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Green Ribbon Schools: AIA Staff Tour of Stoddert ES
By Amanda Stratton, Manager, Grassroots & Advocacy Outreach

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Earlier this month, we profiled Stoddert Elementary School in Washington, D.C. as a part of our Green Ribbon Schools series. Given that the school is located just a few miles away from the AIA’s national office, project lead Sean O’Donnell, AIA, LEED AP graciously offered to give Advocacy staff an extended tour.

The tour gave the staff in attendance an opportunity to view first-hand how architecture can influence and transform education. From explaining how varying shelf and window heights according to student age can improve classroom interactions to describing the importance of creating a building that maximizes the use of windows and natural light for both aesthetic and green building purposes, O’Donnell provided a thorough description of how the school was created with not only the students, but also the community in mind.

One particular example of how the new features of the building have been incorporated into the curriculum involves the use of the community garden. During the tour, the staff had the chance to observe a class utilizes the space for a science-based scavenger hunt. While the students were engrossed in the assignment, their teacher explained that she is able to incorporate the garden into her lesson plans through the year. She does this by focusing on how plants and the garden contribute to recycling and sustainability during the winter months when class cannot be held outside.

“Stoddert Elementary is a clear example of the success of Washington, DC’s green schools policy, which is helping to transform the District’s school building stock,” said Brooks Rainwater, Director, Public Policy at the AIA. “In visiting Stoddert Elementary I was struck by how the architect expertly melded the original structure with a striking new addition, offering students a high performance learning laboratory, and preparing these young people to be life-long advocates for sustainability.”

To view even more pictures from the tour, head over to the AIA Advocacy Facebook page. To read the earlier post on the project description of Stoddert ES, click here.

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