Science Leadership Academy CEO and Executive Director of Inquiry Schools Co-Keynote EDspaces 2018

Silver Spring, Md. — Chris Lehmann and Diana Laufenberg have been selected as Plenary Session Keynote Speakers on Thursday, November 8 at EDspaces 2018 in Tampa, FL. They will present “Creating the Schools We Need,” an inquiry-based discussion on how to re-imagine and re-envision the purpose of school.

Lehmann and Laufenberg will share their vision on creating learning institutions where all members of the community — students, teachers, and administrators alike — see themselves as active learners.

EDspaces attendees will learn about principles enabling networked learning, promoting research, creativity, communication, and collaboration to help prepare students to be functional citizens within a modern society. Their model includes discussions of key concepts including treatment and use of technology, learner-centric classrooms, and teachers as mentors who bring real-world experiences to students. EDspaces registration opens mid-May.

 “Chris and Diana are the types of educators we all wish we had as students,” says Karina Ruiz, Principal at BRIC Architecture and member of the 2018 AIA-CAE Leadership Group. “Their absolute devotion to creating enduring relationships with students while focusing on inquiry-driven, project-based learning is a model for all of those looking to make an impact in the lives of students.”

As the founding principal and CEO of the Science Leadership Academy, Chris Lehmann leads the strategic network of three progressive science and technology schools in Philadelphia, PA. A pioneer of the School 2.0 movement internationally, the Academy is an inquiry-driven, project-based, 1:1 laptop school and was recognized by Ladies Home Journal as one of the Ten Most Amazing Schools in the U.S., an Apple Distinguished School from 2009 through 2013, and it is the Dell Computing Center of Excellence for Technology in Education. Chris is co-author of “Building School 2.0: How to Create the Schools We Need”, co-editor of “What School Leaders Need to Know about Digital Technologies and Social Media”, the author of the education blog “Practical Theory”.

For 16 years Diana Laufenberg was a secondary social studies teacher most recently at the Science Leadership Academy. Her practice has deep roots in real-world, experiential education. Prior to her work in Philadelphia, she was an active member of the teaching community in Flagstaff, AZ where she was named Technology Teacher of the Year for Arizona and a member of the Governor's Master Teacher Corps. In 2013, she partnered with Lehmann to start Inquiry Schools as Executive Director of the non-profit, working to create and support student-centered, project-based learning environments.

EDspaces is the conference advancing the conversation about the future of learning environments. It is where innovations are unveiled and collaborations form, bringing together education’s creative change agents who plan, design and manage innovative learning environments. Leaders from school districts and colleges, architects, interior designers, dealers and exhibitors engage and participate in the ongoing transformation of the learning environment. This growing event was honored in Trade Show Executive’s Fastest 50 for three categories in 2017. For more information, and to register, visit www.ed-spaces.com.

Featured

  • Addressing the Housing Affordability Crisis Through Creative Campus Development

    Many Southern California college and university campuses are living amidst surging housing costs, driving the need to house more of their populations on campus. Especially for community colleges, the need to support millions of unhoused and housing insecure students has become a prominent issue that lawmakers and institutions alike are trying to solve.

  • DLR Group Hires Higher Education Business Development Leader

    Integrated design firm DLR Group recently announced that Senior Associate Megan Todd will serve as its new Higher Education Business Development Leader, according to a news release. Her responsibilities will include building the firm’s reach and client relationships in the California higher education sector, based out of San Diego.

  • Aims Community College to Build Workforce Innovation Center

    Aims Community College in Greeley, Colo., recently announced that it has broken ground on its new Aims Workforce Innovation Center (AWIC), according to a news release. The facility for workforce development, entrepreneurship, and education has a scheduled opening date of fall 2026.

  • S4L Launches 2025 Facilities and Construction Brief Survey

    Spaces4Learning recently launched its 2025 Facilities and Construction Brief Survey, which gathers information on K–12 and higher education construction projects nationwide from the previous year. The data we get from you, our readers, forms an industry report offering an overview of current trends in school facilities.

Digital Edition