Woodland Elementary School
Designed to support Milford’s educational vision of team teaching methodology and inclusionary instruction, the new Woodland Elementary School features a series of shared spaces and small learning communities to meet the needs of all students.
Milford, MA
133,000 sf
3 – 5
985
LEED Silver
49.3% from code baseline
35% from baseline code
Reinterpreting the predecessor Woodland School’s open plan concept, the new school is organized around grade-level learning. Each grade occupies one floor in the academic wing, grouped into three smaller clusters of six classrooms with a learning commons just outside the classrooms.
These commons areas encourage a range of flexible teaching approaches, allowing teachers to shift from more traditional, contained environments to large-group events, team projects, and small-group work sessions. Sinks are included within the project areas to support messy, hands-on building activities.
“Beautifully inspired sculpted interiors.
Excellent use of light, scale, and color.”Jury Comments | American School & University
Adaptable Design
The school’s flexible academic wing was designed for Woodland’s approach to differentiated instruction and RTI (Response to Intervention), in which students of differing abilities work in smaller groups in shared, small-group spaces adjacent to pairs of classrooms. These small rooms are visible from the adjacent classrooms and allow students to stay near their “home base”.
The new Woodland Elementary School enabled the Town of Milford to address several critical facility issues, including realignment of town-wide grade configuration that reunites grades 6-8 in a single middle school, and to accommodate a growing elementary-aged population.
Awards/Credits
- William W. Caudill Citation, American School & University Architectural Portfolio Awards, 2017
- Photography, Ed Wonsek
