Brooklyn Laboratory Charter Schools Releases "Public School Facilities Planning in the Era of COVID-19" Guide

BROOKLYN, N.Y., Sept. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Brooklyn Laboratory Charter Schools (LAB) announced today the launch of its "Brooklyn Laboratory Charter Schools Public School Facilities Planning in the Era of COVID-19" Guide, presenting lessons from the school's journey to safeguard community health and offering resources for other schools to learn from its process, planning, and approach.

COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on schools in America, leaving many educators struggling to understand and adapt to a new world of learning.

LAB closed its middle and high school doors on March 13 before implementing a mix of remote learning and tiered supports to assist roughly 800 middle and high school scholars. In mid April, the school began planning for the 2020-2021 academic year, taking a deep dive into research on different strategies that safeguard health and support learning. LAB consulted experts in diverse fields ranging from health to design to education to equity, finally embarking on a reflection and discernment process to rebuild a learning environment that prioritizes and protects the safety, health, and well-being of everyone in the school community. In August, LAB reopened its doors.

LAB, a public school in Downtown Brooklyn, serves students regardless of academic level, English language proficiency, or ability. The school has historically used a design framework to anchor its core approach to teaching and learning, seeking input from diverse stakeholders, fulfilling the needs of all learners, and collaborating with expert partners when necessary. In creating a master facilities plan for the era of COVID-19, LAB utilized all of these practices.

Over the course of 16 weeks between April and August, LAB held more than 150 meetings, including a set of intensive working sessions, or charrettes, which served as safe zones to share hopes, fears, concerns, and ideas, and to encourage vulnerability. The school invited industry experts, government officials, architects, urban designers, educators, staff members, parents, scholars, and many others to attend. Key queries included:

• What will classrooms look like and feel like?
• How can LAB keep students and teachers safe on their way to and from school?
• How will LAB honor scientific and public health guidelines?

From these meetings emerged four documents designed to support schools to address COVID-related issues: the Back-to-School Facilities Tool Kit, the Instructional Program Scheduling Map, the Success Coaching Playbook, and the Back to School Learner Identity and Agency Guidebook, all housed under Brooklyn LAB's Equity by Design project—an initiative to engage students, families, teachers, and administrators to generate bold solutions and tools to the challenges presented by the pandemic.

Through extensive research on school facilities modifications, LAB has honed specific practices and protocols for the new school year through feedback and insights since publishing these tools, developing a complete guide to support the needs of all learners. Topics covered include strategies for physical distancing, serving students with special needs, and facilitating learning despite disruptions to the new classroom space. These new approaches are categorized into four basic needs:

• Strategies to prevent the spread.
• Strategies to contain the spread.
• Strategies to facilitate learning and continual improvement in the pandemic context.
• Strategies to establish an ongoing, iterative process.

"We remain steadfast in our commitments to serving the highest need scholars and maximizing wellness and health," said LAB co-founder Eric Tucker. "Right now, we believe the best way for us to deliver on these promises is to create an environment where learning can happen safely. In addition to applying these strategies at LAB, our goal has been to codify and share our findings so other schools can benefit from our strategic reopening process, planning, and approach."

"We recognize there is no one solution for every school from Brooklyn to Bakersfield, but we are committed to participating in practical conversations from which we can all learn," added LAB Chief Operating Officer Aaron Daly. "As others follow this same path, we hope this guide becomes a resource and reference for all."

As a founding partner of the Educating All Learners Alliance, a new coalition of disability, civil rights, and education focused organizations dedicated to educating all learners during the COVID-19 humanitarian disaster, LAB will distribute the Guide through the Alliance's network and beyond.

Learn more at the Equity by Design website.

About Brooklyn Laboratory Charter Schools

Brooklyn Laboratory Charter Schools (LAB), founded in 2013, is a network of public charter schools that will serve 6-12th grade students this fall. LAB was designed to educate high-need urban students, particularly those who are least well-served by their current educational options. Named a "Center of Excellence" for its work with Students with Disabilities by the National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools, LAB aims to meet the individual needs of each student and to leverage innovative technologies and learning practices to eradicate the achievement gap. LAB was selected as an XQ school and is actively involved in work to upgrade and rethink high school to better meet the needs of students and of the future. For more information, please visit BrooklynLaboratorySchool.org.

MEDIA CONTACT:   
Susan McPherson
[email protected] 
917.859.2291

SOURCE Brooklyn Laboratory Charter Schools

Related Links

https://www.brooklynlaboratoryschool.org