“The best school environments don’t just support learning—they ignite imagination, nurture belonging, and empower every student to thrive.”
Schmidt Associates
Washington Township Early Learning Center
Indianapolis, IN
Client: MSD of Washington Township
Size: 37,000 SF
Completion: 2024
Architect: Schmidt Associates
General Contractor: Smoot Construction
Following a full assessment and campus master plan, MSD of Washington Township decided to add a one-story building to the existing Community and Education Center (CEC) to make room for a new Early Learning Center for the district's youngest learners. This location would also benefit from shared infrastructure support.
The facility now serves as the new home for both a developmental preschool and a daycare for employees’ children, ages 2-5. The preschool addition includes administrative areas, a multi-purpose room, an activity zone, and classrooms arranged in “pods” with all associated support spaces.
JCJ Architecture
Casa Blanca Community School
Bapchule, AZ
Client: Gila River Indian Community
Size: 102,400 sf
Completion: 2022
Architect: JCJ Architecture
General Contractor: Core Construction
This Pre K-6 school serves children and families from Districts 3, 4 and 5 of the Gila River Indian Community. Located in District 5, the school is surrounded by cultivated farmland and in a region which has historically been the agricultural hub for the Akimel O'otham (Pima) and Pee Posh (Maricopa) peoples. The school focuses on student's global readiness while maintaining the Akimel O'otham Ñeo'ok and Himdag. The campus provides an immersive cultural experience, helping to preserve the languages, stories, and traditions of the tribes. The layout of the campus takes inspiration from the agricultural fields that sustained the Akimel O'otham and Pee Posh and the canals they were so skilled in devising and constructing. Classroom clusters and core/community buildings are organized around a central ribbon of green space. The campus includes indoor and outdoor commons areas that provide each grade level cluster space for flexible instruction.
DLR Group
Early Excellence Academy
Tomball, Texas
Client: Tomball Independent School District
Size: 57,000
Completion: 2023
Architect: DLR Group
General Contractor: Division One Construction
The feelings of a child experiencing each moment of life are robust and alive. It is this essence of whimsy and the joy of learning that is captured in the design of the new Early Excellence Academy, a learning environment to serve the earliest learners of Tomball ISD. DLR Group’s design is rooted in biophilic elements that evoke curiosity and connection to the natural world. With a design concept centered on scale and growth, an immersive experience takes the learner through the space. Careful consideration to create a physical environment that engages the user in their surroundings affords the learner and educator the opportunity to use the school as a tool for learning. This innovative environment inspires wonder and discovery through an educational journey that is founded in creative imagining. Research-based design strategies incorporated into each learning pod support the specific needs of early childhood learners.
JCJ Architecture
Barack H. Obama Magnet University School
New Haven, CT
Client: New Haven Public Schools
Size: 63,000 sf
Completion: 2022
Architect: JCJ Architecture / Pickard Chilton
General Contractor: Giordano Construction Co
Originally located on Orchard Street in New Haven, the Strong School was opened in 1808 and has been relocated multiple times within in the City of New Haven. With a vision “to empower 21st Century learners by giving them the communication, academic, and social skills necessary to succeed in a technologically advancing world,” this PreK-4 lab school was relocated in 2019 to a new site on the campus of Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU). From this location, the School and the University have been able to deepen their collaboration and provide a dynamic project-based educational experience for students and valuable opportunities for students and faculty of SCSU’s School of Education.
Patent # 29/706534 (Roc)
NorvaNivel
RockerOtt.10™
5 Shifts Transforming School Design
School design is evolving quickly, driven by a convergence of technology, flexibility, and human-centered priorities. From AI-powered learning tools and multi-use classrooms to smarter infrastructure, wellness-focused environments, and visible sustainability strategies, today’s schools are being rethought from the ground up. These five innovations highlight how districts, designers, and manufacturers are working together to create spaces that are more adaptable, connected, and responsive to how students and educators actually learn and teach.
