An Exciting Future for Shaker Lane School
Shaker Lane School is a Pre-K through Grade 2 lower elementary school in Littleton, MA, that provides the youngest students with rich learning experiences for academic and social growth. The school’s educational needs have changed significantly since it was built in 1959, and the existing building is overdue for much-needed updates. Our design team is proud to collaborate with the Town of Littleton, Littleton Public Schools, and the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) on the path to a new Shaker Lane School.
Location
Littleton, MA
Client
Town of Littleton
Students
495 (435 K-2 students, up to 60 PK students)
Grades
PK-2
Evaluating Many Design Options
During the feasibility study, we prepared six design options to determine the best approach to achieve the District’s goals, priorities, and educational principles. These included:
- code upgrades to the existing school
- options for renovations and additions to the existing school building
- options for a newly constructed building at several potential sites
The District’s preferred design option, a new building at the Upper Field on the existing site, allows the school community to continue using the existing building during construction, offering the least disruption. A new building also offers the opportunity to fully incorporate sustainable, renewable energy sources, such as geothermal and photovoltaic systems.
Understanding Goals and Priorities to Inform Design
Extensive visioning sessions with dozens of stakeholders, including parents, community members, school committee members, staff, and school and district administrators, established community and collaboration as fundamental building blocks of Shaker Lane.
While a safe and secure environment is a primary requirement for any school, other goals and priorities for the new school include:
- flexible, collaborative learning spaces
- hands-on learning opportunities
- inside-outside connections
- space for professional growth and work
- universal design that promotes inclusion and accessibility
When asked to create a new learning environment, we take great care to understand the institution’s guiding educational principles. At Shaker Lane, students are encouraged to explore and discover their own learning styles through choice and flexible experiences that embed play. Our design for the new school includes spaces for sustained work on collaborative, student-led projects, promotes co-teaching opportunities, and outdoor experiences.
An Inviting Building Shared with the Community
The central entry of the two-story building will welcome students, staff, and visitors with a gathering plaza featuring plantings, welcoming benches, and security/safety features incorporated into the design.
Two separate academic wings flanking a shared central core. The media center is at the heart of the school. Larger shared spaces, such as the gym and cafeteria, are connected to the entry lobby, allowing after-hours public access to community spaces while keeping the classroom wings secure.
Designed to Meet Educational Goals
The two-story configuration organizes the grades into close-knit neighborhood communities, with support services distributed throughout to support the district’s educational program. Each neighborhood arranges classrooms around a flexible common learning area called a “Den” to support collaborative, integrated, multi-class, cross-grade level, co-teaching, and interdisciplinary activities. Each grade level neighborhood Den is designed to:
- accommodate very large groups up to the entire grade level for in-house “field trips” and other special hands-on enrichment activities
- allow specialists to provide small-group and one-on-one services in an extended classroom setting
- disperse Shaker Lane’s “Imagatorium” STEM program to each grade level
- embody a “books everywhere” mission with media center satellite areas where rotating materials support a multi-disciplinary curriculum for deeper learning
Safety First
Updated traffic patterns improve circulation and pedestrian safety by placing community amenities and access towards the front of the site and placing student play areas at the rear of the school building, protected from site traffic. Both the new school and the playgrounds are completely accessible. A new access point from Shaker Lane allows for safely separated car and bus/delivery loops with parking. The school and playgrounds are encircled by an emergency access drive.
