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News line The Franklin Conference: Engaging Citizens in Innovative School Design
Publication Date: July 01, 2005

The School District of Philadelphia is poised to invest $1.8 billion in the city's schools, providing residents with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the role of schools in our community. 

Recognizing that the outcome of this enormous public investment will significantly impact the educational, social, cultural, and economic future of Philadelphia, the William Penn Foundation has supported the Franklin Conference on School Design, a civic engagement project created to solicit extensive community input into the design process for school construction.  After a series of public meetings across the city, participants have agreed on concepts to guide the design and construction of new schools.  At a public forum on June 27, 2005, Paul Vallas, CEO of the School District enthusiastically committed to each of the following seven principles, developed by participants and organizers:

  • A Welcoming Place:  School design should convey a sense of welcome - to students, faculty and the community.
  • It's a School, Not a Prison:  Achieve safety and security mostly through smart design, rather than prison-like measures of control such as locked gates and metal detectors.
  • Interact, Interact, Interact: Design should enable, not hamper, a series of vital interactions: student to student; faculty to student; community to school.
  • Plan on Change:  Build flexible, adaptable spaces.
  • Healthy Buildings, Healthier Children:  Stress natural light and air. Provide facilities for healthy food and exercise.
  • Smart and Green:  Site schools to promote "smart growth." Build them to conserve energy.
  • They're Called "Public Schools" for a Reason:  Base design on genuine public process. That builds support for schools.

The Franklin Conference is a project of the University of Pennsylvania's Institute for Urban Research, undertaken in partnership with the Philadelphia Inquirer, Penn Praxis, and Penn's graduate schools of design and education.

Learn more about the design principles and ideas generated by the forum at http://www.upenn.edu/penniur/civic/franklin/


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