School Design Studio

Overview

Welcome to the School Design Studio™ – a revolutionary approach to transforming schools and revitalizing educational missions. Our design thinking methodology creates lasting impact by reshaping core principles and establishing future-proof operational protocols, benefiting hundreds of schools.

Benefits of School Design Studio

Forward-Thinking Redefinition

Beyond traditional methods, we delve into core principles, envisioning schools that thrive. Our design thinking crafts robust principles and protocols for lasting success.

Transformational Leadership Development

Our program empowers leaders to deliver impactful professional development, shaping sustainable school culture from curriculum to physical space design.

Positive Changes Reported by School Teams

Clarity and Cohesion: Establishing clear alignment between mission and daily offerings for a more focused team.
Revitalized Team Capacity: Enhancing professional development and reinvigorating team members.
Transformative Outcomes: Improved decision-making aligned with the school model, positively impacting academics and culture.
Addressing Challenges: Tailored support for mission disconnects, enrollment decline, or high staff turnover.
Noteworthy Results: Higher attendance rates, increased engagement, improved academic assessments, better teacher-student interactions, and a positive shift in school culture.

Identifying untapped potential for further excellence.
Fine-tuning strategies for higher academic achievement and innovation.
Fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
Ensuring sustained excellence and a lasting educational legacy.

High-performing schools often find it challenging to articulate their success factors across academics, culture, physical spaces, and operations.

Benefits for High-Performing Schools

Insights from "From Within" Documentary

The film delves into the real challenges faced by two failing schools in Arkansas and how School Design Studio methodologies sparked profound shifts. Testimonials highlight the power of building trust, enhancing communication and fostering a culture of collaboration among educators, students and families.

From Within - Documentary Film About Education Transformation

Watch

The School Design Studio process helps your teams clearly articulate and prioritize design elements, ensuring new school teams understand them easily. This approach fosters sustainable, high-quality implementation.

Process

The School Design Studio process includes five iterative sessions, each 4-6 hours long, held 3-4 weeks apart. These sessions accommodate cross-functional teams of 12-15 people from one or multiple schools.

Throughout these sessions, the School Design Studio offers continuous coaching and feedback to ensure a thorough understanding and application of the school design framework.

Team Outputs

Typical outputs from the School Design Studio process include:

Articulated School Design Elements: Clear, prioritized documentation of essential elements for high-performance schools across academics, culture, physical space, and operations.
Codification Framework: A structured guideline simplifying the understanding and communication of school design elements.
Refined Design Elements: Enhanced design elements based on iterative feedback and discussions.
Coaching and Feedback: Continuous coaching sessions and feedback to support improvement and learning.
Documentation of Learning: Compilation of insights, lessons learned, and best practices to refine the school's design.
Prioritized Design Elements: Identification and prioritization of crucial elements for focused implementation and sustainability.
Actionable Strategies: Strategies and action plans for replication and growth aligned with the school's design.

The School Design Studio's collaborative and inclusive approach drives transformative changes, aligning schools with 21st-century educational needs and positively impacting student outcomes and communities.

Starting Point: Individual team members come together to form a team.
Team Calibration: The team aligns itself with world-class top performers.
Core Elements: The model focuses on three main areas:
- Design Elements
- Evolving Practices/Tools
- Environment, Regulation, and Standards
Overarching Principle: "Healthy Culture & Execution-Based Accountability" governs the entire process.
Action Cycle: These core elements feed into "Action-Based Agreements."
Outcome: The actions lead to specific outcomes.
Ultimate Goal: The process aims to fulfill a "Promise to Society & Impact."
Continuous Improvement: Feedback loops ensure ongoing refinement of each component.
Foundational Aspects:
- Alignment of purpose and intention
- Non-negotiable design elements for long-term success
- Adaptable practices and tools
- Responsiveness to external changes

Your Facilitators

Each School Design Studio Facilitator has guided numerous education team cohorts through the process.

Annually, the School Design Studio protocols are continuously improved and tested. Facilitators also calibrate their methods each year to maintain consistent, high-quality facilitation.

Ted Fujimoto has over three decades of experience as a leading strategy consultant in education reform and the charter school sector. He co-founded Napa New Technology High School and pioneered project-based learning, contributing significantly to the New Tech Network and Big Picture Learning. His expertise includes managing grants for major foundations.

Ted Fujimoto

Facilitator - Corp/EDU

School Design Participant Quotes

Before the School Design Studio Process

After the School Design Studio Process

"We face a lack of improvement and emotional distress among staff."

"Significant challenges and a lack of progress in leadership."

"High turnover, disconnected school culture, and low academic performance."

"Teacher frustration; lack of progress with various educational methods."

"Students struggle with low attendance and lack of motivation."

"Progress seems limited despite numerous initiatives."

"We’ve seen transformative experiences with noticeable positive changes."

"Enhanced clarity, focus, and a cohesive vision among staff and leadership."

"Shifted to a positive, engaging, and connected school culture."

"Notable improvements in teaching methods, engagement, and

student morale."

"Improved student engagement, higher attendance rates, and increased morale."

"Significant positive shifts in school culture and academic performance."

Versatile Solutions for Varied Needs

Perfect for schools addressing 21st-century student needs, overcoming mission misalignment, struggling with outcomes due to turnover, or aiming for sustainable growth.

Proven Track Record

Our proven track record showcases transformative results, with schools improving from 80% to over 96% attendance. We've turned underperforming institutions into award-winning centers for academic growth in less than two years. Our innovative teaching methods enhance student engagement, build authentic connections, and create a vibrant school culture. These successes highlight our commitment to driving meaningful, sustainable change in education.