Preface  
     
   
     
The School of Environmental Studies (SES) is a partnership of Independent School District 196, the Minnesota Zoological Gardens, and the City of Apple Valley in Minnesota. The School had many influences during its development, one of which was the project New Designs for the Comprehensive High School (NDCHS), funded by the U.S. Department of Education and conducted by the University of Minnesota. The influence of NDCHS on the SES came through a meeting of NDCHS project staff with the SES planning committee. But more significantly, the influence was through Bruce Jilk, then with the architectural firm of Hammel, Green & Abrahamson, Inc. and now with K.K.E. Architects, Inc. who was the architect for the SES and a consultant to NDCHS in designing the desired features of the learning environment. The SES was one of the first intensive applications of the design features of NDCHS, resulting in a new high school that is now in its fifth year of operation. The purpose of this report is to present the features of the SES using the design framework of NDCHS and the initial result of its impact on learning. NDCHS is now part of a larger project entitled New Designs for Learning (NDL) and located in the School of Education at Oregon State University.

The design features of the SES and its impact on learning were summarized by Dr. Dan Bodette, Principal of the SES, with guidance from the staff of NDL. The information on Lessons Learned and Future Directions was the result of a meeting directed by NDL staff at the SES and involvement of staff, students, parents, partners, and community representatives.

Special thanks to Dr. Bodette for his work in gathering data for this report and to Ginny Birky, a doctoral student in the School of Education at Oregon State University, for assistance in drafting the report. The report also benefited from the observations and recommendations of the SES's students, staff, parents, partners and community representatives who made valuable contributions in small group meetings and surveys.

The School of Environmental Studies has been publicly recognized for its innovation and accomplishments on many occasions and by numerous agencies and organizations. New Designs for Learning is honored to have had an influence on the design and operation of the SES; the School exemplifies our hopes and dreams for educational reform in very powerful and effective ways.

 
 
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