Construction

Bold Expectations

Sept. 1, 2010

The Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) is a facility recently completed in the Blue Valley School District, Overland Park, Kansas.

Joe Agron

For the past 28 years, AS&U has brought together some of the leading education administrators and architects to judge outstanding school and university facilities for the November Architectural Portfolio. This year’s jury received a special treat—a tour of a school on the cutting-edge of programmatic and education facility design.

The Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) is a facility recently completed in the Blue Valley School District, Overland Park, Kan. The district has had a very active construction program for many years now, and Dave Hill, Blue Valley’s executive director of facilities and operations, has proven to be a visionary facilitator and proponent of innovative and responsible school design, construction and operation.

CAPS was created to inspire district students to succeed in the areas of bioscience, business, engineering, law and public safety, and more. The program and new facility, according to CAPS literature, "is an example of how industry and our educational system can work together to produce personalized learning experiences that prepare the next generation of professionals for 21^st-century opportunities … CAPS is all about students solving real problems, with real tools used by professionals, being mentored by real employers, leading to real contribution."

The new facility, which opened last month, is a welcoming yet unassuming environment that packs a powerful punch. Designed to meet LEED Gold, the building includes equipment and learning spaces that rival some of the most advanced higher-education and professional research and academic facilities.

As we were lead on our tour by Hill and Donna Deeds, executive director of the CAPS program, it was evident the great expectation held by district staff for the program and facility—and the unique opportunity it will provide students.

All of us on the tour were impressed by the cutting-edge, innovative, bold nature of the CAPS program and facility. It was agreed that education facilities such as this will help shape a new vision for how we look at pedagogy and the facilities created to prepare new generations of students for a rapidly changing world.

View more information on CAPS.

About the Author

Joe Agron | Editor-in-Chief and Associate Publisher

Joe Agron is the editor-in-chief/associate publisher of American School & University magazine. Joe has overseen AS&U's editorial direction for more than 25 years, and has helped influence and shape national school infrastructure issues. He has been sought out for comments by publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, ABC News and CNN, and assisted with the introduction of the Education Infrastructure Act of 1994.

Joe also authors a number of industry-exclusive reports. His "Facilities Impact on Learning" series of special reports won national acclaim and helped bring the poor condition of the nation's schools to the attention of many in the U.S. Congress, U.S. Department of Education and the White House.