committed to making teachers dreams
come true, efforts were also challenged
by space size, wall placement, time-
frame, and other architectural features
already in place.
Facilitating Final Design Choices
After an initial whole-group pro-
gramming session, it was clear that
large group input would not work
given the cacophony voices and a rig-
orous timeline. Ramski and her team
shifted gears and developed rapid
cycles of decision-making. A core
committee for furniture was estab-
lished with representation from each
of the learning communities (K/1, 2/3,
4/5) and two elementary teacher lead-
ers. Givens were established by the
teachers to help refine the focus and
streamline conversations: flexibility,
modes and preferences for teaching
and learning, space, timeframe, and
storage needs, among others. Ramski’s
team developed and administered sur-
veys for the whole faculty from which
designs were developed and shared
with the core furniture committee for
feedback. New designs were devel-
oped based on teacher input, present-
ed to the committee, and the cycle
continued. At certain points, larger
groups were brought together to
finalize input for each specific learning
community’s needs, and forced deci-
sions were made.
Knowing that teachers have high
levels of expertise in “making do,”
Ramski was committed to giving
teachers what they wanted. It became
immediately evident that the capacity
to listen to what was being said ‘be-
hind and underneath’ the teachers’
words was critical, and to know that
silence meant that teachers were not
in agreement, weren’t feeling heard,
and were retreating back to their well-
honed “make do” mode. It was also
critical to find pathways for teachers to
work in true partnership with designers
and for the design team to know their
teachers as clients. Teachers knew what
they wanted to do, and Ramski and her
team knew the market. This partner-
ship meant that choices could be made
with optimal expertise on both sides of
the designer-educator project team.
With expert facilitation, deeply-in-
vested teacher input was solicited
and incorporated into all aspects of
decision-making. Design choices were
made, furniture selected, and amazingly
(kudos to the teams) move-in day took
place as planned.
Post-project Observations
Fast forward six years and a ret-
rospective view tells us the process
has been a success. The school enjoys
interest from around the world in
its architecture, design, and innova-
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