By Lindsey Coulter

The �Ӱ�ԭ��ҕ�l Design + Construction Symposium brought education leaders, architects, designers, contractors, developers and facilities professionals together Aug. 5 at Denver’s historic Tivoli Turnhalle to examine how evolving needs are reshaping the design and delivery of K-12 and higher education environments.��

Held on the Auraria Campus, the event focused on project-driven discussions around student belonging, school safety, community engagement, mass timber, urban��development��and the increasingly compressed construction schedules facing school districts. The symposium was designed to move beyond broad industry trends and examine real projects and lessons that can be applied to future work.��

Designing for Belonging��

The program opened with a keynote from Dr. Drew Coleman, Chief of Schools for Jeffco Public Schools, who challenged attendees to consider the relationship between school environments, student��experience��and educational outcomes.��

Coleman’s presentation, “Building Belonging: Designing Schools Where Students Feel Safe Enough to Learn and Prepared Enough to Lead,” examined how the physical environment can either support or hinder student success. His perspective connected education leadership, school��culture��and the built environment, reinforcing the symposium’s emphasis on designing schools around the needs of the people who use them.��

The keynote was followed by a district-level perspective from Micah Ali, president of Compton Unified School District. Ali discussed the development of Compton High School and the importance of trust,��continuity��and community partnerships in delivering major educational facilities projects.��

Born and raised in Compton, Ali played a foundational role in the development of��the high��school and has extensive experience in land use, development and partnerships aimed at expanding opportunities for students.��He also is helping guide the district’s upcoming Centennial and Dominguez Hills High School projects.����

The discussion illustrated a broader theme that ran throughout the symposium: successful school construction is not simply about delivering a building, but about creating facilities that reflect community priorities and support long-term educational goals.��

Beyond Safety and Security��

The morning continued with a design panel examining how safety, security,��belonging��and well-being can coexist in school environments.��

Panelists��Erika Ashauer, Human Experience Research Lead for HCM’s PK-12 Studio; Joel Williams, Studio Director at QKA; Guy Grace, vice chair of the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools; and Pat Tackney, Security & Architectural Sales Consultant for McGrory Glass Systems,��expanded the traditional definition of school safety beyond access control and security hardware. Panelists considered how visibility, privacy, supervision,��comfort��and a sense of belonging can influence the experience of students and staff.��

The discussion reflected a broader shift in school design toward environments that address both physical safety and the emotional and social conditions that help students learn.��

Summit House Provides a Case Study in Innovation��

After a networking break, the symposium shifted from K-12 schools to higher education and student��housing��with a case study��on��Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Summit House.��

Presented by��Martha Nelson, Director of Planning, Design and Construction for MSU Denver; Ben Diaz, Senior Development Manager for Columbia Ventures; Macy Huffaker, Project Architect with SAR+ Architects; Ryan Marshall – Superintendent at PCL Construction,��the��session, moderated by Leone Dick, Chief of Staff to the Vice President of Administration at MSU Denver,��explored the planning,��design��and delivery of MSU Denver’s first residence hall.��

Summit House��represents��a significant milestone for the university and for Colorado construction. The 12-story student residence is being delivered using mass timber and is positioned to become the tallest mass-timber structure in the state. The project also incorporates an urban construction environment and a public-private delivery model. (�Ӱ�ԭ��ҕ�l)��

Rather than focusing on mass timber as a standalone innovation, the presentation examined the combination of decisions and partnerships��required��to make the project possible. Those included material��selection, planning,��logistics,��development��and construction delivery.��

The case study also gave attendees a closer look at the increasingly complex role of construction teams working in dense urban environments and managing innovative structural systems.��

Racing the Summer Construction Clock��

The symposium concluded its formal program with a panel focused on one of the most persistent challenges in K-12 construction: delivering projects within the limited summer construction window.��

Moderated by Chuck Amos, CEO of��SchoolBondFinder, the panel featured David J. Henderson,��Deputy��Chief of��Operations for Cherry Creek School District, and Justin Sinnott,��Vice��President of��Corporate��Operations at Erickson-Hall.��

Dubbed “The Summer Sprint,” the discussion��addressed��planning, coordination, risk��management��and project delivery during the period when schools are vacant but must be ready for students when the new academic year begins.��

Henderson brought more than 25 years of K-12 construction and��facilities��leadership to the discussion, including oversight of approximately��2 million square feet��of capital improvement,��construction��and renovation projects across Colorado school districts.��Sinnott contributed experience in project planning, execution, risk management and operational efficiency.��

The panel underscored how compressed schedules are placing greater emphasis on early planning,��coordination��and delivery strategies that can reduce risk while��maintaining��quality.��

The topic also reflected broader pressures facing districts nationwide. �Ӱ�ԭ��ҕ�l recently examined the “Summer Sprint” as an increasingly demanding period in which districts must complete everything from HVAC replacements and classroom renovations to larger capital projects before students return.��

From Conversation to Job Site��

Attendees also��had the opportunity to take the��morning’s��discussion into the field with an exclusive tour of MSU Denver’s Summit House.��

The tour provided a firsthand look at the mass-timber residence hall and connected the project’s planning and delivery discussion with its physical construction. According to �Ӱ�ԭ��ҕ�l, the project��represents��the intersection of student housing demand, urban development, innovative��materials��and alternative approaches to project delivery.��

Across its sessions, the symposium emphasized a common challenge facing both K-12 and higher education: making increasingly complex capital investments serve long-term institutional and community goals.��

From Coleman’s examination of belonging to Ali’s discussion of community trust, the design panel’s exploration of safety and well-being, Summit House’s innovative delivery and the final panel’s focus on compressed construction schedules, the event demonstrated that the future of educational construction will require collaboration across disciplines.��

Rather than treating design, construction, operations and educational outcomes as separate considerations, the symposium brought those perspectives together around a shared question:��How can the industry create schools and campuses that are not only built successfully, but equipped to serve the people and communities who depend on them?��

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By Lindsey Coulter��

A school building is more than the backdrop for education. It is where students develop relationships, teachers build community and young people begin to understand their place in the world. For Dr. Drew Coleman, Chief of Schools at Jeffco Public Schools, the physical environment is an important — and sometimes overlooked — part of that experience.��

At the recent 2026 �Ӱ�ԭ��ҕ�l Design + Construction Symposium, Coleman served as the keynote speaker. In his presentation, “Building Belonging: Designing Schools Where Students Feel Safe Enough to Learn and Prepared Enough to Lead,” Coleman examined how school environments can support belonging,��safety��and student success.��The symposium brought together education leaders and the A/E/C community to explore the trends, challenges and projects shaping K-12 and higher education facilities.��

In advance of the event, �Ӱ�ԭ��ҕ�l��(SCN)��spoke with Coleman about his path from classroom teacher to district leader, what he has learned about the relationship between physical spaces and student outcomes, and why designing��—��or redesigning��—��a school should begin with how the people inside it experience that space.��

SCN: What initially drew you to education?��

Coleman:��I believe education��is a great equalizer. I had an awesome educational experience, with parents who viewed public education as��very important��and educators who invested in me. They pushed me academically, challenged me through��activities��and helped me build character.��

I went into public education wanting to ensure that other people had��that��same experience.��I realized my experience wasn’t the experience of all of my friends and counterparts, so I wanted everyone else to have that same opportunity.��

SCN: How did your classroom experience shape the way you think about learning environments?��

Coleman:��Once I became a teacher, I realized education was more than putting standards and information in front of students.��Students have to understand that we care about them.��

I taught in Title I schools and some of our most impoverished schools, where buildings were often��old��and classrooms��hadn’t��received much investment. I wanted my students to have the kind of experience I had, so I invested in my own classroom.��

A college professor once told me, “Your classroom should make your students feel like home.” I created little nooks and��reading��corners with a couch and bookshelf. I would put a lamp there. It was about reminding students what reading could be like and creating a space where they felt comfortable.��

SCN: What have you learned about the relationship between belonging, the physical��environment��and student success?��

Coleman:��When a leader creates a sense of belonging, educators take pride in their space.��I’ve��worked in old buildings where educators were given the ability to make modifications and updates to their classrooms. They made their classrooms their own.��

That��translated��to the students. They took ownership and pride in their classrooms, too.��When students feel safe, feel like they belong and feel like they matter, it makes a difference.��I’ve��seen that��reflected in��academic outcomes.��

The��flip side��is also true. If students walk into an old building where paint is chipping off the walls and they��don’t��have spaces that feel uniquely theirs, that has an emotional and mental impact on how they view education and learning. It also affects how they perceive how adults feel about them.��

SCN: Does creating that environment always require a new building or major capital investment?��

Coleman:��No. I know money and finances are difficult for most schools and districts. New, innovative buildings are great, but��it’s��also about how we reimagine our current��spaces��so they align with 21st-century learning and what students need.��

You can take an old home and fix it up on the inside. The same thing applies to schools. It��isn’t��necessarily about the neighborhood or location of the building.��It’s��about how we make the building and how we make students feel.��

If students don’t feel they matter or don’t have a sense of belonging, it shows up in their academic outcomes and their behavior data.��

SCN: How has your expanded role in safety and security changed how you think about the built environment?��

Coleman:��Safety and security��is��a unique space. There is the physical safety of the building—making sure we have the technical things in��place��so buildings are physically secure and feel safe. In Jeffco,��we’ve��done an extremely��good job��ensuring that our buildings have that sense of physical safety.��

But��there’s��also a sense of safety and belonging. A building can be physically safe, but there can still be people in our communities who��don’t��feel safe.��

That’s��why listening is so important. We��have to��ask, “If you don’t feel safe, what would make you feel safe?”��Then we have to determine what we can actually do.��

SCN: What do you hope attendees��took��away from your symposium keynote?��

Coleman:��What we do in K-12 education is going to be so important, especially as we think about the next generation and what happens after high school. What we do in our schools makes a difference.��

When��we’re��able to create an environment where students really feel that they belong,��we’re��able to decrease the dropout rate and increase the graduation rate.��

The space��matters. It matters more than people sometimes realize.��

That’s��why conversations between educators and the design and construction community are so important. Educators understand what students and teachers experience every day. Architects,��engineers��and contractors bring��expertise��about what is possible within the built environment. When those perspectives come together early and thoughtfully, we have an opportunity to create spaces that don’t just look��good, but��actually support the people who use them.��

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