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Shana Frodyma, Program Director, Omaha Public Schools
Shana currently leads the Omaha Public Schools Transition Program. This unique and innovative program helps high needs learners with extreme physical and mental disabilities transition into successful life beyond formal education. Her program works with several metro area employers to place students into the workforce while teaching needed job skills, as well as families to create support systems and success strategies for each of the 80-100 students in the program.
Matt Wegener, BVH Architecture
Saturday, October 16, 2021 - 11:15 am – 12:15 pm
From Here to There: A Journey Towards Excellence and Equity in Philadelphia
1 LU
The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) leadership believes that education is the key to fostering equity in society, and that education itself must be equitable. Driven by an urgent commitment to shepherd systemic change, SDP and DLR Group
created a framework to guide new construction or renovation of its schools. This framework, encompassing new Educational Specifications and Design Guidelines, represents a groundbreaking shift in how the District and its principals, teachers, staff, administration, and students view their built environments. By way of meaningful collaboration, these new standards reflect
a clear vision for planning, designing, and constructing urban schools of the future - facilities that align with the District’s commitment to educating and graduating generations of thought leaders, entrepreneurs, artists, and change makers. The eighth largest school system in the nation, SDP encompasses more than 203,000 students, 19,000 employees, and 326 schools. Delivered in a panel format, comprising School District representatives as well as members of the DLR Group project team, the discussion will cover how:
• The Design Guidelines and Educational Specifications were developed simultaneously as a “how to” guide, setting the District up for major capital investment.
• The Educational Specifications address the realities of large class sizes, while also aiming for high quality and equity.
• The Educational Specifications support innovative space use and allow for evolution as teaching and learning modalities
change over time.
• The Educational Specifications and Design Guidelines reflect consensus around thoughtful innovation.
• The “Program Generator” is a tool to customize space programs, while also supporting equity across the system.
• The Design Guidelines are a comprehensive and user-friendly manual for designers.
Learning Objectives:
• Examine educational spaces to determine how to best accommodate an evolving educational pedagogy.
• Describe how concern for flexibility is driving the need to redefine and reconfigure educational facilities.
• Apply practical solutions, techniques, and strategies to plan and create dynamic learning environments.
• Define and explain what is required to make new and renovated facilities learning centers while embracing changes to
educational delivery models and taking into consideration quality of space and occupants.
Mary Lee, ALEP, Educational Facilities Planner, School District of Philadelphia
Mary is an Educational Facilities Planner for the School District of Philadelphia, Office of Capital Programs. Over the past 18 years, she has been involved in nearly 100 PK-12 projects, including renovations, modernizations, additions and new construction, from Pre-Design through Construction Close Out. Recently, she was the lead in the development of the