Microsoft Corporation has invited Fielding Nair International to be a part of their Innovative Schools Program Conference in Oulu, Finland on November 2nd and 3rd 2007. This conference will bring 12 innovative schools from 12 countries to share ideas about implementing educational transformation. FNI was selected by Microsoft to conduct a workshop that shares our experience in this area and to advise the Innovative Schools as they progress on their journeys.

Microsoft consultants Mary Meucci and Nancy Vye with Prakash Nair observe impromptu youth performance at Innovative Cristo Rey School and Colin Powell Youth Leadership Center in Minneapolis. Photo: Randall Fielding Sept. 18, 2007.

Here is an excerpt from the Microsoft Press release announcing the program: 31 January 2007: Microsoft Corp Chairman Bill Gates today announced a significant worldwide expansion of the company’s Innovative Schools programme as part of his keynote address at the Microsoft Government Leaders Forum (GLF) Europe. Tailored to meet local community needs, the Innovative Schools programme will be rolled out in the following 12 locations: Brazil, Canada, Chile, Finland, France, Germany, SAR Hong Kong, Ireland, Mexico, Qatar, Sweden and the UK.

“Education is key to economic development and competitiveness,” Gates said before the event. “It’s key to fostering the social and economic conditions needed for entrepreneurs to succeed, for workers to prosper in the knowledge economy and for everyone to realise their full potential. Microsoft is committed to helping strengthen education by working in partnership with educators, policymakers and students around the world.”

Cristo Rey Jesuit High School has welcomed its first cohort of students, and will be officially opened, along with the Colin Powell Youth Leadership Center on October 4 by General Colin Powell (Ret.)

Below: Students at work in one of Cristo Rey’s Commons

Amid much fanfare, Scotch Oakburn College’s new Health and Physical Education Centre was opened on August 10. SOC continues to undergo a transformation: in March the new Robert Dean Centre opened, and work is underway on a new Middle School comprising three Small Learning Communities.

Below: Year 5 students showcasing the new facilities (and their own incredible acrobatics!) in front of the whole school community

Wednesday September 19 was a momentous occasion in the Cayman Islands: groundbreakings for each of the three new high schools were held. Building will commence in the next few weeks.

Below: Snapshots of the three Groundbreaking ceremonies.

FNI has been recently selected as the planning and design consultants for the following projects. Significantly, FNI has expanded its reach with work at the national level in Azerbaijan and the Cayman Islands, district-wide levels in Victoria, Australia, Rhode Island and Florida.

The projects in Wyoming, USA and Phuket, Thailand involve the development of a master plan for a whole new community that integrates learning seamlessly from home to neighborhood to school. The Cayman Islands, Detroit and Victoria projects are being developed on a national/regional scale and are an integral part of bold, new educational reform initiatives by the government.

All the projects are noted for their highly innovative education approach. Projects in the Cayman Islands, Detroit and Victoria are utilizing the school building process as an important catalyst to completely revamp educational practice. A majority of the projects on the list are utilizing FNI’s unique Educational Facilities Effectiveness Instrument (EFEI). Duke School which began as a “lab school” associated with Duke University 40 years ago is working with FNI to create a model school for the 21^st century. FNI has been recruited to ensure that these “new paradigm” schools and/or school development programs can help create facilities that fully support each community’s strong student-centered educational mission.

• The Cayman Islands – Planning & Design Consultation for 3 New High Schools; Master Planning for all schools in the Country; Comprehensive Professional Development for teachers; Assessment of the Tertiary Education Facilities; EFEI Assessment of all schools in the country
• Sinarmas Group, Jakarta, Indonesia – New International K-12 school for 1,300 students
• Middletown Schools, Rhode Island – District-wide master planning for all schools in the district
• Detroit Public Schools – Curriculum Management Planning, EFEI Assessment across the school district
• New Zealand Ministry of Education – Pilot EFEI Assessment Program with potential to be scaled up nationally
• Porirua College near Wellington, New Zealand: New school for community with majority Maori and Pasifika population
• Broward County Career/Adult Education – Development of district-wide standards
• Country of Azerbaijan – Development of national school facilities standards
• Bendigo, Victoria, Australia: Planning and Design Consultation services for 4 new high schools
• Western Heights College, Victoria, Australia – New consolidated campus for college with an integrated Community Center in Geelong
• Broadmeadows, Victoria, Australia – Master Planning work for the Region + Planning and design consultation work for two primary schools and two secondary schools
• Horizons Learning Community – New learning community of homes, a town center and a learning center for pre-K through 12th grade students in Phuket, Thailand
• Mayfield Primary School – Redevelopment of an existing primary school as a world-class learning community in Launceston, Tasmania
• Rocherlea Primary School – Redevelopment work to renovate and upgrade an existing school in Launceston, Tasmania
• Bramha Valley School – Set on a beautiful hillside overlooking a pristine lake in Munshi Valley, Pune, India
• Greater Good Academy – Master planning for new campus
• Rafflles Girls School – Futures workshop as a prelude to the development of a new campus for this prestigious school in Singapore
• Tsunami Reconstruction – Vocational Schools in Sri Lanka
  • multiple facilities, up to 14 schools, emphasis on sustainable architecture
• Dalyellup Secondary College – New Government School in Western Australia
• Scotch Oakburn College, Tasmania, Australia, New Middle School, Senior Student Center and Physical Education Center
• Australia/Singapore: Planning & Design Workshops on the Development of New Paradigm School Facilities for government departments in Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and the Ministry of Education, Singapore
• Kingston High School: Project Consultation Work and feasibility study for the relocation of Kingston High School to a new Greenfield site
• Albuquerque: Planning Workshops for a new High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico
• Los Lunas: Planning workshops for a new primary school in New Mexico
• Streetsboro Ohio: Educational Master Planning Consultation Services for new Mixed Use Town Project in Streetsboro, Ohio
• New College, University of Southern Florida – University Housing & Student Center
• Whitney Village, Wyoming – Planning and design for new mixed use residential community where learning is the central theme

Randall Fielding continued his ground breaking work in February 2006 in Sri Lanka. Fielding is helping with the development of innovative new vocational community learning centers to replace traditional schools damaged by the Tsunami.

Fielding is now preparing for a new adventure in Azerbaijan in May 2006 where he will be working at the national level to develop world class facilities standards for that country. Following the visit to Azerbaijan, Fielding will also visit Victoria and Tasmania to work alongside his partner Nair on several projects in these two states.

Dr. Jeff Lackney has been leading the design effort for a project that could set a new standard for “world class”. The Duke School has set itself the goal of being the first 10-10 in the world (“10” for education supported by a “10”-level educational campus). Lackney is FNI’s managing principal for the Greater Good Academy project in Indianapolis and also working as a key design principal on several other FNI projects including Horizons Learning Center in Phuket, Scotch Oakburn College and Wesley College in Australia and the Broward County Career and Adult Education project.