 | PENDING |
| PENDING |
Date/Time: November 1, 2025 | 10:45 – 11:45 am
Room: 162-163
Audience: Architects, Engineers, Educators, Facility Personnel, Contractors / Suppliers / Manufacturers, Consultants
Call to Action:
Abstract: It is the responsibility of the current generation to ensure that the next generation will realize their biggest potential. Through the education of each new generation, we lay the foundation for a prosperous civil society in which everyone can lead a fulfilling life. We can do so by creating inspirational and nurturing learning environments that address the needs of our children at every stage of their development. These needs encompass three dimensions of human existence: the physical, social, and psycho-emotional. Everyone begins this journey from a different starting point and the way we support them must be multidimensional and tailored to the specific needs of a community. In this session, we bring together an educator, a school principal, and designers from the Southwest and Pacific Northwest, who all have experience with learning environments. Our representatives will share a diversity of viewpoints and inspire an open panel discussion around four foundational topics: Safety & Well-being, Health & Fitness, Choice & Self-realization, and Real-world-readiness. This session will invite the audience and our panelists to participate in an engaging Q&A format designed to highlight different perspectives on topics related to student health, safety and well-being. We will invite the audience to guide the conversation through our four foundational topics. We will examine the characteristics that support or hinder students most basic needs for a safe and supportive social-emotional learning environment. By bringing together individuals from inside and outside the classroom, we will explore where we find consensus, how our methods differ, and how we can learn to better support each other along the journey toward safer and healthier schools.
Learning Objectives:
Design of Educational Facilities
Aligning Educational, & Community vision with design to support a regenerative mindset for a sustainable and future ready Educational Facility.
Rene has shared his research about the physical environment’s impact at conferences locally and internationally. Rene most recently studied how the perception of “feeling well and safe at school” differs between the learner, educator and parent and currently serves on the International CPTED Association (ICA) board of Directors. He is co-author of the 2022 ICA guidebook “CPTED in Schools – A comprehensive approach” and a new school safety assessment.
In her 20 years with Mahlum, Karen has worked on educational facilities at all levels. She connects deeply with clients and teams, thriving when her passion for lifelong learning can inspire spaces for inquiry, independence and choice. Her recent efforts include Bellevue Big Picture School which is redefining project-based learning for the middle school and high school level. Karen holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Virginia and a Master of Architecture from the University of Washington.
Bethany is the principal of Bellevue Big Picture School, a 6–12th grade school in the Bellevue School District. As the school’s founding principal, she has been instrumental in shaping its innovative, student-centered approach in partnership with the Big Picture Learning network integrating learner-centered design elements, project-based learning, and interest-driven internships. Bethany earned B.S. in Neurobiology and an M.A. in Science Education from Cornell University. She later earned her Principal Certification from the University of Washington.
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Phoenix Convention Center
South Building
100 North Third Street
Phoenix, AZ 85004
October 29-November 1, 2025
Email: donna@a4le.org
+1 480.391.0840