PreK-12 leaders to share research findings and work with school districts to create safer learning environments in a COVID-19 environment
HMC Architects’ PreK-12 team is participating in the Coalition for Adequate School Housing’s (CASH) Web-Shop this Thursday, December 10 as part of a series of web-shops to discuss school facilities in the COVID-19 era and beyond.
In this virtual workshop, HMC will discuss how the firm’s PreK-12 practice is working with its school district clients to plan, build, and operate an outdoor learning environment with the intent to offer students and teachers an opportunity to be together on a school campus in a safe and healthy open-air setting.
Attendees will hear from HMC PreK-12 Practice Leader Brian Meyers, LEED AP BD+C, HMC Principal-in-Charge Sylvia Wallis, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, CPHC, as well as Jema Estrella and Shaun Hawke from the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE), and Margaret Mayfield from Inglewood Unified School District.
The web-shop also includes a presentation on planning, organizing and maintaining a virus-free indoor learning environment, and will offer a special focus on space planning for the twenty-first century at the secondary level. The web-shop will conclude with a discussion of the fundamental elements within schools that the presenters believe optimize student engagement and learning.
CASH December Web-Shop
New Structured Learning Environments (with HMC Architects)
Thursday, December 10, 2020
10 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
To attend, you must register at the CASH website: http://www.cashnet.org/workshops-december/
*Registration closes at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, December 9, 2020
CASH provides advocacy, leadership development, educational opportunities, and resources for those working in the school facilities industry. For more information, or to register for the workshops, visit CASH’s website.
In addition to working directly with school districts to help them navigate the current pandemic, HMC is also offering this Campus Reboot Guide to support flexible planning for re-opening, with easy-to-use tools that can be customized for schools and districts.
As part of HMC’s ongoing research effort to better understand the long-term effects of COVID-19 and develop solutions for a safe return to PreK-12 schools, the firm consulted with clients from various school districts and county offices of education, conducted surveys with parents, and did a deep dive literature review on building design and infectious disease transmission/prevention. The aim is not just to facilitate short-term solutions but to reinforce our momentum towards learning environments that enhance student success, wellness, and community. Given the constantly changing conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, evolving knowledge about the disease, and shifting directives from governmental agencies, it’s HMC’s hope that this guide offers its clients some clarity.
In addition to the Campus Reboot Guide, HMC is committed to sharing all of its research findings with the industry in a series of white papers that focus on five main areas of Technology, Adaptability and Flexibility, Regulatory/Budgetary/Institutional Impacts, Space Needs/Reduction and Restructuring, and Impact to Wellness/Mental Health as they relate to both the PreK-12 and Higher Education sectors.
Download HMC’s Campus Reboot Guide HERE.
Download HMC’s COVID-19 white papers HERE.
