Teachers as Designers
firm, Ramski & Company. Ramski arrived
on the scene with construction nearing
completion and a six-week time frame
in which to facilitate decision-making
for furniture solutions with 21 teachers
for a 35,000-square-foot building. The
pressure was on and school leaders
were determined to have teachers drive
the design of the learning spaces.
Challenges were numerous, all in
the name of designing a school and
model of education that was innovative
and truly focused on meeting the needs
of today’s and tomorrow’s learners.
A two-pronged initiative innovating
around architecture and interior design,
and driving major shifts in teaching
and learning meant that even in their
area of expertise teachers didn’t know
26 essentials | winter 2019
what they didn’t know. They were in the
process of designing new ways of work,
new ways of being in their workspac-
es, and new ways of scheduling and
organizing students. So many deci-
sions had to be based on hypotheticals
and processes not yet fully tested. In
addition, most K-12 educators could not
even begin to dream that they would be
able to choose new furniture for their
existing classrooms, much less design a
completely new building and furnish it.
This new facility presented elemen-
tary teachers at P.K. Yonge with a huge
new space, and then asked them to
choose what should be inside it. For a
single teacher in a single classroom, this
would be challenging enough. Now add
seven teachers who have to agree on all
the furnishings for the whole learning
community. A challenge to say the least,
not to mention the added responsibility
of making decisions that would impact
teachers and students for generations to
come.
The decision-making process was
further complicated by the added
layer of an evolving educational pro-
gram. Making choices for design and
furniture brought to light unclarified
details regarding curriculum, teaching
and learning, scheduling, and man-
aging student movement in the space
needing resolution before final choices
could be made. Meetings and con-
versations about design and furniture
were lengthy, detailed, and absolutely
necessary. While Ramski & Co. were