Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Seeing the Forest for the Trees

  • By Matt Jones
  • 08/01/22

It’s the dog days of summer, and there’s not a lot going on in the world of education—on the surface. Students, teachers and staff are enjoying a well-deserved summer break. Inflation costs and work shortages are putting a damper on the usual bustle of summer construction and renovation projects. The shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, in late May—just two days before the last day of school—closed the 2021–22 academic year on a somber note nationwide.

I’m well over a decade removed from my last summer vacation. I’m at the age where I’m not even sure what I’d do with three full months off. I remember May as the last push through finals into the gleeful indulgence of sleeping until noon every day. I remember spending June hanging out with friends, catching up on books and movies and TV, maybe travelling a bit. In July, filling 16 waking hours every single day started to feel like something of a chore. And by August, it was really time to have something to do again.

However, even if school isn’t in session, there’s still plenty of work going on behind the scenes. Teachers are attending professional development sessions and staff training, or maybe teaching summer school. Admin is using the short respite to reset and revamp their facilities as necessary for the coming year. Students coming back to new furniture, new technology, sparkling-clean hallways and revised course curricula should know that all these changes didn’t come from nowhere. Schoolwork continues whether the students are there or not.

What follows are some highlights from the previous school year and some works-in-progress for the coming one. During that little bit of breathing room from the day-to-day madness, school administrators have time to consider broader-level ideas like electric school buses, or virtual reality technology, or the importance of the performing arts. We can review some highlights of the best ideas and projects from the past year for consideration for our own districts. Summer gives time to focus on the big picture before it’s back to the day-to-day grind.

This article originally appeared in the Summer 2022 issue of Spaces4Learning.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • South Carolina District Starts Construction on $50M Middle School Renovation

    The Aiken County Public School District in North Augusta, S.C., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the $50-million renovation and expansion of North Augusta Middle School, according to a news release. The project’s funding comes from the 2024 renewal of a one-cent sales tax approved by local voters.

  • New Arizona Fine Arts School Reaches Construction Milestone

    Construction of the new Hilltop School for the Arts and Theater in Litchfield Park, Ariz., recently hit a significant milestone, according to a news release. The Agua Fria High School District held a beam-signing ceremony to celebrate the building’s topping out, or the placement of its last structural beam.

  • North Carolina District Completes New Elementary School

    The Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) in Holly Springs, N.C., recently announced that construction on a new elementary school has finished, according to a news release. Rex Road Elementary School measures in at 133,000 square feet and is the fifteenth school that general contractor Balfour Beatty has completed for the district.

  • Round Rock ISD Completes New Early College High School

    Round Rock ISD near Austin, Texas, recently announced that construction is complete on a new, 46,500-square-foot campus for Early College High School, according to a news release. The new facility will allow the school’s students and staff to move from portables into a permanent building and increase its enrollment to 500.