Read Transcript:

00:00:06.537 –> 00:00:08.267
Matt Rogers: Welcome back to the Better Learning Podcast.

00:00:08.267 –> 00:00:18.117
My name is Matt Rogers, and in this special episode, we’re taking you on the road with us to hear directly from members of the A4LE Association for Learning Environments community.

00:00:18.667 –> 00:00:31.177
Over the past several months, we had the opportunity to attend several A4LE regional conferences across the country, connecting with
architects, educators, planners, designers, and industry partners who are all passionate about creating better learning environments.

00:00:31.408 –> 00:00:37.278
At each conference, we asked attendees a few questions: What does it mean to be radically student-centered?

00:00:38.118 –> 00:00:43.888
What are the biggest opportunities and challenges facing educational facility planning and design today?

00:00:44.838 –> 00:00:48.108
What conversations should more people in our industry be having?

00:00:48.708 –> 00:00:52.328
And of course, we threw in a few fun local questions along the way.

00:00:53.588 –> 00:01:02.546
This episode features conversations and insights from A4LE Northeast Regional Conference in Rochester, New York Without further ado, let’s dive in

00:01:03.338 –> 00:01:06.308
Jessica Westerduin: What are some indicators that you look for to see a successful building?

00:01:07.042 –> 00:01:07.422
Lemuer Perez: Wow.

00:01:07.482 –> 00:01:13.332
Uh, for me, the first thing I see is, you know, aesthetics, the welcoming of the building.

00:01:13.332 –> 00:01:14.012
What does it feel?

00:01:14.012 –> 00:01:14.872
What does it look like?

00:01:15.422 –> 00:01:18.982
Um, and the very close second is customer service.

00:01:19.232 –> 00:01:20.922
Like, I feel like that’s important.

00:01:20.932 –> 00:01:27.270
Like, whoever is at the forefront from the mo- the first person you come in contact with, To security- Mm-hmm

00:01:27.280 –> 00:01:30.990
to the main office staff, um, and to students and staff.

00:01:31.120 –> 00:01:39.580
So when you’re walking into a building, whether that be to do a tour, to meet with someone, um, how are you, how are you welcomed- Mm-hmm … into the building?

00:01:39.590 –> 00:01:44.270
So people saying good morning to you, people saying, “Hey, how are you?” Or introducing themselves to you.

00:01:44.700 –> 00:01:52.760
It’s really important, so that way people feel like, hey, like, even though you may be new to the building, we may not know who you are, you’re, everyone is welcome.

00:01:52.830 –> 00:01:52.990
Yeah.

00:01:53.090 –> 00:01:54.050
This is who we are.

00:01:55.123 –> 00:02:06.013
Jessica Westerduin: if we walked into a school that, you know, that you’ve been working on in 20 years from now, and it was still thriving and impactful and successful, what would that tell you about the design decisions that you’re kind of making today?

00:02:07.297 –> 00:02:26.807
Matthew Gallerani: So I’d say that, you know, we made some really informed and, um, you know, decisions that in- in- incorporated the input of everybody that was involved,
the, uh, the, the community, the educators, the students- Mm-hmm … you know, first and foremost, the people that actually use the building on a day-to-day basis.

00:02:26.817 –> 00:02:35.797
I mean, we are, are, you know, our, our practice, we focus a lot on responsible design, and I think that is, you know, that would highlight that aspect- Mm-hmm

00:02:35.807 –> 00:02:41.097
that in for over the, you know, the range of 10, 15, 20, and even beyond, right, 50, 50 years.

00:02:41.097 –> 00:02:44.487
If you go in there and it’s still operating as successfully as the day it opens-

00:02:44.557 –> 00:02:45.157
Jessica Westerduin: Mm-hmm

00:02:45.157 –> 00:02:50.477
… Matthew Gallerani: you know, I think that we have, you know, successfully and responsibly designed that facility.

00:02:50.537 –> 00:02:54.017
Um, so, so yeah, I’d say, you know, two thumbs up.

00:02:54.027 –> 00:02:55.697
We did, we did a great job

00:02:57.193 –> 00:03:03.093
Julie Spence: I think that I would hope that it really doesn’t look anything like I designed it, to be honest with you.

00:03:03.113 –> 00:03:14.013
I think that being able to design something that’s intentional to evolve- Mm-hmm … and change is really the biggest, um, driver for me.

00:03:14.083 –> 00:03:18.213
Um, being able to… I am… Like, the program should change.

00:03:18.263 –> 00:03:19.193
It should be different.

00:03:19.193 –> 00:03:23.803
It, there let’s hope none of the equipment that we put in is still there and- That’s

00:03:23.873 –> 00:03:24.183
Jessica Westerduin: very true.

00:03:24.524 –> 00:03:29.474
Julie Spence: I want it to be flexible enough that people can, um, grow with it.

00:03:29.674 –> 00:03:31.084
Um, so that’s what I would hope.

00:03:31.867 –> 00:03:40.227
Elizabeth Geldres: it would tell me that I’ve created a space that has allowed for the space to adapt because really education is changing daily.

00:03:40.237 –> 00:03:40.267
Mm-hmm.

00:03:40.297 –> 00:03:49.178
Like, we, we don’t know what tomorrow is gonna look like, and, um, a school needs to be adaptable in order to, to meet the kids where they’re at, you know?

00:03:49.228 –> 00:03:54.217
Um, and also where, where we are heading with education as a country really.

00:03:54.510 –> 00:04:06.230
so yeah, I, I believe that if I was to walk into a school in 20 years time, it would, it would be successful if they, the teachers were able to manipulate the space to serve the program and curriculum that they’re trying to teach.

00:04:06.241 –> 00:04:06.270
Mm-hmm.

00:04:06.280 –> 00:04:14.810
And, um, and also for the students to be able to, to interact with their environment, right, in a way that they could shape it to do what they need to do.

00:04:16.237 –> 00:04:22.096
Jeremy Dwyer: The best part is getting the interaction and having the different stakeholders at the table from the start.

00:04:22.836 –> 00:04:30.886
From leadership, which is usually 90% of the time, but now we’re trying to break those barriers, and leadership is a 30%, right?

00:04:30.896 –> 00:04:33.746
They’re the mass decision-maker overall.

00:04:33.886 –> 00:04:34.156
Jessica Westerduin: Mm.

00:04:34.446 –> 00:04:36.146
Jeremy Dwyer: But it’s getting in with the teachers.

00:04:36.166 –> 00:04:39.430
It’s getting in with, even the students, right?

00:04:39.670 –> 00:04:42.410
And if they have, like, an ACE program or something in there, right?

00:04:42.410 –> 00:04:47.340
So you’re kind of broadening the horizon of who you’re working with, the teachers that use it every single day.

00:04:47.710 –> 00:04:51.780
You’re looking at a t- a student aspect of just getting their point of view- Mm-hmm

00:04:51.780 –> 00:04:53.750
and trying to figure out what they experience.

00:04:54.170 –> 00:05:06.630
And then you can work with students that are in, say, an architectural or an engineering kind of pathway, like if it’s in a high school
level, and seeing what they’re looking at and getting their decisions and seeing what they’re trending or what they’re looking for- Mm-hmm

00:05:06.630 –> 00:05:06.890
what their thoughts are.

00:05:07.140 –> 00:05:13.300
so getting that whole spectrum and really implementing it into the design and the process.

00:05:13.860 –> 00:05:20.889
Um, one of the schools I just did, we looked back, and our design days were longer than our construction days, which is never really happens.

00:05:20.919 –> 00:05:21.089
Yeah.

00:05:21.089 –> 00:05:23.589
You know, usually design days are a lot smaller than your construction days are.

00:05:23.589 –> 00:05:24.039
Yeah.

00:05:24.209 –> 00:05:31.229
So it’s really getting the input, really getting what matters the most because all these buildings, you know, are 100-year buildings, right?

00:05:31.229 –> 00:05:33.379
So we’re not building that building again in my lifetime.

00:05:33.729 –> 00:05:33.879
Jessica Westerduin: Mm-hmm.

00:05:33.899 –> 00:05:34.149
Jeremy Dwyer: You know?

00:05:34.149 –> 00:05:35.609
So we gotta get it right the first time.

00:05:35.609 –> 00:05:39.369
So it’s just taking the time and not just being reactionary.

00:05:39.539 –> 00:05:48.139
It’s being reactionary but discovering, figuring out what is wrong and how can we fix it, and not just fixing it, but then how can we make it better?

00:05:49.147 –> 00:05:57.967
Jessica Westerduin: talk to me, you know, about a, a, a trend or maybe a big idea in school design right now that is making an impact in the projects that you’re currently working on.

00:05:58.587 –> 00:06:05.787
Emily Czarnecki: I think that we talk a lot about flexibility and adaptability, but what does that really mean, and how, how do you actually do that?

00:06:06.177 –> 00:06:13.547
Um, I think furniture is incredibly impactful, and as an interior designer, it’s a huge focus of what I do.

00:06:13.557 –> 00:06:13.847
Mm-hmm.

00:06:13.857 –> 00:06:16.987
We really think about the building holistically.

00:06:17.261 –> 00:06:19.711
the architects and the interior designers work very closely.

00:06:19.711 –> 00:06:28.751
We, we collaborate together to make sure that it’s not just the exterior looks great, and the entry looks great, and we use dur- durable materials, but how are these spaces being used?

00:06:28.761 –> 00:06:28.791
Mm-hmm.

00:06:29.311 –> 00:06:33.521
And the furniture, if you don’t have furniture, you really don’t have function.

00:06:33.531 –> 00:06:33.561
Mm-hmm.

00:06:33.571 –> 00:06:52.341
So when we think about adaptability, we’ve, you know, we have clients where we say, “Okay, this space, we’re not entirely sure how we want it to be. We
want it to be multipurpose, but what does that mean?” And it’s all about giving, you know, them the ability to rearrange the room very easily, so agility-

00:06:52.471 –> 00:06:52.851
Jessica Westerduin: Mm-hmm

00:06:52.851 –> 00:06:53.381
Emily Czarnecki: easily.

00:06:53.691 –> 00:06:58.061
You can have, you know, something that’s heavy and still move it, but it’s not really that flexible.

00:06:58.396 –> 00:07:07.646
giving them just access to water can transform a room from a standard classroom to become a makeshift science room- Mm-hmm … if you need an extra science room.

00:07:08.196 –> 00:07:12.736
Um, movable storage allows you to really open up the space.

00:07:12.826 –> 00:07:15.416
Move that out, you can trade with other teachers.

00:07:15.696 –> 00:07:26.677
So we’re really looking at the furnishings as a big part of that adaptability, minimizing s- built-in- and just having those connections so that they, the kids can move in and out.

00:07:27.037 –> 00:07:38.887
And I think a lot of the seating options too, we think about differentiated seating, high tables, low tables, but the ability for them to move things around and adapt it as needed.

00:07:39.217 –> 00:07:39.347
Jessica Westerduin: Mm-hmm.

00:07:39.387 –> 00:07:45.557
Emily Czarnecki: Um, I think a really quick example is we did a high school, um, we worked on a high school in New Fairfield, Connecticut.

00:07:45.597 –> 00:07:45.697
Mm-hmm.

00:07:45.697 –> 00:07:50.247
And we had great, um, great working with the principal there, James D’Amico.

00:07:50.677 –> 00:07:52.077
I’ve actually spoken with him a few times.

00:07:52.157 –> 00:07:52.727
Jessica Westerduin: Mm-hmm.

00:07:52.727 –> 00:07:56.027
Emily Czarnecki: And he, he texts me every once in a while- … with pictures.

00:07:56.037 –> 00:08:12.547
He goes, “Check out what I did in the learning commons. I rearranged it to set it up as a cafe for an awards ceremony.” And he took furniture
from the cafeteria, some high top round tables and stools, moved some of the shelving out of the way, and truly created this cafe setting.

00:08:12.587 –> 00:08:12.897
Jessica Westerduin: Yeah.

00:08:13.217 –> 00:08:17.267
Emily Czarnecki: And it wasn’t just your typical rows of chairs, and you’re sitting there for an awards ceremony.

00:08:17.267 –> 00:08:17.347
Mm-hmm.

00:08:17.347 –> 00:08:19.257
He wanted it to have this homey feel.

00:08:19.267 –> 00:08:22.347
Mm. And I felt like that was so impactful.

00:08:22.857 –> 00:08:33.957
Not only that he was just able to do that, but he thought of that and he was sharing that, and showing how other, you know, to other administrators or teachers, what they can do with furniture.

00:08:34.127 –> 00:08:35.687
Doesn’t have to stay in that room.

00:08:35.717 –> 00:08:35.907
Mm-hmm.

00:08:35.907 –> 00:08:36.677
It can move around.

00:08:37.891 –> 00:08:41.901
Dr. Brian McCraw: what are you getting out of this dynamic of collaborating and sharing your different perspectives?

00:08:42.481 –> 00:08:55.131
Jennifer Grafton: Well, I think we grew up together, and so we had more interesting conversations around our professions that we probably never would have had before, which I- I think was really kind of fun.

00:08:55.131 –> 00:09:09.511
I mean- Yeah … you’re going through this design process, its early stages, and so, like, I’ve been lucky that I’ve been working with a lot of good clients lately and doing a lot different, uh, ways of planning schools than I had done in the past.

00:09:09.511 –> 00:09:19.071
So my perspective has also changed in the last couple years, just where I am professionally, and my passion for this has grown and I’ve learned a lot.

00:09:19.081 –> 00:09:32.171
And so, like, just with all the educators that I’ve been working with, like, I feel like I… while I can’t speak your language, I can at least bring my experience working with educators to help you go through the process that you’re about to go through.

00:09:32.171 –> 00:09:34.771
And so this conference for me has been awesome.

00:09:34.831 –> 00:09:41.591
I’ve loved attending it, and I- I’ve gotten so much out of it that I think that you’re only gonna find, like, tremendous benefit from

00:09:42.541 –> 00:09:42.631
Dr. Brian McCraw: what you’re learning.

00:09:42.631 –> 00:09:52.811
It’s really cool to see ideas that, as you said correctly, Melissa, like, you know, maybe that wouldn’t work in your context or maybe it doesn’t necessarily resonate with your educational vision for the district.

00:09:53.401 –> 00:09:56.271
However, it can still kinda sharpen our approach in some ways.

00:09:56.611 –> 00:10:02.851
Have you heard anybody discuss any topics, innovations, design approaches, or processes that have sorta caught your attention?

00:10:02.851 –> 00:10:07.471
Whether or not they resonated with you, but have you heard anything that really just caught your attention at this conference so far?

00:10:07.491 –> 00:10:19.531
Melissa Martin: Well, it’s interesting because today we went to one after- breakfast, and she was talking about how, you know, you’re taking something that you have very little of and making something amazing with it.

00:10:19.531 –> 00:10:24.121
Mm. And I was right away not ac- necessarily thinking of construction or design or anything like that.

00:10:24.131 –> 00:10:27.081
I was thinking of, “Oh my gosh, we could do something like this for clubs.”

00:10:27.461 –> 00:10:29.341
You know, kids can be given a project.

00:10:29.341 –> 00:10:40.481
Like, think she showed a picture of, like, a pot that was broken and said, “Okay, well, we need to have water, so what are we going to do?” And then they came up with a refrigeration system, and it was just something that… amazing that they came up with.

00:10:40.501 –> 00:10:41.861
But kids can do that, too.

00:10:42.161 –> 00:10:50.181
So I was thinking- Yeah … how can we apply that, of saying, “Well, you know, we have to come up with a solution for this. No is not an answer,” which is one of the things that she said.

00:10:50.591 –> 00:10:57.501
“No is not an answer. We have to solve this. How can we use creativity to be able to come up and think of some really amazing ideas?”

00:10:57.841 –> 00:11:07.741
And then I started taking notes about, well, how could we bring a, a chicken coop into our- Because when we went on one of the tours yesterday, they had a chicken coop in their courtyard, and we have a big chicken coop.

00:11:07.761 –> 00:11:11.201
We have a big courtyard, so I’m like, “We can put a chicken coop in there.”

00:11:11.961 –> 00:11:19.341
So then I was like, “How can I get this to work?” So that might be a little off, a little off tangent there.

00:11:19.681 –> 00:11:20.201
Dr. Brian McCraw: But you know what?

00:11:20.201 –> 00:11:22.621
It’s… I like the idea of resourcefulness, right?

00:11:22.621 –> 00:11:34.461
I like the idea of connecting with kids where they are, you know, thinking about ways to get their hands-on with learning, and I think
architects bring a different vantage point to that than school leaders and practitioners, so it’s really fun to see that dynamic emerging.

00:11:35.648 –> 00:11:43.478
Jessica Westerduin: how do you maintain, right, that collaboration with all of those different stakeholders throughout a very long project process?

00:11:44.288 –> 00:11:44.488
Matthew Gallerani: Sure.

00:11:44.488 –> 00:11:48.706
So a lot of it comes down to the community engagement, upfront, right?

00:11:48.736 –> 00:11:50.536
Talking to the, talking to the community.

00:11:50.536 –> 00:11:56.496
I mean, a l- a lot of, a lot of the public school work, right, um, there you need that community buy-in.

00:11:56.566 –> 00:11:56.806
Jessica Westerduin: Mm.

00:11:56.836 –> 00:11:58.796
Matthew Gallerani: Um, and they need to be heard.

00:11:59.496 –> 00:11:59.516
Mm-hmm.

00:11:59.526 –> 00:12:07.566
And by community, you know, I refer to the, the, the people of the town that are gonna be voting on a referendum or something- Mm-hmm … to be able to make the, you know, make the school happen.

00:12:07.946 –> 00:12:20.246
‘Cause sure, we can draw, and we can design- Right … and we can render schools over and over again, but if it doesn’t get built, you know, it’s still great conceptually, but really the, the end goal is to have this facility constructed or re- Mm

00:12:20.246 –> 00:12:21.056
or renovated, right?

00:12:21.266 –> 00:12:33.713
We but yeah, throughout the, you know, throughout that process, um, it’s really maintaining contact with all of those stakeholders and, and the engagement with the stakeholders, the, the boards, the ad hoc, uh, committees that are created, the-

00:12:33.723 –> 00:12:34.163
Jessica Westerduin: Mm

00:12:34.173 –> 00:12:38.013
Matthew Gallerani: the students, constantly talking to them and educating them and showing them the process.

00:12:38.063 –> 00:12:48.263
I think that’s something, um, that we, that we do actually, you know, really well, and it, it’s about that outreach and talking to them, um, showing the renderings, keeping them excited-

00:12:48.286 –> 00:12:49.686
and, and, and entertained.

00:12:50.028 –> 00:13:03.608
I think that’s, you know, a lot of people, um, they struggle to read plans, and they struggle to kind of conceptualize that, so when
you can keep them interested and engaged throughout the entire design process till we go out to bid, and, and even beyond, right?

00:13:03.618 –> 00:13:04.378
Mm-hmm.

00:13:04.378 –> 00:13:08.608
Like, I’m a big believer in, like, go, go and drive past the construction site as this is being built.

00:13:08.618 –> 00:13:09.948
See what you are creating.

00:13:09.978 –> 00:13:10.338
Jessica Westerduin: Yeah.

00:13:10.578 –> 00:13:15.478
Matthew Gallerani: Um, that I think is how you end up with a very successful, um, project in the end.

00:13:16.746 –> 00:13:21.626
Jessica Westerduin: What trends or, you know, innovations in school design excite you the most right now?

00:13:22.686 –> 00:13:36.736
Julie Spence: Well, the reason I focus on career technical education projects is because I really saw how… It just makes sense to me as a, as a pedagogy, as a way of teaching students.

00:13:37.186 –> 00:13:49.796
Um, the way that you’re helping students really see themselves and see themselves in the world and where they might be heading for that I think is really interesting.

00:13:50.296 –> 00:14:01.389
Also, these career tech centers, there’s a huge difference between welding and culinary and cosmetology- Mm-hmm … and, and health science.

00:14:01.719 –> 00:14:07.029
These are separate worlds that you’re introducing the students to.

00:14:07.039 –> 00:14:07.499
Jessica Westerduin: Mm-hmm.

00:14:07.609 –> 00:14:29.619
Julie Spence: And it allows them to say, you know, at the public school for free, “I think I wanna go into this. Let’s see what that world is like,”
and then I can really… If you go on to higher ed or just into the workforce, you’re just, like, a lot more confident that this is where I wanna be.

00:14:29.749 –> 00:14:30.299
Jessica Westerduin: Mm-hmm.

00:14:30.619 –> 00:14:49.911
Julie Spence: And it just, that connection for students between, where they’re learning and what is beyond school, uh, the p- you know, at least high school, for them, um, it just feels like a better connection and a way to, to ease students into adulthood.

00:14:51.511 –> 00:14:54.961
Jessica Westerduin: What, you know, keeps bringing you back to this conference in particular?

00:14:55.321 –> 00:15:05.491
Emily Czarnecki: I love that it’s local, and it brings us to meet other people in our industry that, you know, s- a lot of them are competitors, but also, like, the- we get to exchange ideas.

00:15:05.941 –> 00:15:07.671
In the end, we, we’re all friends.

00:15:07.671 –> 00:15:09.191
We’re all here for the same reason.

00:15:09.571 –> 00:15:20.131
And just hearing what’s new, what are people doing, look, seeing other projects and just connecting with people, um, it’s, it’s been great, and I, I love the, you know, the whole Northeast.

00:15:20.151 –> 00:15:22.411
The, there’s so much diversity in the Northeast- Mm-hmm

00:15:22.421 –> 00:15:25.381
um, between the states and different areas.

00:15:25.391 –> 00:15:30.521
So, um, just being able to travel out and connect has been really what brings me here.

00:15:30.521 –> 00:15:33.131
And I’ve had great opportunity to speak.

00:15:33.391 –> 00:15:38.631
I spoke last year, and I just spoke, uh, a few hours ago at one of the sessions.

00:15:38.641 –> 00:15:44.181
So- Oh, wow … it’s, it’s a great opportunity to share our ideas and projects, but again, just get feedback from others too.

00:15:45.017 –> 00:15:49.437
Jessica Westerduin: How do you keep people involved, and motivated, and, and trust that that process is moving forward?

00:15:50.177 –> 00:15:51.467
Jeremy Dwyer: Well, the children are our future.

00:15:51.617 –> 00:15:52.287
Jessica Westerduin: Yes, they are.

00:15:52.327 –> 00:15:57.145
Jeremy Dwyer: So I, I always laugh when I think of It, it, it’s going through and thinking differently.

00:15:57.325 –> 00:16:03.561
That’s the best thing about, like, a conference like this, So just trying to push to say, like, Okay, we know one plus one is two.

00:16:03.571 –> 00:16:06.431
We have the answer, but is that the right answer?

00:16:06.441 –> 00:16:07.611
How can we improve it?

00:16:07.881 –> 00:16:08.691
What’s the font?

00:16:08.741 –> 00:16:16.487
What’s the, what’s the color?” Yeah. “What’s this piece?” And making sure that it’s just not like, “Okay, yeah, we just solved the problem. Now we can move, move to the next problem,”

00:16:17.591 –> 00:16:21.451
Dr. Brian McCraw: I’m interested in the process from the school leader perspective, right?

00:16:21.451 –> 00:16:26.671
Of leading a group of faculty, department leaders, grade level leaders, sort of into the future, right?

00:16:27.451 –> 00:16:29.061
That’s not always clean, right?

00:16:29.061 –> 00:16:30.701
That can be a complex process.

00:16:30.721 –> 00:16:37.381
Teaching is a deeply ingrained practice and culture, and when people start moving into the future, it can be challenging.

00:16:37.451 –> 00:16:40.601
Tell me, uh, as part of that is just figuring out the vision, right?

00:16:40.811 –> 00:16:49.621
So tell me a little bit about the district’s process, both sort of at the district level, but also for you as a school leader about figuring out where we’re going.

00:16:49.971 –> 00:16:56.961
Even though we’re, as you said, you’re still figuring out things on the construction and architecture side, educationally, where do you think the district is moving?

00:16:57.581 –> 00:17:03.241
Melissa Martin: Well, we’re in a really interesting place right now because we are combining the three.

00:17:03.451 –> 00:17:09.951
We’re also losing our curriculum director and our assistant superintendent, um, ’cause they’re gonna be retiring.

00:17:09.961 –> 00:17:12.961
Mm. So we are in a major transition time.

00:17:13.327 –> 00:17:15.337
it- it- we’re very student-focused.

00:17:15.337 –> 00:17:24.967
We’re very much, we do rotational learning where kids are getting that opportunity to have direct instruction, but also collaborate with each other and have that independent opportunity as well.

00:17:25.207 –> 00:17:31.797
So I don’t see that going anywhere, but I know that we keep talking about how can we get that authentic learning in?

00:17:31.867 –> 00:17:35.757
How can we… You know, we’re in a very, very rural area.

00:17:36.027 –> 00:17:38.077
We have a lot of agriculture around us.

00:17:38.427 –> 00:17:42.297
We’re- we- we have cows that come on our playground all the time, to be honest with you.

00:17:42.297 –> 00:17:44.297
We had two horses going down the road.

00:17:44.377 –> 00:18:03.847
Nobody knew who they belonged to, and they… This is kind of a funny story, but they ended up belonging to an Amish farm, but the Amish don’t have phones, so nobody could
call and say, “Hey, I have your horses.” So then somebody said, “I’ll just take them to my farm and hold onto them until we figure out whose horses, whose farm they belong to.”

00:18:03.847 –> 00:18:04.347
That’s a unique

00:18:04.357 –> 00:18:05.597
Dr. Brian McCraw: problem for a school to have.

00:18:05.597 –> 00:18:06.747
Melissa Martin: It’s a unique problem.

00:18:07.257 –> 00:18:08.257
But it is fun.

00:18:08.287 –> 00:18:14.617
So, like, how can we kind of capture those horses in, in life and be able to do some agricultural type things?

00:18:14.627 –> 00:18:14.647
Mm-hmm.

00:18:14.647 –> 00:18:20.737
So those kind of experiences are things that we wanna be able to, um, have our learners participate in.

00:18:21.117 –> 00:18:27.167
I will say that there’s a lot of uneasiness right now in our district with our teachers because of combining.

00:18:27.407 –> 00:18:37.617
And whenever you combine three buildings, you have three sets of administrators, three PE teachers, three of this, three of that, and we only need two.

00:18:38.127 –> 00:18:39.307
So what’s going to happen?

00:18:39.317 –> 00:18:43.547
So there’s a lot of uneasiness about what it’s going to look like.

00:18:43.867 –> 00:18:47.587
Um, and right now we’re in those stages of just having conversations.

00:18:47.597 –> 00:18:50.497
So we don’t really know what’s going to happen.

00:18:50.497 –> 00:18:53.427
Everybody’s gonna have a job, but what is the job going to be?

00:18:53.747 –> 00:19:02.497
We’re all there for the kids, and everybody is just wants the best for the- our kids, wants the best programming for the kids, wants them to be successful.

00:19:02.887 –> 00:19:13.907
Um, so I, I know that we’re gonna come out on the other end in a really great place I’m just not sure if it’s a, it’s a straight path or if we’re gonna take a lot of back roads.

00:19:15.220 –> 00:19:18.740
Thanks for joining us as we took the Better Learning Podcast on the road.

00:19:18.980 –> 00:19:26.290
We hope these conversations gave you new ideas, fresh perspectives, and a glimpse into the incredible work happening in learning environments across the country.

00:19:26.940 –> 00:19:33.450
If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and leave us a comment sharing your favorite insight or where you’d like to see us record next time.

00:19:33.910 –> 00:19:39.610
You can find more episodes, additional resources, and learn more about the show at betterlearningpodcast.com.

00:19:40.190 –> 00:19:43.250
Thanks for being a part of the Better Learning community, and we’ll see you next time.