GLOBE NY Metro Gets Around

“Think globally, act regionally” could be the motto for Earth and Environmental Sciences' Allan Ludman and Peter Schmidt. As director and associate director, respectively, of GLOBE NY Metro—the QC affiliate of an international science and education program—they are helping to design and build a $29 million, K–8 magnet school for the Hartford, CT school system. “To be in on the ground floor is different and exciting,” says Schmidt. “We get to shape the physical plant as well as the programs.”

Ludman and Schmidt became educational consultants for the Mary M. Hooker Environmental Studies Magnet School after acting as advisors to a Meriden, CT-based architecture firm, BL Companies. Ludman, in a new role for him, was a member of the committee that presented BL’s winning bid for the job; subsequently, the two men took turns attending a series of meetings that determined the square footage for classrooms and public areas. “It’s been absolutely fascinating to watch the negotiation process between the school, the architects, and the city of Hartford,” says Ludman, who envisions participating in similar projects in the future.

Construction of the magnet school is slated for the fall, after blueprints are completed. The work will transform an old-style building into a state-of-the-art institution that supports GLOBE’s hands-on methods across the curriculum. Since students will be taught to record their neighborhood’s environmental data and file it on a Web site, “groups have to be able to go in and out easily,” Schmidt explains. (Fortunately, the school is adjacent to 15 acres of meadows and woods that will serve as a field laboratory.)

The makeover isn’t limited to the doorways. Classrooms need to be retrofitted with counter space, sinks, and Internet connections; even the art and music rooms will have computer stations. Facilities will include a butterfly vivarium, an aquatic display area, a greenhouse, and maybe a planetarium. The building itself, designed to meet the highest standard in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, will be a powerful teaching tool, demonstrating solar cells and geothermal heating.

Ludman and Schmidt, who in five years have given GLOBE training to about 1500 New York area teachers, think the program is well suited to Hartford. The city may be small, but its public schools face big urban challenges, from rapidly changing demographics to an influx of students who speak English as a second language.

“As an international program, GLOBE allows kids to touch base with their home countries,” says Schmidt. “Since the scientific vocabulary is the same, it puts ESL students on the same plane as English-speaking students. And hands-on work is great for kids with a limited experience base.”