TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Tampa's Hillel School Makes Changes to Boost Learning

ADVERTISEMENT

By COURTNEY CAIRNS PASTOR | The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 28, 2008

TAMPA - Subtle changes at the Hillel school could bring big improvements to how students learn.

Prakash Nair, a Hillel parent and internationally acclaimed school designer, approached school officials last year with an unusual donation. He wanted to develop a plan for Hillel that brought its building and outdoor space in line with its educational mission.

The private Jewish school and its parent-teacher organization funded some of the changes Nair suggested during the summer and hopes to make more improvements next year.

The school added sliding-glass doors to replace windows in two classrooms that were too small to let in light and too high for children to have a view. It set up a life-size chess board, built a deck for middle school students to study outside and renovated a breezeway to encourage parents to stay and chat.

The changes are designed to stimulate learning, inspire creativity and develop a sense of community.

"We have this gorgeous campus, and we thought we weren't getting enough out of it," said Amy Wasser, "head of school."

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT