HMFH worked closely with educators to develop the concept for this new grade 3-5 upper elementary school. The educational program for the school is built around a team teaching methodology and inclusionary instruction that makes use of directed learning, small group activities, skill building, individualized instruction, and project-based learning as well as other techniques to assure the needs of each student are addressed. This is reflected in the design that features a series of shared spaces and small learning communities.
Each grade occupies one floor in the academic wing, grouped into three smaller clusters of six classrooms with a learning commons just outside the classrooms. These commons areas encourage a range of flexible teaching approaches, allowing teachers to shift from more traditional, contained environments to large-group events, team projects, and small-group work sessions.
The school’s flexible academic wing was also designed for Woodland’s approach to differentiated instruction and RTI (Response to Intervention), in which students of differing abilities work in smaller groups in shared, small-group spaces adjacent to pairs of classrooms. These small rooms are visible from the adjacent classrooms and allow students to stay near their “home base”.
Bookending the three-story academic wing are two wings housing core and community spaces: a dining/arts wing, which houses a cafeteria/performance space with stage, kitchen, music rooms, art rooms, a STEAM room, a viewing balcony, and administrative offices; and an athletic wing, containing a gym and a multipurpose wellness center.
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