The Middle School of the Future: A Focus on Exploration

The five volumes in the Schools of the Future set are uniquely valuable, comprehensive resources for all the stakeholders involved in a public school construction project, whether a new building, addition, or renovation. Each of these books―The Elementary School of the Future, The Middle School of the Future, The High School of the Future, and the forthcoming Magnet and Specialized Schools of the Future and The Community College of the Future―brings together essential information on every stage of the process of creating a new public educational facility. Unlike other books on school design, which are geared toward architects and engineers, the Schools of the Future books have been created especially for boards of education, school building committees, district superintendents, and other decision makers, offering them essential guidance on: ensuring that schools built today serve tomorrow's educational needs, using technological advances to control burgeoning square-footages, accommodating community groups and other after-hours users of school facilities, mounting effective campaigns to pass school-bond referenda, and planning, designing, and managing school construction projects collaboratively. This volume features case studies of recent exemplary middle school construction projects, and provides a detailed educational specification that's genuinely future-oriented. This volume devotes sustained attention to numerous issues influencing contemporary public school design including the need to protect indoor environmental quality, the mandate to accommodate special-needs students, the desirability of sustainable design, and the need for good acoustical design.