I recently read an article about the Dallas Cowboys new training facility, that many say will give them an advantage against other NFL teams. But what if it will also give some local schools a competitive advantage as well?
What you may also find interesting is that the Frisco Independent School District will share this state-of-the art athletic and entertainment facility that will include a 12,000-seat indoor stadium, a luxury hotel, and convention center. "Teaming up with the Cowboys on the indoor stadium allowed the city to save about $500,000 a year in operating costs and between $10 million and $15 million in capital costs."
This will certainly be an innovative destination that provides powerful marketing but also economies of scale for the local public schools. That's smart! We've seen some other new designs for facilities that inspire a whole new approach to education. These are some of the school buildings in your future.
Innovative Centers of Influence
Norma Rose Point School, in Vancouver, BC, is an example of advanced design that inspires innovative leadership and instruction. The World Famous school architects from Fielding Nair have created another masterpiece, where inquiry based learning is happening in kindergarten through eighth grades. This is a PK-7 public school that is fully implementing inquiry-based learning. Core values are shared by the faculty selection, training, and evaluation, to sustain the purpose-driven approach behind every aspect of this school. Watching kindergarten students working collaborative to solve interdisciplinary questions and demonstrating mastery of the content is a remarkable experience, and this is happening throughout NRPS. 
Anne Frank Academy in San Antonio, TX, is another campus designed by by Fielding Nair that you'll also want to check out. They are using student-centered instructional practices in a facility that is intentionally designed to maximize relationships and learner autonomy. This charter school even has an amazing tree house that can be used as a classroom.
Operationalizing the Vision
As you can see, remarkable property developments aren't reserved for Jerry Jones. Some entreprenuerial educators are finding new ways to fund these types of projects, enabling them to collaboratively maximize their resources to the benefit of the faculty, students and communities.
At School Growth we work closely with advanced architects and designers to operationalize the vision for this facilities, sustaining the original principles and decisions throughout the lifecycles of the school by providing professional development and coaching. As new board members and new administrators assume leadership positions over the subsequent years, it's imperative that they understand and commit to intentions of the design. That's a key part of our expertise in accelerating school improvement.
