
And so it’s been very hard to be apart, and try to facilitate everything.

00:25:31.225 –> 00:25:38.135
So I think my biggest excitement is to be back together as one, and to just build in our community.

00:25:38.165 –> 00:25:40.125
Like, our community is so excited.

00:25:40.125 –> 00:25:41.455
We’re a neighborhood school.

00:25:41.855 –> 00:25:46.165
There’s been trial and tribulation for transportation ’cause we’re across the city.

00:25:46.475 –> 00:25:52.915
So giving this opportunity back to our community and, and then just our beautiful school.

00:25:52.945 –> 00:25:59.255
This is something that, you know, has not existed in this area for 70 years.

00:25:59.325 –> 00:25:59.705
You know?

00:25:59.705 –> 00:26:02.915
That was when that school had been built and was brand new.

00:26:02.915 –> 00:26:10.205
So there’s so much opportunity with this building for the community, like Reagan just said, and the partnership.

00:26:10.235 –> 00:26:13.395
So I’m really excited for it to be open

00:26:14.132 –> 00:26:14.822
Jessica Westerduin: Absolutely.

00:26:15.512 –> 00:26:15.922
Reagan,

00:26:16.217 –> 00:26:21.937
Regan Shields Ives: I’m excited for the students to walk in and to see themselves reflected in the design.

00:26:22.427 –> 00:26:31.407
One of the things that we worked really closely with, um, Amy and the, the students was creating a mural that uses the students’ artwork.

00:26:31.817 –> 00:26:40.137
It says “welcome” in, um, a number of different languages that are spoken at the school, and it’s the first thing that you see when you walk in.

00:26:40.137 –> 00:26:48.077
So what we really want the students to do is, is feel welcome and to feel that this is, this is their school.

00:26:48.247 –> 00:26:58.067
And so a lot of that work has been done to create the space and to have, you know, things that we heard from them translated into the building design.

00:26:58.067 –> 00:27:07.457
So they’ll see some familiar aspects, um, you know, for, from these conversations and these student engagement workshops that we’ve had with them over the years.

00:27:09.492 –> 00:27:10.972
Jessica Westerduin: Yeah, absolutely.

00:27:11.002 –> 00:27:14.592
And for you, Reagan, what does, um, post-occupancy look like?

00:27:14.642 –> 00:27:23.412
Do you come, you know, to visit to ensure that everything… Um, just curious with you and, and obviously with a project that’s so near and dear to your heart, what does that look like for

00:27:23.646 –> 00:27:25.086
Regan Shields Ives: Yeah, that’s a great question.

00:27:25.086 –> 00:27:29.736
So we, you know, when the doors open, we, we don’t go away.

00:27:30.496 –> 00:27:40.488
Um, we certainly will be there to, you know, help in any way if there are things that come up, you know, once they’re, you know, living in the space, if questions arise.

00:27:40.488 –> 00:27:53.658
But as far as the post-occupancy really sort of understanding is the building meeting the educational visioning and planning goals, we have a series of visits where we do come back.

00:27:53.658 –> 00:27:58.278
We have surveys and questions, so I’ll be following up with Amy on that.

00:27:58.628 –> 00:28:02.938
Um, and we definitely, you know, do not wanna be strangers to the school community.

00:28:02.938 –> 00:28:11.258
There’s a lot of people that have a lot of interest in this project, and I know already I’ve had many requests to come and visit the school.

00:28:11.258 –> 00:28:25.718
So I think this is also an opportunity for other either designers, educators to learn from this project as they have from, you know, some of the other, uh, projects that Amy had mentioned prior to the Gladstone project.

00:28:26.038 –> 00:28:31.418
I know we learned a lot by going and, and touring the other two buildings that had been completed.

00:28:31.798 –> 00:28:42.688
And so we, we hope that this becomes just part of the continuing educational process for, you know, educators and students and, you know, designers alike.

00:28:43.981 –> 00:28:44.351
Jessica Westerduin: Yeah.

00:28:44.481 –> 00:28:50.201
This immersion, you know, and collaboration between all aspects of the project is real.

00:28:50.201 –> 00:28:53.501
I mean, there’s no opportunity that’s gonna be missed here, right?

00:28:53.501 –> 00:28:54.701
The community was involved.

00:28:54.701 –> 00:29:00.847
The teachers were literally building a school so that they can do what they’ve been doing, which is absolutely incredible.

00:29:01.237 –> 00:29:05.487
Um, so I, I very much appreciate you sharing a little bit about, um, Gladstone.

00:29:06.337 –> 00:29:07.957
Reflecting a little bit, right?

00:29:08.067 –> 00:29:18.417
A lot of people, Amy, are going through this too, either their first big project or, you know, that, that, you know, my community is no longer cohesive and we really need to get back to that and we’re pausing.

00:29:18.987 –> 00:29:23.047
What advice would you give to leaders who, who are starting this journey?

00:29:23.537 –> 00:29:27.107
Amy Vachon: The professional learning opportunities are crucial.

00:29:27.536 –> 00:29:48.216
if you wanna have buy-in for a change from traditional to learning community style or any type of project, maybe it’s small scale and it’s
just a part of your building, you have to give your staff the opportunity to understand and be able to internalize what it’s going to be.

00:29:48.746 –> 00:29:53.786
I spent a lot of time, you know, setting up for them to go see the other buildings.

00:29:53.826 –> 00:29:55.846
And again, our projects are all different.

00:29:55.876 –> 00:29:58.716
Eden Park, Garden City, and Gladstone are all different.

00:29:59.106 –> 00:30:07.956
But it was opportunities for them to at least envision, not just looking at a piece of paper of what their space would look like, of how it could work.

00:30:08.326 –> 00:30:10.876
And then just, you know, trials.

00:30:10.876 –> 00:30:23.876
Like we’ve spent the last three years trying things, project-based learning, co-teaching, growing out of the space, flexible furniture, so that it’s not all foreign on day one.

00:30:24.286 –> 00:30:28.796
These things have been happening for us, and it’s okay.

00:30:28.826 –> 00:30:38.336
It’s okay if we make mistakes, and it’s okay if we change things because we know it’s not necessarily going to work on d- uh, for the first model that we put in place.

00:30:38.906 –> 00:30:47.126
But at least we have the understanding of what we need it to be so that we can figure it out together as a team.

00:30:47.466 –> 00:30:50.706
So I think that those opportunities are so important.

00:30:51.066 –> 00:30:56.696
Otherwise, you know, you’re having a staff kind of work in silos and it– nothing changes.

00:30:57.185 –> 00:30:58.155
Jessica Westerduin: Yep, absolutely.

00:30:58.155 –> 00:31:01.805
And I’m gonna reiterate a, a, a quote that you already had said.

00:31:02.135 –> 00:31:08.335
You’re throwing tradition out the window, and in order to really do that, you have to change your m- your– It’s changing your mindset.

00:31:08.535 –> 00:31:16.505
Like, “Nope, we’re gonna try it. We’re gonna try it,” even if it’s hard, even if you’re sprinting in heels from one building to another building, which I’m sure is very apparent.

00:31:16.975 –> 00:31:24.415
Uh, it is throwing the tradition out the window, and I l- I love that you said it, so I’m really glad we got to put that quo-quote back in the, uh, top.

00:31:24.445 –> 00:31:25.365
So thank you, Amy.

00:31:25.365 –> 00:31:26.045
I appreciate it.

00:31:26.235 –> 00:31:27.175
Ragan, what about you?

00:31:27.175 –> 00:31:39.705
What is a piece of advice that you’d either give to, you know, to someone who’s starting out with this, or a piece of advice for, you know, how successful your immersion and collaboration was, and what you would give to other a-architects as well?

00:31:40.025 –> 00:32:02.885
Regan Shields Ives: Yeah, I think just to further emphasize what Amy had said, one of the big differences that I’ve seen so far, and we haven’t even, you know, they haven’t moved into the
building yet, is the amount of time and dedication that Cranston has given to the professional development of understanding how they are going to teach and learn differently in this building.

00:32:03.475 –> 00:32:36.655
And that’s something that unfortunately we’ve been involved with other learning, you know, communities where they have an idea and they want very much to think differently about education, but there’s not that follow through in terms of
how to work with the, the teachers before they even move into the space to understand what it’s going to be like to be in a space that feels different and how to, you know, understand how to, you know, teach in that kind of environment.

00:32:37.055 –> 00:32:54.620
So I’m, I’m really excited that this work, and I know it’s been a lot of work, and I really, you know, admire Amy and all of the, the teachers that have been
involved that have gone through this because I think it’s going to make you know, once they move into the building, it’s, it’s just gonna make it a lot more seamless.

00:32:54.650 –> 00:33:04.230
And I think the teachers and the students, um, will be happier to just, you know, hit the ground running versus trying to figure things out.

00:33:04.230 –> 00:33:06.300
There’s always gonna be a little bit of a learning curve.

00:33:06.760 –> 00:33:14.960
So that, that’s one thing that has been very different and exciting, one of the things that’s been very different and exciting about this project.

00:33:15.510 –> 00:33:35.570
And I’ll just come back to say, you know, the advice that I would give to anybody else, the amount of, um, communication and work that we did together
with our educational planner, who, you know, was also working very closely with Amy, and we had many meetings where we were all, you know, there together.

00:33:35.570 –> 00:33:44.910
So it was– there was so much communication that it made the design better because we were not just working in a vacuum.

00:33:45.350 –> 00:33:49.520
You know, Amy’s ideas, you know, weren’t just kind of put off to one side.

00:33:49.520 –> 00:34:13.209
Like, we really knit everything together, and I think the, the building, completing, you know, in the next couple months will really show the results of all that work together
because there are things that we designed that probably wouldn’t have done it that way if we hadn’t had these multiple conversations and these workshops working together.

00:34:13.279 –> 00:34:23.198
So that, that was a really exciting part of the process, and it takes a lot of work, but I think the end result is just much, more successful.

00:34:24.016 –> 00:34:24.886
Jessica Westerduin: Absolutely.

00:34:24.926 –> 00:34:28.606
I mean, you are– you’re building a, a school, and I just wrote down a few.

00:34:28.606 –> 00:34:41.696
You’re building a school with student input, staff input, resource teacher input, co-teacher input, media center input, community input, student input, leadership input.

00:34:42.326 –> 00:34:47.116
That there is why we do and why we love we– what we do, right?

00:34:47.116 –> 00:34:56.196
I’ve been in education a very long time, and I’m very, very, uh, passionate when it comes to having students having experiences that we didn’t have, right?

00:34:57.286 –> 00:35:01.226
What you’re building is truly phenomenal, and there is no missed opportunity.

00:35:01.226 –> 00:35:14.806
And I’m– As someone who is not part of the project, I am very excited to see the videos of the students walking in for the first time
because it’s incredible experience, and you should be extremely proud for what you guys are creating, and I just appreciate your time.

00:35:15.146 –> 00:35:23.566
I wanted to highlight if there is a website or space where listeners could maybe learn more, see all the pictures of the engagement sessions.

00:35:23.606 –> 00:35:30.296
Is there a, a website or, um, a place that you would refer a listener to so that they can learn more about the project?

00:35:31.331 –> 00:35:35.471
Amy Vachon: Cranston has a, like a construction update, um, that we’ve been doing.

00:35:35.471 –> 00:35:38.711
As far as like the engagement, tho– We do have those.

00:35:38.771 –> 00:35:40.611
Um, I don’t have them posted.

00:35:40.611 –> 00:35:44.421
We’ve put them into like our communication for the community and our families.

00:35:44.861 –> 00:35:48.021
Um, but it’s certainly something that I have no problem putting up.

00:35:48.201 –> 00:35:49.871
We have a website for our school.

00:35:49.871 –> 00:35:52.150
So, that is definitely something that we could share.

00:35:52.220 –> 00:35:52.970
We have many.

00:35:53.830 –> 00:35:54.000
Jessica Westerduin: Yeah.

00:35:54.030 –> 00:36:01.448
They can absolutely, they can absolutely go to, um, the, uh, school website and also Feingold Alexander, Architects.

00:36:01.448 –> 00:36:03.238
I know that you guys have a page too.

00:36:03.568 –> 00:36:10.598
Uh, but if there is any, um, updates or any photos or anything after the opening, I’m sure people would be really excited to see the results of that

00:36:10.603 –> 00:36:13.073
Regan Shields Ives: Yeah, we definitely will be updating.

00:36:13.073 –> 00:36:26.693
Right now we have renderings, we have some diagrams, we have some construction progress photos, but when we get to the, the opening and the students are in the building, we will come back and photograph that, probably even do some videos.

00:36:26.693 –> 00:36:30.373
So all of that will be shared on our website as well.

00:36:31.506 –> 00:36:32.046
Jessica Westerduin: Absolutely.

00:36:32.046 –> 00:36:33.096
Well, thank you both.

00:36:33.196 –> 00:36:39.346
Um, I do appreciate your time, uh, your expertise, learning about this project, um, learning every little detail.

00:36:39.346 –> 00:36:41.776
I really do appreciate you guys sitting down with me.

00:36:42.106 –> 00:36:49.886
Um, if listeners would like to hear more or share their own radically student-centered moments, we invite you to like, comment, and share at betterlearningpodcast.com.

00:36:50.206 –> 00:36:50.266
All

00:36:52.377 –> 00:36:56.797
The Better Learning Podcast is produced by Matt Rogers and edited by Kelly Jones.

00:36:57.507 –> 00:37:06.907
The views and opinions shared on this podcast are those of the individuals speaking and do not necessarily represent the perspectives of their affiliated companies, organizations, or associations