Community Campus: Sharing Resources in Support of Students and their Families

AIA Continuing Education Provider

1 LU

In a novel, yet seemingly intuitive partnership between school and library officials, as well as community leaders in Spokane, WA, a “campus” of shared education and support services for the impoverished Hillyard neighborhood was developed. This model serves as an unprecedented approach to leveraging resources and community dollars to educate students and support their families. This session will explore the partnership between multiple stakeholders and their vision of reimagining what educational support looks like for underserved communities. The new Shaw Middle School, new Hillyard Library, a new alternative high school, an existing alternative high school, and an existing community center were thoughtfully knit together to form a campus of services for the historically disadvantaged community. Extensive community engagement efforts resulted in the design for revitalization of a large section of this neighborhood creating a sense of place and inherent pride. Shaw Middle School and the public library are structurally connected to one another supporting the sharing of amenities. The alternative high schools are located across a shared courtyard with a system of walkways connecting the shared resource access points between the buildings. The existing community center, located across the street from Shaw Middle school and new public library, was underutilized due to the high volume of traffic along the arterial. As part of this project the city awarded a traffic calming grant to enhance safe pedestrian access between the school, library, and community center. The center provides early child learning, after school programs, medical, dental, family counselling, and financial assistance programs to families in need, further enhancing the campus network of support. Through these efforts, the school and library districts, the city and community members were brought together in a revolutionary way to create better education and potentially a better way of life for the students and their families.

Learning Objectives:

  1. How to successfully create and maintain collaborative partnerships between community stakeholders to achieve a common goal intended to elevate a community’s youth.
  2. Community engagement techniques to determine a common vision for area revitalization to benefit students, their families, and their communities.
  3. How to determine which environments and places support personal and collaborative learning while providing whole-child and family support.
  4. How to create a vibrant design that builds school and community pride, belonging, and inclusion to encourage personal and community growth.
Katie Vingelen
Katie Vingelen, IIDA, NCIDQ
Associate Principal | Designer, Integrus Architecture, kvingelen@integrusarch.com

As an Associate Principal, Katie plays a key role in the firms design leadership. She is passionate about elevating the understanding of how the built environment affects human experience and behavior and believes in a ‘people first’ approach to design. Through her years of experience, she has learned the art of connecting with people and asking the right questions to better understand their needs and goals and then translate that vision into design solutions that strike a thoughtful balance between form, function and experience. Katie holds a Bachelor Degree in Interior Design from Washington State University, holds a Washington State NCIDQ® Certificate (National Council for Interior Design) and is a LEED Accredited Professional.

Lisa Mattson
Lisa Mattson  
Principal, On Track Academy

Lisa Mattson-Coleman is the founding and sustaining principal of On Track Academy. A proud Zag, she earned her BA in Psychology and MA in Counseling Psychology, gaining an additional credential in Educational Leadership from Eastern Washington University. A former high-school counselor, Lisa believes that education must focus on the whole child. Lisa is proud to represent On Track Academy as the 2017 Washington Association of Learning Alternatives (WALA) High School Administrator of the Year, 2011 Chase Youth Adult Asset Builder, 2011 YWCA Woman of Achievement for Education, and the 2008 James Chase Champion of Youth award.

Ty Miller
Ty Miller
Project Lead, Integrus Architecture, tmiller@integrusarch.com

Ty has extensive experience in all phases of architectural service. She believes that design professionals have the responsibility to create environments for their clients that reflect the unique culture of the users and satisfy programmatic requirements, while retaining a healthy quality of living. Her knowledge and passion for sustainable design technologies allows her to lead design teams and clients to develop integrated design solutions. Ty holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and a Master of Architecture from Washington State University and is a LEED AP BD+C professional.  

Track: The Experience of Place

The built and natural environments have profound impacts on our behaviors both for better and worse. How do we cultivate a sense of place for better? How might the built and natural environments be made to enhance teaching and learning? How might school buildings and grounds foster a sense of community by reflecting those they serve?

Primary Core Competency
Community Engagement: Leads the internal and external communities through a discovery process that articulates and communicates a community-based foundational vision, forming the basis of a plan for the design of the learning environment. The vision is achieved through a combination of rigorous research, group facilitation, strategic conversations, qualitative and quantitative surveys and workshops. Demonstrates the skill to resolve stakeholder issues while embedding a community's unique vision into the vision for its schools. 

learningSCAPES 2022

October 5-9
Marriott Rivercenter | San Antonio, TX

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