Research Impact

"Classrooms are the construction sites for communities."

Why should it matter? Transformed classrooms mean transformed students who transform communities and society. In the words of Fredrick Douglas, “it is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”  Classrooms are the construction sites for communities. After the height of the COVID-19 pandemic the United States released the 2012 State of our schools report.The report is a national call to action and addresses three major aspects. These three aspects of public education and school facilities are:

 • Education is a social enterprise that depends on buildings and grounds where staff, students and community come together.

 • The economy depends on universal elementary and secondary public education for workforce participation and productivity.

 • Longstanding deficiencies in public school facilities pose health risks for students, staff, and families, particularly in low wealth communities. ( (Annual Funding Gap for Making the Nation's Public School Buildings Safer, Healthier and Fit for Learning Balloons to $85 Billion, 2021))

All of these are relevant and important matters but this report does not address the academic concerns, but more the facilities that allow a space for them to occur. As important as the facilities that educate our nation’s youth is the educational practices used to do so. We have made great strides in this area. Unlike the 1970s  teaching is now being studied systematically in a scientific manner  that yields insight into  the most effective teaching methods. Leveraging these instructional strategies will reach learners at this pivotal point of development, potentially transforming society.