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The day after I toured a school that has won a string of awards for its stunning architecture, I happened to have dinner with a friend who's a principal. "You really should see this school," I told her.

"No, I shouldn't," she said.

"Oh, but it's spectacular," I went on.

"I know. That's exactly why I don't want to see it," she said, "because then I'd have to go back to my building. It would be too depressing."

Her reaction gave me pause. The average school building is now more than 40 years old. Chances are good that it suffers from delayed maintenance, if not major disrepair. And few of the schools housing today's students were built to accommodate contemporary teaching methods, to take advantage of new technologies, or to build connections between school and community. If adults are depressed by the school environments where they spend their days, how must students be feeling?

In this issue, we take a look at some awesome alternatives. The award-winning schools featured on the following pages differ wildly in the details, but they share an architectural approach that promotes learning, sparks curiosity, delights the senses, and fosters pride. At a time when many communities are just starting to think about rebuilding their aging schools, these stories remind us that school buildings don't have to be bland or boring. They can be beautiful. As a principal explains later in this issue, "When school buildings are beautiful, it suggests that those who spend their days in them are valued by the community." And as many school districts are discovering, the most extraordinary schools can be designed on ordinary budgets.

Some of these designs shake up the traditional concept of what "school" should look like. Alpha High in Gresham, Oregon, for instance, features movable walls instead of fixed classroom spaces. Discovery Middle School in Vancouver, Washington, makes state-of-the-art technology as common as a pencil. Other communities choose to stick with tradition, such as the landmark high school building that citizens in Boise, Idaho, saved from the wrecking ball but remodeled to fit the needs of a new generation of learners.

As experts on school design explain in these pages, building or renovating a school offers a community a chance to come together and create something of lasting value. It isn't easy. It takes careful planning, involving diverse audiences. It takes courage, too, to break the mold. And leadership to move a community forward with a shared vision. But when all the pieces come together, you can wind up with a school that engages students, teachers, and community members in an environment that fosters learning. And there's nothing remotely depressing about that.

— Suzie Boss
nwedufeedback@nwrel.org

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