Over the past 18 months, we have been prepping for a renovation of our high school. Beginning with a summit meant to expand our thinking, I have been a member of a focus group which has worked with the design team to provide feedback on both the interior and exterior spaces.

This past weekend, we spent the time removing all of the hardware, printers, switches, and ceiling mounted projectors which were in the current high school. Today, movers are hauling the contents of the classrooms and the administrative offices into modular classrooms which have been added to the campus since Spring Break. Tomorrow, I will be assisting the reconnection of the systems in the administrative offices so that they can begin to move into their new spaces.

One of my summer projects will be to collaborate with our new Assistant Head of School and Dean of Faculty to begin to prepare our teachers so that their curriculum and pedagogy will be ready to take advantage of the new space and configuration. Pictured to the left is an artists rendition of the collaborative workspaces and learning studios which will exist in the new building. I am really excited in that we have included 2-d art room spaces off of this intersection, which will allow for interesting intellectual collisions and the incorporation of creativity into the heart of the learning of the new spaces. We now have 18 months to prepare teachers to teach in a digitally rich space, which can easily be adapted into different configurations to all for different types of learning spaces.

This presents an interesting challenge. However, as the school nears its 100th anniversary in nine years, this also allow us a chance to rethink and retool what school means in this century. It is an exciting opportunity.

I am especially blessed to have the opportunity to meet our lead designer, Trung Le. He is a fascinating thinker. You can learn more about his thoughts on his blog at Fast Company