Designing for Holistic Well-being: Integrating Mental Health and Wellness into School Facility Design

As we settle into 2025, it’s becoming undeniable that design has the power to not only shape spaces but create environments that enhance the lives of those who interact with them. People are deeply impacted by the built environment, and as the creators behind these spaces, every project, regardless of size, program or purpose, must consider mental health outcomes now more than ever before.

Vaughn Dierks, Wold Architects and Engineers

A Legacy of Engagement and EmpowermentThe Elliott N. Duchon Concert Hall

The Elliott N. Duchon Concert Hall at Rubidoux High School in Jurupa Valley stands as a transformative example of community-driven design. What began as a standard need for a performing arts venue evolved into a space shaped by active collaboration with local stakeholders, students, and faculty. The project emerged as a beacon of cultural pride and artistic expression, reflecting both the aspirations and the unique character of the Rubidoux community. This facility is a testament to the power of community engagement and visionary leadership.

Olivia Graf Doyle, A4E  |  Robin Griffin, Jurupa Unified School District

Tech-Based Skilled Trades Training Promises to Transform CTE

Students at all levels are becoming increasingly aware that there is more than one pathway to a successful career. As more and more young people explore opportunities outside the traditional four-year college model, educators and administrators are quickly adapting to a changing landscape. The impact of technology on what opportunities are available for students is growing. As in nearly every other sector, advances in artificial intelligence and other applications are opening new possibilities for students — as well as exciting opportunities for leaders in education to transform the field.

Vanessa Myers, Interplay Learning

EDmarket: A Year in Review 

As we move into 2025, EDmarket remains committed to driving innovation and collaboration in the education industry. With an ambitious lineup of programs and initiatives on the horizon, we are excited to continue empowering our members and fostering meaningful change. We thank our members, partners, and supporters for making 2024 a remarkable year. Here’s to a bright future for education!

Jim McGarry, EDmarket

Meet Your New EDmarket Chair: Darlene Akers

Darlene Akers began her term as the 2025 Chair of the Education Market Association on January 1. Read more about her experience in the education market and her goals for enhancing the association's role as a platform for networking and professional growth that helps members connect, learn, and grow together.

Adrienne Dayton, EDmarket

It’s About Timing PK-12 Ed Market Keeps Its Own Schedule

Many of us develop our marketing campaigns by beginning where we left off. Instead, we should wipe the slate clean and start all over. It allows us to challenge biases we do not even realize we have developed.

Bob Stimolo, School Market Research Institute

Designing Schools for The Anxious Generation

Reimagining the classroom doesn’t require a big budget, rather, inspiration, knowledge, and intentionality are key. The power of an individual with an open mind about learning practices, intentionally linking the passions of individuals to core learning principles, and using the physical environment as another ‘teaching tool’ to be used by all, can transform how students feel and how they learn. By aligning holistic learning practices with spaces that are flexible and personalized, we can lead an anxious generation to find a greater sense of belonging, autonomy, and joy in learning.

Randy Fielding, Fielding International

edgallery PRODUCT Innovations

Looking for a new product for your next building or renovation project? Find the latest innovations in the EDmarket edgallery. See what’s new for the coming school year by visiting the edgallery website and start browsing product categories, researching top innovations, and connecting with trusted suppliers in just a few clicks. Want to see your product or project featured?

5 Key Design Factors to Support ‘Flourishing’ in Educational Environments

We know that traditional education is evolving as schools recognize the value of experiential learning and its impact on students’ engagement, attentiveness, and happiness. Students flourish when they are given opportunities to engage with the world around them through hands-on experiences. In order to create spaces where students will flourish, we want first to define what flourishing means in education.

Adele Willson, AIA, LEED AP, ALEP, Principal, Hord Coplan Macht  |  Leah Wettstein, ASID, CID, IIDA, NCIDQ, Hord Coplan Macht  |  Renee Fine, ASID, NCIDQ, LEED GA, Hord Coplan Macht

The Role of Cooperative Purchasing in Enabling K-12 Education Spaces

Designing the perfect space for learning and engagement is one thing, though: Seeing it to fruition through construction and furnishing is another matter entirely. The project leaves the hands of the design team and is passed around – sometimes several times – in a complex dance of execution where it often feels like anything could happen. As schools seek to build new education spaces within tighter timelines and budgets, solutions like cooperative purchasing can empower them to make those better learning spaces a reality.

Stephanie Eckes, Sourcewell

Daycare – An Impactful Offering to Consider

Across the nation, the childcare crisis is rippling through communities, leaving families, businesses, and schools scrambling for solutions. This challenge creates an opportunity for school districts to step in and address some of the most pressing problems. By repurposing unused classrooms and other facilities to provide daycare services, districts can address the childcare gap while simultaneously filling their empty spaces. This solution can also offer a multitude of benefits to schools, communities, and local economies.

Jody Andres, AIA LEED AP, Hoffman Planning, Design & Construction  |  Kurt Peeters, AIA WELL AP, Hoffman Planning, Design & Construction, Inc.

Transforming the Classroom: A Journey Toward Active and Engaged Learning

As we look for greater engagement, focus and love of learning from our students, it is essential that we take small, but necessary steps, in pursuit of a more active learning environment. These efforts aren’t designed to throw out all traditional learning moments, but instead create a more robust, intentional set of instructional practices and learning space decisions for teachers. Use the stages and continuum of active learning below as a guide to growth and as a roadmap to expanding your design toolbox while also keeping your instruction and environment in sync.

Ellen Moskowitz, Croton-Harmon Union Free School District  |  Robert Dillon, Intentional School Designs