Ed Talks: Designing for Future-Ready Students - Lessons Learned From a Fully Integrated CTE High School

Welcome to the first installment of our new Ed Talks series—dedicated to telling the stories of our PK-12 clients and how they're enriching students' education in their local communities.

What happens when a high school is designed around real-world learning, student passion, and community input? In this episode, Treanor PK-12 Education principal Scott Dangel talks with Rebecca Albert-Vollrath, Director of Career and Innovation at Weld RE-5J School District, about the transformation of Roosevelt High School into a fully integrated Career and Technical Education (CTE) campus.

They explore how listening to the community reshaped the project, how CTE can benefit all students—not just those headed straight to the workforce—and what it means to design with a mission as your top priority.

Topics covered:
 • What “fully integrated CTE” really looks like
 • How Roosevelt’s design connects pathways, staff, and students
 • Lessons learned from designing flexible, future-ready spaces
 • Advice for school leaders considering CTE

Treanor is a national architecture, planning, and design firm located in the United States. The company holds a firm belief in sharing resources and insights with professionals, clients, and building users to shape the space we use to live and grow as people. For more information, visit www.treanor.design.

Chapters

• 1:03 The Community of Johnstown-Milliken
• 5:34 Integrating CTE into Elementary, Middle, and High School
• 7:45 Attracting and Retaining Staff
• 10:27 Transformative CTE Spaces at Roosevelt High School
• 16:04 Challenges Integrating CTE Into Schools
• 26:31 Lessons Learned Selecting CTE Programming
• 36:42 Advice to Others Considering CTE Implementation
• 41:00 Next Steps for Roosevelt and the Johnstown-Milliken Community

Transcript

Scott Dangel: 0:09

Welcome to Treanor Talks, a podcast about architecture, planning, and design. We are here with Rebecca Albert on our Ed Talks series. My name is Scott Dangel. I'm a principal at Treanor. I was the lead designer and educational planner on the new Roosevelt High School. Rebecca, how are you doing today?

Rebecca Albert-Vollrath: 0:28

Good. I'm glad you guys could be here today. So I know that we've known each other for about four years now. During that time, my role has evolved. So at this point in time, I'm currently the Director of Career and innovation with Weld RE-5J school districts, which kind of includes my Director of Career and Technical Education, concurrent enrollment, post secondary workforce readiness and a few other things along the way.

Scott Dangel: 0:54

Yeah. So we are right now in the sports medicine room, which is one of the CTE spaces at the new Roosevelt High School. You know, we've, like you said, we've known each other for four years, and started in 2020, which was when the bond passed. And then we started design in 2021, and then the building was done in 2023. So it's been open for a couple years now. This is second year.

Rebecca Albert-Vollrath: 1:16

Yep, this is the second year it's been open.

Scott Dangel: 1:17

So that's pretty exciting, yeah, and it's a very been open. unique process, as we were learning together what CTE integration was for a school, I really think it starts with, in my opinion, the community. Tell us a little bit about the community of Johnstown-Milliken.

Rebecca Albert-Vollrath: 1:35

Um, I would say, I think it's probably the most important thing that really led us to where we are. I know that you and I have talked about this before, but really this project came out of failure. We failed the bond the year before. And I think what was really important was that there was a significant effort to go back and actually talk with the community members as well as other stakeholders, teachers, and students and parents and things, and actually sit there and say, Where did, you know, where did we miss the mark? What do we, you know, what is it that you're looking for, that we didn't see? And so then there were significant, like I said, efforts to understand that, and the communities actually really wanted this stronger focus on career and technical education, workforce development and things of that nature. The communities Johnstown and Milliken, incredible small towns. We are rapidly growing, of course, but I would also say that there is still a very significant like heart and soul that is running through it that really is about hard work and some really great core, like family values and things of that nature. And so we have such a such a variety of professional folks. There are, is a really big group of professional folks that have created their own businesses. There are a lot of folks that have businesses around skilled trades, agriculture, especially, as well. And so I think that there was a desire and understanding by the community to one make sure that our school was reflecting the needs of what was happening around them in the communities, but also how to move us forward. And so with listening during that next year and then revising those plans, I think then that we were able to come through and say, okay, we understand now what is needed and how to deliver that. And so that CTE integration really came out of talking with them. I think the other really significant piece then is that we knew having one high school, we did not want it to be a single building, right? We didn't want to have just a place. We didn't want to have this antiquated view that CTE is somehow not for students who are going to college. We didn't want to have this place where some students are going while other students are not. So we really wanted to make sure that we could express really this vision of, it's about passion, it's about pathways that are college and career. And so I know that we drove you nuts a little bit, and what we were asking you all to do, because centers can be very effective. There are a lot of very strong centers in the state of Colorado, but we knew that we wanted something different. And I know that we were demanding, probably of all of you in that process, but we just knew that, again, community-driven and then workforce-driven, higher education-driven, that it was really important for us to figure out a way to mesh it all together into one building to provide the maximum opportunities for our students.

Scott Dangel: 4:32

I mean, it's super cool, and honestly you say that you were driving us crazy. But honestly, we love that, because if we didn't understand this community, which we don't, we come into every project not knowing right and then we learn who you are. And it was great to just know right at the bat. Know what you guys think a high school is. That's not what we want. We want something different. And then as we started to learn together what that was, because I think even you know, even yourself, didn't really know. You knew what you wanted, you knew what the community was asking, but how that turned into a building we were both trying to understand and exploring, you know, those things. I think it was a really cool process. And for me, it's just a high school that I hold dear to my heart for the rest of my life, because it really changes my perspective on on a building. You know, I in high school, I was a huge person in woods class. I mean, actually, always the middle school. So to me, I would have loved this school, because I would, I would have shined. So I'm just glad to see your community grabbing hold of it. The other side of this is it's not just your high school, it's all of your schools. So how does that look from elementary, middle school to high school, through the change that you guys have done so far through your community,

Rebecca Albert-Vollrath: 5:47

Right, and it's something that we're continuing to work at that implementation, I would say, level. Right now with the elementary schools, it's sort of being built into things like STEM and then also just general education, where there is levels of exploration around different, we'll say career clusters, that is occurring. A lot of times, that's happening, like I said, through a STEM class. Obviously we know that science, technology, math, et cetera, those are touching, really everything. So it's a really great place for us to have kind of an entry point, especially at that elementary level. And then in the middle school, we actually have a lot of level one classes and foundational classes that are occurring there as well, and they all support the pathways at the high school. So for example, our sixth graders are looking at quarter classes and the opportunity to explore. Seventh graders are looking at semesters, and eighth graders can either continue with semesters or they can actually take some of the courses that are those foundational courses within the pathways at the high school, so that we're just continuing to move up. And I would say to the community again, has been significantly important in the role of building those work-based learning opportunities. So not only are our students having the opportunity to learn about work, but they're also, the businesses and industry partners have really stepped up, because they're providing a lot of internship apprenticeship opportunities as well for our students. So you might be a junior at the high school, you might be enrolled in classes here, but oftentimes we have placements and relationships with folks in the community where students are able to actually go out and do the work. So it's been again that like, really again, starting in elementary school and being able to move all the way through, I think, has been really significant, and I think life changing for a lot of folks.

Scott Dangel: 7:30

I just think it's amazing, and I think it'll start to echo through the nation about how the school and what the school's doing, and what it's doing for the kids. I think it's amazing. And how many CTE programs do we have now? I know, I think we started with maybe 15, at least during design, yeah.

Rebecca Albert-Vollrath: 7:45

So during, when we started with you all, we only had five programs. I think we designed for around 14-15, it keeps evolving, of course, very quickly. So now we're at 17 in the district, and then we should have 18 later this spring. We have another program approval, and I'll probably work at another for next year. So and it is a it can be complicated, but I think if you take advantage really of again, your your relationships, whether it's folks in the community, and also higher education and things like that, it really allows you to maximize what you actually have. And I think that's been the beauty too, is we have high quality staff members. We've been able to retain high quality staff members. And then you also, as things evolve, you're able to tap into different folks and say, hey, wait, you do something too that we know is very valuable, and maybe this is something else that we can again, maximize, not only for the students, but again, also for the communities, too.

Scott Dangel: 8:44

So has, speaking of staff or teachers, has this been kind of a magnet for them? Have you had any stories where

Rebecca Albert-Vollrath: 8:47

Yeah, we'll we definitely in a couple they they've heard about Roosevelt and then they just said, you know, I want to go work there? of different pathways. We've had folks in the area, in the region, reach out and just ask if we have any job openings. I've also been fortunate. Again, those relationships are important. Some folks that are Colorado organizations, when we have needed a teacher, I've also been able to reach out to them. And again, that collaboration has occurred, and they've actually said, you know, sent folks will say, so to speak. And people have done their homework and looked. It's been very, you know, there is a shortage of teachers in general, unfortunately. And there's also, I think it's really hard at times to get strong career and technical education teachers as well. Many times they can make more money in the field. We have been fortunate that we've been able to attract and retain, again, very high quality teachers. And I know that the space once folks have come here have always said, wow, like we can't believe the spaces you have. And you know, we do, we do different things, I think, to help build that strong culture. But the building also has been a selling point for folks wanting to come in and teach. I mean, that's definitely, definitely something that's come up as well several times during the interview process and providing tours. That's definitely been helpful.

Scott Dangel: 10:16

That's awesome. I mean, that's just great to know. And students benefit from all that, that talent, and hopefully they, you know, they pay that back later on in their careers, and just, it's a cycle. So it's amazing to hear. All those CTE spaces, are there any certain spaces that you can think of that kind of transformed students' experience, or how they perceive their education?

Rebecca Albert-Vollrath: 10:39

So many of them. So it's hard to, I would say it's hard to narrow down. But I would say, for example, animal sciences, we have not had the capability in the past to lift open a door and invite in folks. Our students are able to actually take part in helping to vaccinate puppies. We actually have hydroponics tanks, so the students in agribusiness courses are actually able to raise the fish and to you know, think about all those pieces of business, as far as cost and analysis and and all those things. I would also say the construction lab is extraordinary as well. We have not been in a position the past to one have this number of students because we make sure that we adhere to the state regulations on space, of course, but also just the amount of equipment, the amount of space for them to do larger projects, the greenhouse has been phenomenal. Last year was the first year then that we had planned on doing plant sales in the spring. We had six days planned, and they sold out in three days because, again, the community came, you know, to buy those things. But it all is, you know, just it's been very transformative. And then we have those, you know, spaces that you helped us with that are more collaborative spaces, even though they are for CTE, you have the exchange, which has been hugely beneficial to our kids. It is the school store for us to have a place where we have students that can create the actual merchandise, for them to be able to sell and for them to be able to make the coffee drinks and things like that, for them to be able to learn so many lessons and that goes across pathways has been extraordinary to watch. And of course, I mentioned the merchandising room, so you know, having the plotter printer and the screen printing and the heat presses and all those things again for the students to really focus on that entrepreneurial approach that we're really trying to foster again across all pathways, for that level of independence and learning for the students has been just, it's been really incredible to watch. And I would say those are just some, but I mean, it's hard, it's hard to pick, and I still didn't pick, like, that's four, right? I'm not very good at following directions all the time, but I think that it's just hard to narrow down. It's just been really rewarding.

Scott Dangel: 12:59

Well, it's cool to hear, because I'll tell you my favorite space. One of my favorite spaces is the culinary program. And so I've done other culinary pro start designs in my career, but I've never done where one, where you also have the restaurant piece of it, and it's right off the common so it can dual purpose, as you know, maybe, maybe a flex space of the common space, but having this idea that you can learn the back of the house and the front of the house, so it's a holistic educational experience, versus go be behind these walls and cook. You're really learning how to run a business, how to run a restaurant. And I just thought that was so unique. And anytime I go to another project or another area of my career, I voice that opinion to that client. You've got to do this because it just makes sense to learn everything about the business, not just one part of it.

Rebecca Albert-Vollrath: 13:47

So yeah, it definitely. And one of the small there are small things in there too, that that occurred during the design process that have really been benefits later on, too, right, like, so there's that station that the instructor has with the camera actually up above, so that it actually can see. So as opposed to having 24 students huddled around this one tiny little station, now there's the camera from above, so that she, or when we have a guest chef or someone come in and they're actually demoing that, they can actually project that on two different places. So students are able to still, yes, they can come up, but they can also, more effectively, take notes if they want to. And they can actually kind of walk around even the TVs, which then is safer than having to be huddled, you know, 24 people around a single space. But there are little bitty things like that that we thought were going to be exciting. And it's what's great about it now is you get to actually see it like, used as intended. And I know that in any design process, I think sometimes there's things where you're like, this is going to be a great idea, but will someone actually use it? They do, and they use it the right way, and it's used like I said, it increases safety, it increases, I think, the understanding of the students. And it's really cool. You know, it's like. It really is one of those things in that space that you don't see either, right? I mean, you do see the extra, the extra monitor, but you don't see the camera, but it's there and is used, and is really, again, beneficial, I think, to the learning of those students.

Scott Dangel: 15:14

See, and that's the key, is just to be able to help kids and teachers, teach, or, you know, or learn, yeah, in easy ways, versus, you know, standing around a, you know, kitchen fryer and it's hot in there and smelly in there, just having that environment is awesome. So the one there's one thing that we hear a lot in architectural design, especially for pre K through 12, work, is CTE necessary. And the days of CTE, where the shops were in the corner and, you know, those AGS, and nobody wanted to be back there, now they're kind of in the open, but they're specialty spaces, and there's special requirements for those spaces. So as a designer, I run into issues where the client doesn't want to, you know, do a certain thing, because then they're stuck with that box or whatever. What are your biggest challenges with integrating CTE into a school? I know, from a design standpoint, that's something that we we have issues with, because we want to give you

Rebecca Albert-Vollrath: 16:16

And, you know, I'm greedy. I want everything. You want everything. I would say that in terms of a challenge, I think that, you know, there, we encountered more than one challenge, of course, along the project. And I'll go back to community on this as well. So I think that we had changes in leadership throughout. In fact, we had three different superintendents from start to finish, change in some building leadership and things of that nature. And going back to, you know, whenever we were talking about things, and it was, what are we going to do? I know, from my perspective, it was always, you know, with you all in conversation was we have to go back to what, what did we agree upon? And some of those principles were the importance of collaboration and were the importance of flexibility of spaces. And at the same time, like you said, there are some specific requirements around, you know, 150 square feet per student in a lab space, etc. So it was important for us to try to maintain the parameters that were needed, knowing that at some point, if we needed to, we could shift gears. And so we tried to make decisions, obviously, with with that in mind. And again, is it a, or is it B? Go back. Is it flexible? Or what is most flexible? Is it collaborative? And I think it was really important for us. And again, I go back through then that's what the community, you know, wanted from us and to support their community, to support student learning, et cetera. So it was important for us to stay to it. But also then it was throughout leadership changes, again, important for us and you all, and making sure that we were on the same page, and that when it gets tough, when there's a hard conversation, we need to go back to what was the vision, what is the mission? And I think that served us very well with you all that you all kept on board with that as well. But on our end, you know, like I said, as some people move maybe in and out of spaces or in and out of roles that we stay to true to, again, the vision and the mission. So I think that was that was a challenge for us. But again, go back to vision and mission. I think that helped us through most of those challenges. I would say, in most times.

Scott Dangel: 18:25

Well, and I do remember the change in progress, and it definitely provided some challenges for us, but in the end, I think, like you said, you still stuck to your idea of what you wanted and what the community wanted, and that's what we just moved forward, regardless of all the things that were going on behind the scenes. We just wanted to make sure the community was really happy with what they received, and hopefully they are with with this new new facility. Some of the things day to day, what are some of the ongoing realities of integrating CTE into into a building. So I know there's there's things like, here's an instance where you talk to me about engineering. We designed it a certain way, and we designed it to accommodate the program at hand. But then we realized that they wanted to actually have the robotics, you know, stage out all the time well, that the space that we design can accommodate that, so now we're trying to figure out how to adjust or flex that space, and so maybe we didn't do it well enough, or maybe we can do it better in the future. But are there any things like that that kind of stick out to you, that that others should be aware of when they're designing a fully integrated CTE facility?

Rebecca Albert-Vollrath: 19:41

I would say that is probably the one, the one. And honestly, and at that point in time, the program was significantly smaller. So again, we talk about this. This growth is that when we, when we designed the building, we had one, one instructor that was looking at two different programs, that was doing coding and engineering. So we went along with state regulations on space. The room is very well equipped to have a space specifically for PPE. It has a space for our 3D printers and laser cutter. It has a space for storage. But at that point in time, we were not nearly as involved in robotics. We didn't have a drone team. You know, things of that nature, and those have evolved very quickly with the new building and with the increase in interest. So when we designed the space, we did what we thought we were supposed to do. And now all of a sudden, we have all these students. We just, you try to, and I think that's something generally we really try to do, is think out into the future. But you we didn't know that. Yes, the students want the robotics arena up, like, all the time. They want to practice two, three days a week, every single week. So that's not something, I don't think that we really, I think we considered, but it just wasn't, I don't know, like, I mean, that's the one I would say was kind of the stumper, but the other spaces have continued to evolve very well for us. The only other, I think, challenge we've talked about, really, that has come up has had nothing to do with CTE integration and has everything to do with positive town support, where everyone wants more bleachers, you know, out at the out of the football field, because, again, there's such strong community support, and everyone's coming. But in terms of programmatically, I think that's really the only one we we should have made that room bigger. But again, what a great problem to have that the students are so excited about learning that they want to have out their robotics arena all the

Scott Dangel: 21:40

It's cool, and it's really cool to see. And, time. you know, even during design, we really tried to, I think, we had like multiple, like two or three user group meetings to make sure that we are on target, especially for those special spaces. And you hear all these things, and you hear from a specific teacher, and you try to accommodate everything, but it's a challenge we have on all any building, yeah, we want to make sure that those can grow. But in the end, you have all these amenities, structure and infrastructure, and MEP, that kind of hold, you know, hold you back a little bit, yeah, but we'll definitely take that. And hopefully we can maybe knock down the wall next to it.

Rebecca Albert-Vollrath: 22:18

Yeah, maybe, maybe in the future, we can knock out one wall. And I know the instructor would absolutely love that, as with the students we just right now, it's, it's very much. A lot of pick everything up, put everything away, put everything away. But they're doing it again because they're so excited. I would say, in terms of other spaces, oh goodness, this, this is another space, if, if anything, we would have made this one just a little bigger. But that's only because, again, in the short amount of time, the interest has grown for us to be having still at like a level three class with athletic training and sports medicine out here, to still have close to 50 students who are interested, is incredible. I would say that's the biggest challenge. Is we have so many things, and I think that has been, that was a question, I think too, is that I'll often get, which is, how do you, how do you continue to support all of the programs? When we had five, you know, we knew, or I knew, from a Right? standpoint of data and data collection and program quality with the state, that there was going to have to be a dip before things went back up. When you have students, and there's only five options, and now you have them presented with 15, 16, 17 options, you will have less students who will go into certain things, but again, now it's growing again. And our we have growth within the student body in general. And I would say a lot of the phone calls that I get are folks looking to open enroll here, and it's specifically for Pathways. We're doing things, not just with the integration a little differently, but with what we're able to offer a little differently, that seems to be just exciting to a lot of people. I think the most important thing that we're able to provide with the integrated model, rather than a center, is that students don't have to get on a bus, they don't have to travel somewhere else, and they don't just have to pick one pathway. So we have students who are involved in, we'll say, animal science, Culinary Arts and Business. Why? Because they want to open, you know, a restaurant here in town someday when they get older. And if students are either, you know, only allowed to or there's only room for one pathway, a lot of those cross connections are not able to be made. And so it's really exciting that the students here in this building can just walk, you know, three four minutes to the next pathway in three four minutes. And again, the center model is very successful as well. It just didn't fit what you know, we were interested in at this point in time and again. And because we are a smaller school district, and so we didn't, didn't want those things. We wanted, actually, as you know, through the design process, there was a lot of us asking you all to, like, how do you put this front and, you know, center? How do we how do we not, we don't want to hide it. Like you mentioned how some places have hidden a career and technical education. Absolutely not. It was like, these are really important things. They are extraordinary things that help our again, our workforce. They are, you know, livable wage jobs in Colorado, which is a challenge, I think, on a lot of fronts, but that's it was so important for us to say, this is important. These are valuable skills for your life, for your career. And I think then that other important thing we've really done is tried to tie those, again, all to higher education. It doesn't stop here. You every single pathway has an avenue. If students choose to go to work, they can choose to go to work after they graduate, and that's perfectly fine with us, but there's an opportunity for them to walk through, you know, the next door, if that's what they choose to do. So, yeah.

Scott Dangel: 26:05

I mean, it's just amazing. And so that kind of makes me think, you know when it when you start kind of going backwards of just understanding what CTE programs apply to your community, you know, what's, what's a lesson learned? Because I know we work with some districts, and that's always the beginning, and it takes a long time, and sometimes they don't even know what they want, and I'm not even sure if the community knows what they want sometimes. But what's some lessons learned to just picking programs, picking programs.

Rebecca Albert-Vollrath: 26:37

So within the realm of CTE. I think that northern Colorado in general is really good. I think about being involved, being supportive of those things. And I think that really looking at that talent pipeline report that comes out yearly, and looking at what are the highest need jobs in the state of Colorado, even in your area and region, I think those again, relationships. It's important that I am a member of, say, the Greeley Chamber of Commerce. It's important that we work with the Johnstown Downtown Association. It is important that I'm a part of the northern Colorado sector partnerships, again, to know what are the needs in the area. And then also, we survey kids. Of course, we survey them, usually a couple of different times for different purposes, and look to make look at that data. But we've also noticed that as we provide more opportunities, their interests are a little bit, you know, they're shifting and growing in different directions. And so again, it's, it's just really, I think it's about balance and and how we figure those things out. So I knew that we had a growing need in the nation, in Colorado, in our area for healthcare. We also knew from surveying and talking to students that that was a

Scott Dangel: 27:50

Yeah, and saying that, I mean, obviously now you growing area of interest for them too. So we try to use that information and data and put it together and see what it is that have 17. Is there anything that's missing that you really makes the most sense for us at this time. wish we would have done, or you had or, I know there's the barn that we really hard to get in, but the project kind of didn't allow it.

Rebecca Albert-Vollrath: 28:19

The extraordinary thing is, what we were able to get done during COVID.

Scott Dangel: 28:22

Yes, this was our COVID project, which was all morning, zoom and teams. Yes, everything. But it's interesting to see, because I, like, what would what advice would you give a district or somebody that's building a new building? Would you give advice about integrating CTE?

Rebecca Albert-Vollrath: 28:44

So I'll go back, your first question was about, what are we like, kind of what's on the horizon, so to speak. So we just opened up behavioral health this year. Again, there's a need for that in our area, and again, the state of Colorado, we're also, we're exploring right now energy specifically, which again, Colorado is going to put quite a bit of resources towards, and industry, again, is booming in our area around energy. So right now I'm really looking in that direction. We had really also wanted an automotive program, which we know we have a really strong interest in, but again, that was one of the components that just kind of fell off when the prices skyrocketed. At that point in time, we had hoped that we would attach it to a transportation bar, remember, yeah. And then again, we had to obviously make some choices. And so we're hoping, like, that's not a that conversation is not over, that conversation is, you know, still ongoing and what happens next? So those are really two of the areas, kind of specifically that we're looking right now. I'm also doing quite a bit of collaboration with some nearby districts, and so we're also trying to figure out how we can open up our opportunities, maybe to students in smaller districts who maybe don't have as many, you know, opportunities within their district. So and then what we're kind of hoping to do with that is one build something together, right, like within Weld County with some other districts. How do we build something together? And then we're also looking again at, how can we can support or find where someone else maybe has a program we don't, and then again, have some level of, we'll say, like reciprocity and exchange and partnership to again, expand more opportunities for students. So every time I go by the outpost, I always think I could put a dutch door in there, and that could be a pharmacy tech pathway really easily. I know, right? Because again, that space is flexible. Yes, I mean, in reality, I would just have to dutch door that and put on some shelves and suddenly. But I don't want to be too greedy, but I think that there's always that the pieces are moving forward. In terms of CTE integration, I would say it's a phased thing. We definitely are, you know, still in that process. Next year will be the first year that we're able to then finally integrate math and say, construction more closely together. And I'm hoping we're going to start looking more for touch points, I guess is what I would call them, of conversations again, where things just become more integrated. The real truth of a high school, and I say this from 20 years as a high school teacher, is that you tend to communicate, collaborate most with the people who are in your department, and then the person who when you walk outside your door that you're right next to. It's just, that's natural. That's what happens. And I think by integrating the CTE not only into every single wing and portion of the building, but then also to have those classrooms or learning studios be throughout, and have those not necessarily always have the exact same, you know, teacher in them, the exact same department in them, I think that has really started to create, again, opportunities for people to collaborate that are outside of what their norm is. We have faculty planning spaces, as you know, and those faculty planning spaces are a good place still for some departmental work, but we don't have an English wing with two pathways or a science wing with two pathways. There's a little bit of everything in every, every piece and every you know, every corner of the building, and that is specific, really, to making sure that when you do walk outside, you know your door, that it's maybe a Spanish teacher and it's maybe an English teacher. And now I, as the construction teacher, can start to talk to you all about, what am I doing, what are you doing, and try to find ways to naturally start to collaborate and have that integration. So when you think about, like, capacity for change, we're, you know, we're, we're past, like, we had some early adopters right away who were like, oh my gosh, this is amazing. And of course, you're always going to have some folks who are skeptical of it, of the change. But I do think that we've been able to balance really well. There's a space for you to have to talk to people who who know the language you speak, who you know are in your department, and there's an opportunity for you to get out a little bit more and to look to your left into your right and collaborate a little bit more. So we're we're getting, like I said, we're past early adopters. We're in more to this next phase, and now we're starting to be a little bit more strategic. But we've had so many folks jump on and go, I had no idea what they were doing. Correct, because in a standard, typical high school, that whole hallway is folks who, while all brilliant in their area, it's just one content area, and so you miss out on all the cross collaboration when you don't integrate. So to me, you know that can be a challenge, right? Is this design and this challenge of but I, I'm used to being with, you know, folks in my department, and that's valid. But at the same time, you're also it's like, it's you don't know what you don't know, and you don't know what you're missing out on when you're not able to interact with with folks from from other content areas as well. So I think, you know, like I said, that can be a little bit of a challenge, but at the same time, I think it's really proven, it's really proven, though, to really enrich the experiences of the students in our instruction and learning.

Scott Dangel: 34:20

I mean, I think it's great that you guys are using those spaces. I mean, we see all the time, those teacher neighborhoods. We build them because it's a concept, or it's discussed, and they fail or just not use correctly. And you guys are using them right. You know, you're collaborating and you're you're taking the curriculum and you're doing a cross, you know, feed between the two, and it's just amazing to see. I'm curious because I'm thinking of the future. Is a new high school, because you're a one Community High School, what do you think a new high school, the second high school looks like in this area? Do you take the same kind of concept where it's fully integrated and you have duplicate, you know, this this room here, you'd have two of them, one in that high school and one in this other high school? Or would they have different CTE? Or would it be a blend?

Rebecca Albert-Vollrath: 35:10

Well, I, you know, I don't know what the communities would want, but I love this model. I definitely would not want to replicate programs unless they are so full, you know, we have had to consider expanding FTE. We've had to, you know, consider expanding FTE in different areas, because, again, things are becoming so popular. So if something needed to be replicated, I think that that would make sense. But at the same time, you know, just mentioned that energy automotive. I mean, I would love to see that. And then I think within, then the district again, students, regardless of where they live, could have the experience maybe that they choose, you know, that the pathways that they choose, they may go to one high school or may go to the other, but they're still all, they're still our kids from our communities, as far as like, it's still a family. And I know that once you get bigger and bigger, that that starts to become a concern. But I think that even if we I should say when, because we are growing, when we get to that point, I love the model, like I said, I would just like to see different some different programming, or some additional programming, and, like I said, replicate where necessary.

Scott Dangel: 36:25

Yeah, well, it's exciting. I mean, I know that's going to happen soon. I mean, you look outside, there's houses everywhere. Every time I drive here, there's another, another row, that's crazy. So it's really great to see. Yeah, I'm gonna go back to a question. I think I think I slipped in there. Sorry, I did that. But what? What advice would you give a school leader or another district about about this, this concept, if they want to try to to achieve it in their own district?

Rebecca Albert-Vollrath: 36:55

Do it. I mean, do it. That would be my, my first piece of advice, just do it, and I'm not getting in trouble with Nike. Am I? That's that's really, okay, good. That's really what I would say. But I think that the most helpful thing, again, that we did was go to community, go to stakeholders. You know, through that process that it was involvement of folks at every level, students, parents, teachers, community members, you know? I mean, it's really important. I think that if you have that level of support, and that comes from, of course, you know that level of collective efficacy comes from people being included, you know. And I think that this area still definitely maintains a very strong sense of loyalty to the schools. And I think that I'm a firm believer in great communities make great schools, and great schools make great communities. And if you if you go with talking to your community, and you go with what is wanted and needed, you can't go wrong. And yes, that's what they wanted here. And I know that a building, a center again, can be beautiful and can work however, the fact that we're able to provide the opportunities for our kids to go to two and three different pathways, the fact that they are able to enrich their learning so much from project-based learning, from from the industry certificates that they're earning, from the concurrent enrollment credits that they're earning, like just what you're able to do because you don't have to worry about moving in terms of traveling, whether it's to another building, and you don't have to worry about in terms of just again. I mean, this is, this is definitely the furthest room we have. I know this instructor has, has a hallway, It's one end to the next, but that's still a max of six, seven minutes. You know, it's just that that would be the real advice. You know, do it include your community and definitely make sure that you really adhere to as best you can that triangulation of of your district, higher education, and then that workforce development. And I think that those that triangle, I mean, it's strong, and that's what you can do. I know that it is not, again, what everyone does. But I think that for us and maybe for some others, this is just really proven, the level of excitement, the level of respect, I think that the kids are starting to have, I don't think we've, I don't know if we've talked about this, but one of the really cool things I've noticed with the kids is they're very comfortable in having their own things. But like this really cool level of respect has come from the kids. You know, it's an engineering and what you're designing, and me getting to see what you're doing, and me being in another pathway and going, that's not, that's not my thing, but that's really cool. And there's just, I think, a stronger level of respect, a higher level of engagement with the students. Just there's so much positive that comes from it and and it's just been really great to see like I you know that I said first piece of advice, do it include the community and your other stakeholders I think is huge. As much as we think, I think a lot of times as educators, I was an assistant principal when we started this project. But even then, in leadership, I think you do the daily and you feel like you see what is needed, and you do, to some respect, but it's really important to have those other perspectives. You know, we thought we knew, and I think to an extent, they did know, but pulling in, you know, the perspectives of other really important stakeholders, I think, is just key, that that would be the big thing.

Scott Dangel: 41:00

What what do you think are the next steps for Roosevelt High School and your community?

Rebecca Albert-Vollrath: 41:06

I would just say, I think again, that level of implementation, even, like said, It's only the second year here, you know. And for me, I would say generally, implementation plans. And I think that's true of most educators, at least, I don't know about architects, because we ask you guys to do a lot in a short amount of time, but normally it's, you know, we're looking at like, three to five years, you know, and so this is just your two so even for us, it's a level of continuing to enrich and make those experiences even more robust than they are right now. So for us, it's that and then continuing to foster those relationships with industry partners, and it's continuing to make sure that we have a good pulse on things like student interest and the harder part for me in general, and I love all the industry partners we have, but I know they're always dealing with This too, which is what is the current need. And, you know, then our job to help, help get students further along the path faster, to figure out how they can help support that need in an area that they're really interested in. But then also, as we talk about potentially another half a million people coming up to northern Colorado in the next you know, 567, years, just in the area, which is also making sure that we're prepared to be out front right, not just as a school district, but that we're ready to support again, industry needs and being out front with with that many more folks. We know that there are industry needs that will come up naturally around infrastructure and health and things like that. So again, it's, you know, fill that gap now, but also we've got to be looking out forward. A big piece of this is obviously student learning, but it is also really important to me, as we do this, given the support that we have and that we want to maintain, is we have to be in a position where we're supporting economic and workforce development for our communities.

Scott Dangel: 43:00

So well, you built an amazing facility. You you built, well, we will tell an amazing facility. And it really does, I think, show your community. And it's, I think your community is thriving because of not just this school, but all the schools that you've over the last couple years. So, Rebecca, I really appreciate you being part of this, and thank you so much for your expertise.

Rebecca Albert-Vollrath: 43:24

No thank you very much. It's been great to catch up today. So thank you.

Scott Dangel: 43:27

Thank you.

Megan Cooper: 43:29

Thank you for joining us on this episode of Treanor Talks. Treanor is a national architecture, planning and design firm located in the United States. We hold a firm belief in sharing resources and insights with professionals, clients, communities and building users to shape the spaces we use every day. For more information, visit our website at treanor.design. That's T, R, E, A, N, O, R, dot, D, E, S, I, G, N. See you next time.