On Lebo Citizens The Facts, this entry is posted.
On May 6, 2010, Mt. Lebanon School Board Director Elaine Cappucci and high school renovation architect, Thomas Celli, made a joint presentation on “21st Century School Design Promoting Entrepreneurial Education” at the Pennsylvania School Board Association School Design and Construction Conference in Lancaster, PA.Note: “The presentation was not one that was approved or even reviewed by the Board.”-School Board Director James Fraasch, Blog Lebo
Unfortunately, the presentation has been removed from the PSBA website. Mrs. Cappucci has been quoted as saying that she will not revisit Building C. I hope that has changed. Maybe that could be "Plan B" as is written on her campaign website. http://voteccl.com/news If Plan B doesn't work, try Plan C[AC].
Update: A reader shared a copy of the presentation: 21st Century
Update 8:46 am Slide 2 shows the Taj Mahal. How appropriate. Slide 10 shows Blogger. Interesting timing since Blogger went down yesterday and this morning.
3 comments:
From the USC article:
"Even though it‘s happening through attrition, “it’s not easy to let go of any staff,” said Sharon Suritsky, assistant to the superintendent for curriculum and instruction/supervisor of special education."
Wow, "its not easy to let go of any staff." I'm really glad Sharon pointed that out for those of us managers and/or business owners in the private sector. We might never have realized that with our tenure protection and the ability to raise revenues pretty much at will.
Dick Saunders
I remember reviewing that presentation in late May, 2010, revealed some 3 weeks after the Lancaster debut. I was then, and remain, puzzled by slide 34, "What We All Need To Do", item "3. Insist on agile architecture that can respond to change" as the only specific reference to academic buildings (ie.bricks & mortar) in a listing of alleged things necessary to migrate from a 20th. century to an alleged 21st. century education.
What in heavens name does "..agile architecture that can respond to change" really mean in plain-talk, and precisely how does the proposed and over-budget HS design accomplish that ill defined end in contrast to Celli-OWP/P & SB dismissed lesser cost alternatives they ordained could not ? Like Dirk Taylor's for instance ?
Bill Lewis
When members of a school board intend to create a building of "..agile architecture that can respond to change" they have declared their intention to throw a considerable amount of money down the drain. The truth is that a building cannot respond to anything, except what a human being imposes upon it. And that begs the question of how one determines the nature of a future educational delivery system! Remember, the current high school structure was the building of the future - yesterday; metaphorically speaking, of course. One may design a building to contain a certain degree of flexibility, and there are some good physical plant reasons for doing it. But designing a building to be adaptable to “21st century technology” assumes prophet status for mere mortals.
The truth is that brick and mortar buildings are becoming educational dinosaurs. Those of us who taught in the post-secondary arena (I'm a former school teacher with 23 years of experience) saw this coming a long time ago. Today many subjects, including high school subjects, do not require a building at all! - just a computer. We all know people who have taken college degrees from on-line schools, such as the University of Phoenix. Even the Commonwealth adverts its “cyber charter schools.”
The trend in education delivery is clearly moving away from brick and mortar super-structures, commissioned by school boards that purport to deliver “the greatest (educational) good for the greatest number.” But this is a hard fact for most school boards to accept; especially in “progressive” public school districts such as we have in Mt. Lebanon. Here we must make the facts fit the decision instead of the other way around.
Richard Gideon
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