Temporarily posted on the wall of the Hermosa Beach City Council Chambers last week were a series of pictures of classrooms through the decades.
The transformation — from little red schoolhouse to airy lab-space — underscored the way in which campuses have reflected broader changes in technology and society. Hermosa Beach City School District officials used Thursday night’s meeting as a chance to get a sense of what the city wants out of schools in the future.
“As the political economy changes, how do the priorities of the community change?” said board member Maggie Bove-LaMonica. “And how do these priorities get reflected in schools?”
The meeting, one in an ongoing series of envisioning workshops open to the community, grouped residents and educators in small discussion sections. The result was a smattering of input on topics ranging from the availability of Mandarin instruction to the viability of holding classes outdoors.
The hope is that broader concerns won’t get lost as the city’s schools face an immediate facilities crunch. Years of growing enrollment, and the narrow failure of a school facilities bond measure in November 2014, have left the district scrambling for space. Schools are deploying multiple temporary classrooms, and have even begun using a teacher’s lounge for instruction.
“We’ve been so consumed with basic crowding issues,” said board member Dr. Mary Campbell. “But if we don’t ask the big questions, if we just focus on adding classrooms, we’re missing an opportunity.”
With another bond measure set for a vote in June 2016, participants agreed on the importance of fiscal prudence. Facilities that allow for easy adaptation was a common solution.
“The word ‘flexible’ came up a lot in our conversation” said Kim Taylor, principal at Valley School. “With regards to space usage, not creating something that’s locked in, but something that can change with the needs of the district.”
District officials cited Valley’s IDEA Lab, which stands for Innovation Design Engineering Academy, as an example. The course exposes fourth- and fifth-grade students to new technology like three-dimensional printers, and has earned praise for its use of open classroom space.
The large classroom puts desks, lab tables and computer stations under the same roof. Students conduct experiments and work on projects in groups, and are in the classroom for 75 minutes, instead of the traditional 55 minute period.
On Tuesday this week, students were measuring how far Hot Wheels could travel along various inclines. Teacher Garrett Kaplan, who runs the IDEA lab, said that students have an opportunity to investigate the underlying concepts, then post the results on Web sites they created.
Most parents want their children exposed to technology of the kind on display in the IDEA Lab, and expected instructors who were up to the task.
Superintendent Patricia Escalante demonstrated agreement with this viewpoint by pulling out her iPhone to reference the amount of information that is available “at a student’s fingertips.”
“Everytime I say ‘computer lab’ it makes me gag a little bit,” Escalante said. “It’s so old-fashioned. Technology is going to be integrated throughout the school.”
But there was also an undercurrent of skepticism with technology, driven by fears of an excess of “screen-time” for children.
“I love technology, I think it’s wonderful,” said Adam Genovese, an assistant principal at Valley School. “But I worry we are getting more dependent on machines, going to Wikipedia every time we need an answer.”
In the same vein, participants worried about how the district’s future plans would account for the physical needs of youngsters. Crowding in the district occasionally results in physical education classes bumping up against recess, limiting the chance for kids to run around.
“It’s not an issue of places for kids to sit,” said resident Dr. Michael Collins, repeating the advice offered by a P.E. teacher in the district. “It’s an issue of places to play.”
Parents recalled picking up their children and finding them wound up from not getting in enough physical activity during the day. Providing more space for recreation might be difficult during a facilities shortage, they said, but the district simply has to get creative.
“Before I came to the meeting, I asked my three kids what they would want to see in a new school, and they all said, ‘A place to run,” said Regina Harrison. “I’m not sure where it would go. Maybe you could put it on top of a building.”
