Building our Future

How Spaces Impact Learning

 

Click here to learn more about the Strategic Plan

  • Provide high quality education.
  • Create an engaging and inspiring approach to learning.
  • Encourage interactive, multi-disciplinary, project-based learning modes; foster curiosity.
  • Value diversity; display creativity.
  • Provide a variety of learning spaces.
  • Value reflection.
  • Optimize connection to the natural environment. 
  • Host community events and promote partnerships with the community.

These are some of the priorities articulated by our educators during a day-long session facilitated by our design team from SMMA and EwingCole. The Lincoln Schools have clearly defined priorities, our faculty and administrators are engaged in dynamic conversations about education, and the question the School Building Committee is trying to answer is:  How will the building support our vision of education?

Here’s what’s happening to move the process forward this week:

  • Tuesday, October 17th: Please join us for one (or both!) of the Community Workshops focused on how physical space impacts teachers and students.
    • What:  How does our current building impede our educators? If a new building is built, or significant renovations made, how will it affect what is taught and how it is taught? How do we know our new/renovated building will meet the needs of the next generations of Lincoln students?
    • When:  8:00 – 10:00am AND/OR 7:00pm – 9:00pm
    • Where:  Brooks Gym
  • Student Input Sessions: Also on Tuesday, members of the design team will meet with groups from the 3rd, 5th, and 8th grades to talk about what they like about the Lincoln School building, see examples of other schools, and discuss what they’d like to see in a new/renovated school.

Setting the Context: Phrases such as “21st century learning,” “project-based learning,” and “maker spaces” are used a lot. What do they mean? Here are a series of short videos and links that make them real. Enjoy — and please bring your questions and ideas to one of the workshops on the 17th!

We Want to Hear from YOU! We invite you to give us feedback about our blog posts, or ask us questions about the process. You can make a public comment by clicking on the “comment” button at the bottom of the post, or you can send a message directly to the SBC by clicking on “Contact the SBC” on the home page menu. Thank you!

Video: Changing the Subject
Video: “Student Engagement: How the Maker Movement Connects Students to Engineering and Tech”
Blog: “Designing a School Makerspace”
Video: “Engaging Students in Work that Matters”
Video: “An Unfamiliar Revolution in Learning/Mission Hill K-8”
Video: “The 4 C’s: Making 21st Century Education Happen”
October 15, 2017 in Building our Future Comments (0)

Breaking News! Homeowner Hires Designer, Asks Neighbor to Oversee Project

Image & labels from Google Earth

What if you decided to redo your kitchen, hired a respected designer, and then asked a trusted neighbor to oversee the design and construction process? With a good professional and a tasteful neighbor, it might be fine, but would it really turn out the way you wanted?

We have a great design team, and we hope you consider the members of the School Building Committee to be “trusted neighbors.” At the same time, you are the “homeowners,” and we need your input and guidance in order to get this right.

So, PLEASE join us on October 3rd for one of the Community Workshop sessions. These workshops will focus on the layout of the Ballfield campus, and will generate critical information for both the school and community center study committees.

You might be thinking, “What do I know about campus layout?” We are all users of the campus, and we all have ideas and opinions about where the metaphorical appliances should go!

Here’s how to get ready for the workshop:

  • If you’re a parent: What do you think works/doesn’t work in the school building and on the campus? What do you think about the layout of the school? Is the parking in the right places? How well do pick-up and drop-off patterns work? What is it like to walk/bike/drive around campus? Are there enough playing fields? Where should the after school program and community facilities be?
  • If you’re a community member: What works/doesn’t work when you come to vote? Or for Town Meeting? Is there enough parking? Is it easy to access the roads and pathways? Which parts of the school, fields, recreation spaces do you use?
  • New to Town? Think you don’t know enough to contribute? Bring your experiences from other towns and schools, and help us consider different solutions!
  • For ALL: Get ready to ponder provocative questions: What is the best location for the building(s)? How many stories should the buildings be? What happens to the big trees? How do those decisions impact design, energy efficiency, and recreational options?
  • Bring an open mind and your questions!
Campus Visioning Sessions, Tuesday, October 3rd!
Times:  8:00 – 10:00am and 7:00 – 9:00pm (same content, two sessions)
Location:  Brooks/Reed Gym
October 1, 2017 in Building our Future Comments (0)

Where We’ve Been, What Comes Next

Our “In it to Win” contest ends Friday at noon.  Please forward this to a friend, and ask them to visit  www.lincolnsbc.org to subscribe!

Tour Hanscom Middle School:  October 13th – Open to all residents! Email Janice at jgross@lincnet.org by noon on October 6th if interested.

Where We’ve Been:  SBC Field Trips

  • August – SBC members visited the Field

    Bancroft School Library, Andover

    School in Weston.

  • September 13th – Project architects and the SBC took a tour of the Lincoln School and the new Hanscom Middle School.
  • September 22nd – members of the Lincoln School faculty, administration and the SBC toured Bancroft Elementary School in Andover and the Gates Middle School in Scituate.

What Comes Next

  • September 28th – Campus Coordinating Group (CCG), 7:30am, Office of the Superintendent. The members of the CCG are Tim Higgins, Ellen Shorb, Owen Beenhouwer, Becky McFall, Chris Fasciano and Craig Nicholson.  All meetings are open to the public.
  • September 28th – Full day of educational visioning for faculty & administrators.
  • October 3rd – SBC tour of Cambridge’s MLK School, which was built with the goal of being a net zero building and achieving LEED platinum certification.
  • October 4th – next School Building Committee meeting.  7:00pm, Hartwell multipurpose room. All meetings are open to the public.

Save the Date

  • October 3rd – Community Workshop: Campus Vision
    • Morning Session:  8 – 10 am, Brooks Gym
    • Evening Session 7-9 pm, Brooks Gym
  • October 17th – Community Workshop:  Educational Vision
    • Morning Session:  8 – 10 am, Brooks Gym
    • Evening Session 7-9 pm, Brooks Gym
  • November 4th – State of the Town, 9 am, Brooks Auditorium
September 25, 2017 in Building our Future Comments (0)

Campus Visioning Workshop #1

 

Campus Visioning Workshop #1:  October 3rd!

Morning Session: 8:00am – 10:00am

Evening Session: 7:00pm – 9:00pm

Both sessions in the Brooks/Reed Gym!

WHO? EVERYONE! – parents and community members of all ages – Please join the School Building Committee, SMMA Architects, and the Community Center Planning & Preliminary Design Committee for one (or both!) of the Campus Visioning Workshop sessions.

WHAT? Developing a Shared Campus Vision

  • The workshops will build on prior studies of the Ballfield campus by the Campus Master Planning Committee (CMPC), the School Building Advisory Committee (SBAC), and the Community Center Study Committee (CCSC).
  • Using what we know about the possible building zones on campus, develop different options for campus layout.
  • The workshops will:
    • Give a summary of prior work and of the site’s constraints.
    • Provide a chance to take “virtual tours” of other schools.
    • Be a hands-on opportunity to experiment with different ways the campus can support the K-8 school, pre-K programs, community use spaces, outdoor recreational spaces, after school programs, school support facilities and storage, the Parks & Recreation Department, and the Council on Aging.
    • Lead to multiple campus plans.

WHY? Your participation will directly influence SMMA’s designs!

  • A later workshop will ask the community to rank the different plans.
  • Determining the campus layout is essential for planning the Lincoln School project AND the possible Community Center project.
  • This is our opportunity for creative thinking about provocative questions:
    • Could the school be more than one story?
    • Where can we build on the site? Where do we want to build?
    • How does the school design impact possible community center designs?
    • Can we fit another playing field or other recreational facilities on campus?

We hope to see you!

September 20, 2017 in Building our Future Comments (0)

Community Survey Results

This summer, the School Building Committee (SBC) asked residents to complete a survey entitled “Shaping our Town’s Evaluation Criteria.”  Below are the questions, and a summary of the 364 responses we received:

  • We should maintain the current L shaped footprint of school.
    • 21% strongly agree/agree; 64% neutral; 15% disagree/strongly disagree
  • We should take a “blank slate” approach to the design.
    • 65% strongly agree/agree; 20% neutral; 15% disagree/strongly disagree
  • We should consider all new construction.
    • 59% strongly agree/agree; 21% neutral, 20% disagree/strongly disagree
  • Primary focus of the project is a design that focuses on our educational vision.
    • 83% strongly agree/agree; 12% neutral, 5% disagree/strongly disagree
  • Primary focus of the project is to make repairs and meet code.
    • 34% strongly agree/agree; 16% neutral; 50% disagree/strongly disagree
  • The project should reach high energy efficiency standards.
    • 81% strongly agree/agree; 13% neutral, 6% disagree/strongly disagree
  • Adding additional recreation fields is important.
    • 48% strongly agree/agree; 38% neutral, 14% disagree/strongly disagree
  • Building safety and security are a primary consideration.
    • 66% strongly agree/agree; 26% neutral; 8% disagree/strongly disagree
  • We need to minimize construction time.
    • 39% strongly agree/agree; 42% neutral, 19% disagree/strongly disagree
  • When people were asked to rank the above criteria in order of importance, the most important criteria were: 1) a building that supports the educational vision; 2) energy efficiency; and 3) building safety and security.

Thank you again to everyone who completed the survey!  We’ve heard your feedback.

August 28, 2017 in Building our Future Comments (0)