The Department of Defense Education Activity is looking for ideas on ways to improve school designs as they begin a five-year construction initiative to build or do major renovations at 100 schools worldwide, the agency announced Friday.

DODEA will be accepting student, teacher, parent and community input in the form of videos, images, written narratives or audio files, through June 16. It is looking to replace aging inventory in indoor spaces and outdoor spaces such as playgrounds, athletic areas and performance areas, according to a DODEA news release.

“School facilities of the future must be flexible and adaptable, allowing us to adjust to deliver student-centric education for a 21st-century, knowledge-based economy,” acting DODEA director Marilee Fitzgerald is quoted in the release.

Getting suggestions from the community is the second phase of the agency’s three-phase planning stage. In the first phase, DODEA received input from industry experts, education leaders and futurists. Phase three involves reviewing all of the input.

One thing DODEA has already decided on is to eliminate portable classrooms and multiple buildings.

“We won’t have to take a journey around a base to get to the music room or to the art room,” Fitzgerald was quoted in the release.

Officials will take into consideration innovations in education, curriculum delivery, use of technology and growing expectations for energy conservation as they move forward in their planning, according to the release.

Community members can submit their ideas at http://21stcentury.dodea.edu/.

From staff reports

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