Global Leader Discusses Innovative School Design & Its Positive Impact on 21st Century Learning

Fielding Nair International Guides Mamk Community in Visioning

MAMARONECK, NY, October 12, 2018 -- Representatives from Fielding Nair International (FNI) -- an award-winning global leader in education planning and architectural design -- presented to community members last evening on innovative school design aimed at improving student engagement and performance. The FNI team showed examples of emerging leading school design practices around the globe and guided community members in reimagining our own school spaces to elevate student learning and meet the needs of today's 21st-century students.

"Across the globe, we've been fortunate to be a part of some significant transformations in student performance through innovative school designs," said FNI Partner and Principal Jay Litman, who provided attendees with a glimpse of potential interdisciplinary student-centered spaces and sought real-time feedback from community members via an online polling app. "The most cutting-edge spaces are designed with today's 21st-century learners in mind; typically, they are technology-rich environments, foster collaboration, support complex social interactions, enable multiple learning modalities, and have connections to nature."

Mr. Litman began working with our district last spring when he visited Murray Ave. School (thanks to a grant from the Mamaroneck Schools Foundation) and has returned this fall to tour and conduct visioning sessions at both Hommocks Middle School and Mamaroneck High School. The team will convene again this afternoon at the High School, where they will meet with administrators to present possible opportunities for "Pilot" or "Pathfinder" projects (e.g., Media Lab, Connections Commons, Design Research Center). A small portion (about 4%) of the District's proposed $49+ million bond has been designated for these types of pilot projects, though the exact projects have yet to be determined. Litman describes Pathfinder projects as low-cost space renovation projects that enable teachers and students to experiment with new ways of teaching and learning without reconfiguration of the entire school facility.

"We're excited about the work we've begun with Fielding Nair, looking at how we can combine our innovative programming with innovative spaces and offer learners multiple learning paths to explore," Mamaroneck Schools Superintendent Dr. Robert Shaps said. "Starting slowly with one or two pilot pathfinder projects is a good way to dip our toe in the water."

LMCTV taped last night's community meeting, and it will be available for viewing on LMCTV's website within the next few days.

About Fielding Nair International

Fielding Nair International (FNI) is an award-winning, global leader in education planning and architectural design. FNI builds and renovates school facilities for today and tomorrow with one primary goal in mind — to improve learning. The FNI team has done work in 48 countries on six continents and won numerous major global industry design awards for excellence. FNI partners have written dozens of publications and two highly acclaimed books, The Language of School Design and Blueprint for Tomorrow: Redesigning Schools for Student-Centered Learning published by the Harvard Education Press.

During a recent visioning session (shown above) led by FNI at Mamaroneck High School, administrators, students, teachers and parents worked in teams to brainstorm ideal spaces to support 21st century teaching and learning.