Edgerton Trails Elementary School is an innovative addition to Rockford Public Schools and is their first new school in nearly 25 years. This state-of-the-art PK-5 facility was made possible through the community’s support of a $174 million bond issue passed in 2019. Designed to accommodate the growing population on the west side of Rockford, Edgerton Trails alleviates overcrowding in neighboring schools. The school is a testament to the district’s mission to provide safe learning environments that give students the academic and social skills needed to be successful, lifelong learners in a global society.

The school’s colorful interior is inspired by Rockford’s elementary science curriculum, with each grade level housed in distinct “neighborhoods” that reflect local habitats. The neighborhoods — The Pond (DK), The Woodlands (K-1), The Lakes (2-3), and The Dunes (4-5) — provide age-appropriate and fun environments that connect back to what they are learning. Students can feel emotionally and physically safe as the layout ensures they interact primarily with their peers in spaces designed specifically for their developmental stage. The integration of natural themes also extends to the building’s outdoor learning spaces, which includes a small classroom amphitheater and access to the district’s nature center. Two playgrounds on site also cater to the needs of lower and upper elementary age students.

Ludington Area School District was looking to consolidate their three elementary schools into one new, centralized facility due to aging buildings that would have required significant renovations. 

As part of the planning process, our team collaborated with the district and the community through an extensive two-day Design Workshop to develop initial concepts and establish Guiding Principles for the project. School staff, board members, and community members conducted visioning exercises around the student experience they wanted to create in this new facility. The workshops also created cohesion among the teams and staff of the three buildings who were coming together into one, generating empathy among all participants for each other’s perspectives and vision for the community. Many of the teachers and staff from the different schools had never met, and the workshop helped to build camaraderie and collaboration among staff for creating spaces and curriculum together–genuinely putting learning and the student experience at the heart of the project. As education continues to evolve, it was important for the design to be efficient and adaptable and provide a flexible place to inspire growth and stimulate education for the present and the future.

21st Century Learning

The existing buildings were over 50 years old, and not only did Ludington aim to bring the district into the 21st century, they took a forward-looking approach to push the envelope in facilities and classroom design for future teaching and learning models. The approach was to create more than a school building, but a learning ecosystem within the community.

Recognizing that learning doesn’t only happen in the classroom, but also in other spaces like media centers, outdoor areas, and hallways, Ludington recognized that the current school environments were limiting the opportunities for staff to be innovative as it relates to teaching and learning. The team designed the new elementary school spaces to be flexible and transitionally appropriate for each age group, as well as accommodating for learning in every space.

East Lansing Public Schools passed a bond proposal to replace all five of the buildings being used as elementary schools. The district is unique in that there is a large percentage of students that walk or bike to school, with the elementary schools nestled into established neighborhoods. When it came time to redesign the schools, a primary driver was that they fit into the same “neighborhood school” model. 

The school district’s vision for the new Glencairn Elementary was to create environments where 21st century learning could take place. It was also a priority to create spaces where the students enjoyed learning and the staff enjoyed teaching. One way was for our team to carefully consider connections that could be made linking indoors to outdoors visually and physically.