Community Brainstorms Pell Elementary School Concepts

Laura Wernick, the HMFH architect in charge of designing the new Claiborne D. Pell Elementary school, addressed a crowd of almost 50 people in the cafeteria Monday night. Wernick walked the audience through the reasoning behind the elements of the T-shaped school and the questions raised during the last forum. Afterwards the audience broke into a workshop session that, for the first time, allowed parents and community members to collectively offer design input. 

Wernick said the “T” shape is the most efficient design regarding energy, education and budget.

“The state has established a budget, and we're working within that budget,” Wernick said.

The compact “T” shape, instead of a circular or “S” shape building, has the least amount of surface area, which cuts down on construction costs, Wernick explained.

“The 'T' allows for teachers to be close together," she said. "They can easily share classrooms and grade levels can work together."

She also pointed out the difference in walking distance other school designs had versus the HMFH schematic. Wernick's design created a 195-foot path from the furthest classroom to the cafetorium, while the distance in the was more than 300 feet.

“Travel distance is critical with little kids, they become easily distracted. . .Kids don't travel easily,” she said.

Wernick also stressed the importance of needing equal lighting and using natural light with reflecting blinds. Classrooms in her designs would minimize east and west facing classrooms to reduce glare from direct sunlight.

After Wernick's presentation the audience was given a chance to voice their opinions, after several meetings and forums in which residents voiced frustrations that public input was not being considered. 

Moderators taped sheets of paper to the walls of the cafeteria and wrote down suggestions from the audience in the following categories: physical activity, nutrition, library, sustainability, education, routes to school, communication and forums and transition plans. The ideas posed at the forum will be forwarded to the building committee and architects to be considered and integrated into the design process.

Some suggestions from the forum included the following:

Physical Activity

• Ensure gymnasium can handle the number of students in the school
• Encourage movement and physical activity opportunities
• Be able to manage changing physical education requirements to more than twice a week
• Configure playing space so the community can use the fields
• Maximize outside space

Forums and Communication

• Form subgroups in the community to communicate meeting information to others
• Schedule meetings for later in the evening
• Include community members not on the ListServe in e-mail lists
• Create a webpage/Facebook page
• Create a meeting side in the north end of Newport
• Post minutes from all meetings, past and future

Sustainability

• Revisit idea for green roofs
• Consider solar panels
• Goal: Net zero energy consumption
• Minimize use of electric lighting
• Reduce electrical light usage during the day-to-day

Education/Philosophy

• Consider art and music design elements
• Building should be a “living laboratory”
• Integrate special education and occupational therapy into design
• Encourage creativity
• Enhance relationship to the outdoors

Nutrition

• Composting and using food from the school's garden
• Local chefs

Library

• Accessible to public and non-Pell students
• Encourage small group learning

Routes to School

• Time limit for bus routes
• Support bike-ability and walkability

The School Committee will meet Tuesday, Feb. 15, at 5 p.m. in room 924 of the