Jill Ackers

School districts are being asked to deliver more with less: limited budgets, limited space, and rising expectations for student success. This session addresses a critical challenge in K–12 planning and design: how to evaluate learning environments not by what they promise, but by how they actually perform during instruction. Rather than framing decisions as “good, better, best,” this session shifts the conversation to a more meaningful question: What is the design doing during instruction? Using authentic K–12 classroom examples, participants will step into the rhythm of a typical class period to examine how learning environments either support or disrupt teaching and learning in real time. Across a range of settings and budget levels — from traditional classrooms to more flexible and alternative environments — attendees will explore how design choices can preserve instructional momentum or introduce friction that affects engagement, focus, movement, and participation. Grounded in the educator perspective and informed by collaboration among educators, designers, and facilities leaders, the session introduces an Instructionally Informed Framework for evaluating how space supports day-to-day classroom practice. Participants will leave with practical strategies they can apply immediately to assess learning environments, guide future planning, and make more effective use of bond and capital investments in ways that support student success, adaptability, and long-term value.