Guerilla Educators

The Language of School Design; Design Patterns for the 21st Century

We recently received the revised edition of "The Language of School Design; Design Patterns for the 21st Century, by Prakash Nair, Randall Fielding, and Jeffery Lackney.  WOW!  My concern was that you would somehow lose the simplicity of the Design Patterns that I think was one of the hallmarks of the first edition.  This straightforward explication of the Design Patterns is what made the book not only a resource for edfacs but for educators as well.  The 2nd edition maintains that universal relevance and the illustrations enhances the patterns very nicely.  Bravo! ...and thanks, guys.  Here is a short video of Randy explaining the design patterns to a group in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Re:Vision Architecture "Best of Philly" Award

 
Congratulations to friends and colleagues, Scott Kelly, Jenn Rezeli, and the folks at Re:Vision Architecture.  Re:Vision was recently awarded Philadelphia Magazine's 2009 "Best of Philly" award as the city's best Green Architect.  View some of Re:Vision's featured projects here.

Friendship Tech Prep Charter School Professional Development

Day 2 of the Friendship Tech Prep Academy Charter School Project Based Service Learning Workshop, presented by Guerilla Educators consisted in large part, of authentic hands-on demonstrations (thanks to Emily Curley of the Alliance to Save Energy) of what the participants learned in Day 1 about the Project Based methodologies.  Take a look...  Under the leadership of Ms Natalie Gordon, the Principal and co-founder of Friendship Tech, educators there took part in this Professional Development which was designed to give them the tools to conduct hands-on projects with their students.  Special thanks also to Ms Alicia Adams, Director of Professional Development for Friendship Charter Schools.  Good luck in your first year of operation, Tech!

Guerilla Educators Around the World

The Guerilla Educators blog has now been seen in 122 countries and counting!  Welcome, Cambodia!  Hello, Kazakhstan!  Good Morning, VietNam!

Barack Obama Green Charter High School

The Barack Obama Green Charter High School, located in Plainfield, New Jersey and scheduled to open its doors in September, 2010, will be that state's first high school that will be driven by sustainable, "green" real-world concerns.  Using the Project Based Learning methodology as the primary teaching and learning strategy available in the pedagogical toolbox, students will achieve curricular and social proficiencies while addressing the critical issues of sustainability which affect their neighborhood, the nation, and the world.  With world class Community Partners, students will conduct "hands on" projects in areas like sustainable design, green architecture, alternative energy, and water quality.  Students will not only get a first rate education at Barack Obama Green Charter High School, they will also become the leadership cadre at the forefront of sustainability.   

Guerilla Educators is proud to be a part of this unique educational initiative by providing professional consulting services to assist across a wide range of education related issues.

Rocket Park Mini Golf

With the Rocket Park Mini Golf Course, the Lee H Skolnick Architecture +Design Partnership has shown once again why their student centered, education based projects are the coolest, most engaging, and FUN places for children of all ages to be.  Constructed on the site of the 1964 New York World's Fair next to the New York Hall of Science, Rocket Park Mini Golf is replete with real Atlas and Titan rockets fully 10 stories high that help provide authentic intergalactic ambiance. 

As stated on the Hall of Science website, "Players will explore key science concepts such as propulsion, gravity, escape velocity, launch window, gravitational assist, and more as they putt their way the through nine holes:

• Launch Window – In order to reach Saturn, players must pick the right time to launch their “rocket” through turning, intersecting elliptical orbits with planets and other celestial matter that will hinder its trajectory

• Blast Off! – Visitors will be challenged to shoot their ball up an inclined ramp with just the right amount of velocity to "blast off" a model rocket up a gantry
  
• Zero Gravity – Visitors will attempt to putt their golf ball at the correct speed and path to send their ball through a loop-the-loop structure that simulates the effects of “zero” gravity
  
• Earth’s Orbit – Players will attempt to putt their golf ball at the correct speed and angle to send their “rocket” up a ramp and into geosynchronous orbit
  
• Space Docking – Spaceflight sometimes involves complex and exacting maneuvers and at this hole players must putt into one of four space shuttle-shaped targets on a rotating disk in order to reach an International Space Station model
  
• Space Junk – To avoid a collision, players must putt their ball over a rotating disk cluttered with simulated “space junk”
  
• Gravity Whip – Spacecrafts can use the gravitational pull of a planet  to change their course. This hole challenges players to use gravitational assist in the form of a curving path around the Moon to curve the trajectory of their ball in the right direction towards Jupiter
  
• Re-Entry Angle – Players must putt their ball at a proper re-entry angle through the one correct “entry area” so that their “rocket” is slowed down by the simulated atmosphere to safely land on Earth
  
• Splash Down – Visitors will aim to shoot their golf ball across the putting green and into a skee-ball type mechanism with a model of the Earth as its main target"
  

In John Tierney's June 16, 2009 article in The New York Times, "Golfing Through the Statosphere",  renowned astrophysicist Dr. Michael Shara of the American Museum of Natural History, after playing a round with 2 fourth graders concludes, “The golf is fulfilling the museum’s mission.  Kids will learn a little. Adults will learn a little. The golf is good fun. And the rockets are cool”.  We must assume that there will be many life changing "Eureka!" moments on the part many of the youngsters who will experience Rocket Park.  Moments that could open new worlds of possibility for many of them.
Projects such as Rocket Park demonstrate how the Skolnick Partnership infuse their designs with the imponderables of childhood and captures the playfulness and whimsy that makes childhood such a special time.

Cayman Islands Sustainable Resort Institute (a proposal)

 Cayman Islands Sustainable Resort Institute;
A Comprehensive Approach to Addressing the Needs of the Caribbean Tourist Industry in the 21st Century

  

The del Sole Group, with essential support from the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, the Ministry of Education, and the Governor’s Office proposes to establish The Cayman Islands Sustainable Resort Institute (CISRI).  The CISRI campus will be located on the pristine North Coast of Little Cayman and will be a functioning small Resort with a 0 carbon footprint that is designed to be a transparent teaching and learning tool.  The Institute at del Sole will let resort operators learn about and see sustainable design in action that will enable them to implement practical "green", carbon neutral, sustainable practices into their own operations regardless of size.  Via world-class Courses of Study, Sustainable Design Symposiums, and Workshops at del Sole- a showcase working resort that incorporates sustainable design into every aspect of its operation- CISRI will demonstrate in a “hands on” method to any type of resort owner how to profitably tap into the strong marketplace consumer and societal demands for eco-resort destinations.  Additionally, CISRI will give resort owners practical tools and strategies to address this market by incorporating sustainability into their operations and connecting these strategies as a powerful marketing tool.  CISRI therefore, will brand Cayman as a true "green" resort destination leader and tap into the global eco-resort vacation market looking for karma-free Caribbean lifestyle, beauty and comfort.  The Institute will be at the forefront of the Government’s initiatives to grow the resort industry while preserving the pristine environment that makes the Cayman Islands a very special place and a prime worldwide vacation destination.   CISRI will be the land complement to the Caribbean Marine Institute and del Sole will feature state of the art water usage and disposal. A Living Machine will recycle wastewater in a safe and sanitary manner and will be used to irrigate the native flora on the grounds.  Electricity and hot water needs will be completely “off grid” and will be generated via wind and solar power.  Horticultural pathways into the island’s interior at del Sole will be planted with native species that will show the unparalleled, fragile beauty of Little Cayman.  The pathways will also lead to the solar arrays and wind turbine that will provide the energy needs of CISRI.  Just by strolling the grounds on a relaxing self guided walking tour, learners and vacationers at del Sole will become aware of and informed about the incredible flora and fauna of the
Cayman Islands and see sustainability in action.  These pathways will serve as a living, 3 dimensional textbook for the eco-resort industry.  Even the transportation to and from the airfield will be by non-polluting vehicles.
CISRI will be a true teaching and learning institution.  There will be strong connections to the Cayman School Districts and to tertiary institutions.  In this way, CISRI will be in the forefront to create the indigenous Caymanian student leadership cadre to take the Cayman resort industry to the next cutting edge phase, i.e. authentic sustainable design.  Post high school credited courses at CISRI will be used as part of a baccalaureate degree in association with the Temple University and George Washington Universities’ Schools of Tourism and Hospitality Management.

Visit Condo del Sole for more info about oceanfront accommodations on Little Cayman.

Guerilla Educators Consulting Services

Below is a partial list of clients who have employed the expertise of Guerilla Educators Consulting Services to advance their architectural design and/or educational programs:

• American Institute of Architects
• The School District of Philadelphia
• Council of Educational Facilities Planners International
• Delaware Valley Green Building Council
• SchraderGroup Architects
• Fielding Nair International
• Philadelphia University
• District of Columbia Public School System
  
• Milwaukee School District
• Alliance to Save Energy
• York Suburban School District
• University of Wisconsin
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Education Environment Planning Consultants
• Regina Board of Education
• Philadelphia Zoo
• Re:Vision Architecture
• Wallace Roberts & Todd Design
• LOTI (Levels of Technology Integration)
• IQity
• Journal of Teacher Education
• Edutopia
  
• Barack Obama Green Charter High School
• MaST Community (Math, Science, and Technology) Charter School
• Friendship Public Charter Schools
  

Call us today at, 215-510-2059 to see how we can help you!

Saving Energy in DC Schools Projects

...at Horace Mann Elementary School

The Saving Energy in DC Schools (SEDS) project continues.  Fifteen DC schools are participating in this year long project through the Alliance to Save Energy and the District Department of the Environment, with support from Guerilla Educators and other Community Partners.  After taking their Student Energy Audit Trainings (SEAT), the students then devise energy conservation strategies specific to their school.  In this video, students at Horace Mann Elementary School demonstrate project activities and discuss their energy saving strategies.  Powerful!  Take a look...

 

After taking their Student Energy Audit Trainings (SEAT), the students then devise energy conservation strategies specific to their school.  In this video, students at Horace Mann Elementary School demonstrate project activities and discuss their energy saving strategies.  Powerful!  Take a look...

... at Center City Public Charter School

These interviews took place outside of Center City Public Charter School. First, Teacher Vanessa McCrea explains the various aspects of the energy conservation initiatives taking place at Center City Charter, then 2 participating students describe the experience from the student's point of view.  Take a look...

...at Francis Scott Key Elementary School

Students at Francis Scott Key Elementary School in Washington, DC explain their energy conservation strategies as part of the Alliance to Save Energy's, Saving Energy in DC Schools Program. The Key students show how to use energy tools to gather data from which they will recommend an action plan for the school. Great project!

...at Gonzaga College High School

In this video, students from Gonzaga College High School in Washington, DC explain the projects they are conducting at their school as part of their Saving Energy in DC Schools Program.

Click the links to see the SEDS Student Energy Audit Training and the Mid-Year Meeting videos.

Schrader/Sole Presentation at CEFPI Conference

The 2009 CEFPI NorthEast Regional Conference is being held on May 3-5 in New Brunswick, NJ.  This year's conference theme is "Schools on the Edge".  On May 3, John Sole, Founder of Guerilla Educators and David Schrader, CEO, SchraderGroup Architects will present a major breakout session called, Educational Facility Design and Project Based Learning; "The Real Connection".  At the session, we will demonstrate how to use Project Based Service Learning to integrate the design and construction process directly into the classroom to achieve curricular and social outcomes which provides a methodology for ALL students to perform at rigorous academic and civic levels regardless of demographic.  The case will also be made for incorporating students in the conceptual design process, beginning with the charrette.  This student involvement in the design process gives educational facilities planners an essential perspective to design more effective teaching and learning spaces. 

Register online at CEFPI.  Don't miss this important event!