On this episode of Schools in Focus, we'll talk about the role that classroom furniture plays in creating adaptive, flexible learning spaces. Our guest is Wesley Edmonds, the Director of Workplace, Adaptive Solutions at OFS. We'll talk about how layering furniture selection into the initial design phase can help maximize a facility's square footage and student interaction. We'll also discuss how different pieces meet different needs, from collaboration and active learning to quiet study spaces. ...
Mar 12, 2025•41 min•Season 1Ep. 39
This episode's guest is Devin Bowman, General Manager of Technical Glass Products (TGP) and AD Systems. We’ll talk about the relationship between school architecture and designing for safety as design aspects like natural light and floor-to-ceiling windows become more common. We’ll discuss how to give your school’s glass surfaces varying levels of protection to keep students safe. And we’ll also talk about TGP’s work with an elementary school in Oregon that focused on improving the building’s sa...
Aug 09, 2024•28 min
This episode’s guest is Michael Dunn, Technical Sales Manager for Energy Saving Ceilings & PCM at Armstrong World Industries. He’s here to talk about how Phase Change Material (PCM) can help provide energy savings in schools. You’ll learn why many K–12 schools are on the hunt for a new HVAC solution and the practical applications of PCM ceiling panels in regulating temperature without driving up energy costs. He’ll also share the results of the case study at a New Hampshire high school that...
Jun 21, 2024•35 min
Increased understanding of and focus on acoustics in the classroom, coupled with heightened focus on speech privacy and information security in today's world, has placed additional burden on school administrators and facility managers. Acoustics isn't only about creating quite classrooms. It's a critical part of the overall IEQ of a school—from classrooms to nurses' offices to administration spaces. New and better technologies exist to give schools solutions that achieve what is needed in today'...
Sep 26, 2023•43 min
This episode’s guest is Lori Ferriss, architect with the Boston firm Goody Clancy and Chair of the AIA Committee on the Environment. We’ll discuss how colleges and universities can’t just build their way to net zero in the quest for carbon neutrality—it’s impossible to achieve carbon neutrality without reducing the operational emissions of existing buildings. Lori co-developed the CARE Tool and collaborated with Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia, to complete a campus-scale study to calcula...
Aug 10, 2023•23 min
This episode’s guest is Dustin Brooks, co-founder and chief customer officer of ZeroEyes. He’s here to talk about the importance of creating a school security plan against the backdrop of increasing active shooter and swatting incidents at schools around the country. We’ll also talk about the importance of a steadfast security staff and a reliable source of funding to keep existing security procedures and equipment in a state of readiness. Finally, we’ll address the paradox of the idea that if y...
Mar 27, 2023•31 min
Our guest today is Hiroshi Okamoto, principal and co-founder of OLI Architecture. He's here to tell us about Anji Play, an early childhood education facility in the Zhejiang province of China. Anji Play uses a hands-off, play-based learning pedagogy that encourages kids to be kids and lets them explore the environment under their own initiative. The school's architecture and design support the program's key aims of self-determined play and encourage its guiding principles of love, risk, joy, eng...
Feb 14, 2023•40 min
Our guest today is Dr. Neall Digert, Vice President of Solatube International, Inc., who’s here to tell us about the benefits of daylight in education spaces. Neall has over thirty years of consulting and education experience working in the energy, lighting, daylighting design, and research fields, specializing in the design and application of advanced lighting and daylighting systems for commercial building applications. We’ll talk about the physiological and psychological effects of daylight; ...
Nov 21, 2022•28 min•Ep. 32
On this episode of Schools in Focus, we’re talking with Dr. Kevin Mabie, Global Professional Instructor with the Crisis Prevention Institute. He’s here to talk about how a positive school climate can help K–12 leaders address, reduce and prevent bullying and violent behaviors. Among other topics, we’ll discuss what a positive school climate entails, its benefits for students and teachers, layout and design elements that foster a positive environment, and strategies that K–12 teachers can employ ...
Oct 18, 2022•34 min
On this episode of Schools in Focus, our guest is Brad Pittam, president of the International Play Equipment Manufacturer’s Association, or IPEMA. We’ll touch on topics like the recent rise in outdoor classrooms, the benefits that these spaces provide to students and teachers alike, the difference and overlap between outdoor classrooms and playgrounds, and design elements to be mindful of when implementing these spaces into your campus. This episode is sponsored by IPEMA.
Sep 22, 2022•35 min•Ep. 30
In this episode of Schools in Focus, we’ll be talking about indoor air quality in schools. Our guests are Mike Wolf, Director of Regulatory Business Development, and Tyler Mancl, Principal Application Engineer, both with Greenheck. We’ll talk about how schools can ensure the air in their building is safe and how to verify the performance of their HVAC systems. We’ll cover the main aspects of indoor air quality—ventilation, humidification, and filtration—as well as how to make sure air is properl...
Aug 22, 2022•45 min•Ep. 29
Our guest today is Bob Dillon, a school designer and consultant with STS Education. He's here to talk about the importance of student wellness during the learning day, from the time students arrive at the bus stop to the final bell. We'll cover all the different aspects of student wellness, as well as wellness rooms, the role of technology, staff wellness and professional development tracks, and the importance of choice in getting students to engage. This episode is sponsored by STS Education....
Jul 12, 2022•24 min
Today's topic is "Hacking the Senses to Boost Student Wellness," and my guests are Kim Montague, Executive Director - research and insights, and Kaelynn Reid, design futurist, both with Kimball International. They're here to talk about the design elements of multi-sensory environments that research and experience have shown to maximize student wellness. Sensory input in the classroom—everything from color to sound to scent, and even taste—can impact student experience and can play a role in memo...
Jun 27, 2022•25 min
Today’s guest is Kristin Moore, the Vice President of Market Segments at Armstrong World Industries. We'll talk about the importance of indoor environmental quality in creating and maintaining healthy learning spaces for kids. We'll cover initiatives like the Armstrong Healthy Spaces Ecosystem, the Clean Air in Buildings Challenge, and the Lancet COVID-19 Commission. She'll also provide some suggestions on how schools can use ESSER funds to address environmental quality issues in schools before ...
May 31, 2022•24 min•Ep. 27
This episode's guest is Jim Lee, the Enterprise Sales Director at Vector Solutions. He's worked with educational institutions ranging from small private schools to the largest districts in the country, helping organizations prevent incidents on campus through crowdsourced risk intelligence. Today, we'll discuss topics like common safety issues and concerns in schools, what to look for in an emergency communications system, and how these systems can help schools get ahead of issues to keep studen...
May 04, 2022•23 min•Ep. 26
Our guest today is Mark Berger, who’s the President and Chief Product Officer for Securitech Group, Inc. He’s here to discuss a school security solution that gives every student, teacher and staff member the agency to secure themselves in the event of an emergency with the press of a button. He’ll discuss its theory of operation and the installation process, as well as his own experience working with Sandy Hook Elementary School following the school shooting incident there in December 2012. This...
Apr 11, 2022•25 min•Ep. 25
This episode's topic is "Improving Building Health, Safety and Security with Smart Sensor Technology," and our guest is Mike Davis, National Sales Manager for IPVideo. We'll talk about the different types of sensors and the variety of data they can collect, from physical to chemical to environmental to security. From there, we'll go into the limitless applications of what organizations can do with a "Swiss Army Knife" of sensors to keep building occupants safe and secure. This episode is sponsor...
Mar 21, 2022•20 min•Ep. 24
This episode's guests are Mike Mans, Senior Product Marketing Manager, and Tiffany Renz, Sales Director - North America, both from HID Global. We'll talk about how schools can get the best bang for their buck with ID card and badge issuance technology. We'll cover topics like the best benefits of different technologies on the market today; ways to increase the longevity of physical ID cards and badges; and how to streamline the issuance process for these credentials. We'll also talk about the pl...
Feb 22, 2022•29 min•Ep. 23
Our guest today is Magen McGahee, the CFO for Galaxy Next Generation, Inc. In this episode, Magen and I discuss the importance of seamless communication within schools. We’ll talk about how a range of Galaxy products like G2 Secure, G2 Visual Alerts and G2 Link make both emergency and non-emergency communication throughout a school facility as easy as the touch of a button. Learn how these products were built from user feedback and how they’re helping solve problems in the Ed Tech industry. You’...
Jan 26, 2022•26 min
Disinfection techniques that help make classrooms safe for students, teachers and staff are still top of mind. Here to discuss some of the benefits of ultraviolet light disinfection are Bruce Ramsay, Brand Manager for Visioneering, and Tim Stevens, Director of Product Management for Certolux. We’ll touch on some facts and myths about UV light, the role of UV light in maintaining clean education spaces, the challenges that education professionals should be aware of when purchasing UV light techno...
Dec 02, 2021•23 min
This episode’s guests are Elizabeth Bonner, design director for education and hard surface, and David Dembowitz, senior vice president of sales North America, both with Mohawk Group. We’ll discuss choosing the right flooring solutions and the impact it can have on creating healthier, worry-free spaces throughout the lifecycle of the installation. We’ll touch on topics like creating productive spaces for students & staff, the impact of COVID-19 on cleanliness standards, choosing the right flo...
Nov 01, 2021•41 min
Today's guest is Sue Ann Highland. Currently, she's the National Education Strategist for School Specialty, but previously, she served as an educator for more than 25 years as a school and district administrator, a curriculum director, teacher, and more. She's here to talk about how dynamic learning environments can help keep students active and engaged. We'll talk about the six instructional elements that support dynamic learning, the positive and negative impacts of the pandemic, the increased...
Oct 07, 2021•40 min
This episode’s guest is Benjamin Strain, Higher Education Design Leader for DLR Group. He's here to discuss an ongoing DLR research initiative called "The Evolution of Campus," which involves interviews and outreach to higher education institutions to help them navigate the pandemic, return to campus, and explore new spatial and design requirements to meet the needs of faculty and students. He reveals some common themes among all three rounds of research (so far) and addresses the question on ev...
Aug 19, 2021•34 min
As K–12 schools gear up to return to in-person learning for the coming school year, one district already has a success under its belt. The Muskego-Norway School District in Muskego, Wis., successfully went in-person, five days a week, for the entire 2020–21 academic year. Our guest today is Tony Spence, the Chief Information Officer for that district. He takes a deep dive into explaining the logistics behind pulling off such a unique feat. He explains what went into creating the district’s plan,...
Jul 19, 2021•46 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Jonathan Matta, National Education Leader with KI Furniture, takes us through a bird's-eye view of lessons learned from the pandemic. We address topics like learning vs. education, why the term "learning loss" is a bit of a misnomer, re-imagining learning culture, the importance of flexible learning spaces, and how to give students agency in their own educational process. We also talk about how reflections of the shift in learning culture over the last decade can be found in everything from "Sta...
Jun 21, 2021•43 min
Interior design plays a fundamental role in not only making education spaces functional, but also in creating a calm, soothing environment for students and faculty alike. Aesthetics—from color selection to layout—are crucial in helping schools re-emerge from the pandemic as safe spaces that promote emotional and psychological well-being. Here to shed further light on the topic are David Dembowitz and Royce Epstein from the Mohawk Group, and Rebekah Matheny from the Ohio State University. Today’s...
Jun 14, 2021•49 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Maintaining indoor air quality has gained renewed importance as K–12 students around the country prepare to return to in-person learning full time. It’s one of the timeliest, most important methods of keeping learning environments safe as the COVID pandemic winds down. And the more we learn, the more we refine and revise what we thought we knew. Our guest is Scott Huffmaster, the commercial HVAC leader for indoor air quality for North America for Trane Technologies, Inc. This episode is sponsore...
Jun 09, 2021•32 min•Season 2Ep. 3
K–12 schools and colleges issue ID cards to students, faculty, staff, and sometimes even visitors to campus. The logistics of creating and printing these cards—especially Smart Cards with technical capabilities—are more complicated than you might think. From processing times to personalization, and from software streamlining to printer hardware selection, educational institutions have a lot of factors to be mindful of before committing to a solution. Here to break down the process are Senior Pro...
May 26, 2021•35 min•Season 2Ep. 2
When it comes to designing an educational facility, there's no such thing as "one size fits all." There’s a lot that goes into creating the strategic master plan for a school. Here to tell us more about that design process, both generally and specifically, is Elie Newman, Senior Principal at BNKC Architects, based in Toronto, Canada.
Apr 27, 2021•55 min•Season 2Ep. 1
In this special episode of Schools in Focus, Security Today and Campus Security & Life Safety Editor Ralph Jensen discusses securing a campus with President of M2 Consulting Mitch McKinley. Listen along as Ralph and Mitch talk about security from the outside in.
Feb 08, 2021•19 min
