Category: Team
SCHRADERGROUP is Exhibiting at the PASBO 64th Annual Conference in Hershey, Pennsylvania
SCHRADERGROUP (SG) will be exhibiting at the 64th Pennsylvania Association of School Business Official (PASBO) Annual Conference this year in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
PASBO is a statewide organization that focuses on sharing learning experiences and promotes networking amongst school business colleagues and business partners that are members of the association. Every year, PASBO has provided an opportunity to come together at their annual conference to present keynote speakers, provide information workshops and sessions and provide opportunities to network with peers and business partners.
At the Conference, there is an opportunity to meet and speak with SG Partners, David Schrader and Bruce Bachtle, Principals, Harry Pettoni and Tom Forsberg, and Senior Educational Planner, Danielle V. Hoffer. The team looks forward to seeing many new and familiar school business colleagues. As experts in Academic design, we want to hear you and to help you with your educational programming, planning and design to enhance your learning facilities.
Come visit us at our booth (413) to chat about your projects and ideas for your school district’s needs.
You can visit Academic Projects on our website here.
You can learn more about the PASBO Conference here.
SCHRADERGROUP Managing Partner’s Farewell as Chairman of the Association for Learning Environments (A4LE)
David Schrader, Managing Partner of SCHRADERGROUP (SG), closed another chapter with A4LE as his time on the Executive Committee for A4LE came to an end in October of 2018.
SG Managing Partner David Schrader, AIA, LEED AP, A4LE Fellow, is heavily involved in a variety of activities surrounding planning and design for educational facilities. A long-standing member of the Association for Learning Environments (A4LE), formerly Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI), David most recently served as Chairman of the International Board of Directors for the organization. Former posts include Vice Chair of the International Board of Directors, Chair of the International Membership Committee, Co-Chair of the International School of the Future Design Competition, President of the Northeast Region, and CEFPI Governor for Pennsylvania.
David is the recipient of multiple awards bestowed by the organization and is a regular speaker and organizer for regional and national conferences. He also served as Jury Chair of the SchoolsNEXT Design Competition, an annual program supported by A4LE and over 20 other organizations that draws national attention to the importance of well-planned, healthy, high performance, safe and sustainable schools through a design competition engaging middle school students.
In 2009 through 2011, David was named Planner of the Year for the Northeast Region of the Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI). He consequently was a finalist for International Planner of the Year in 2010 and 2011. David was awarded the Distinction of A4LE Fellow at the 2017 Annual Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. David has received numerous design accolades and recognition from other organizations as well. Recognized for demonstrating excellence in educational facilities planning, practice and leadership, David is known for involving students and community in consensus-based planning processes, for his commitment to educational programming and design, and for his regional and national CEFPI leadership roles.
David noted that his time on the Executive Committee has been among the most rewarding experiences of his career. During his time, the organization experienced unprecedented growth from 3,500 members to 5,000. He was part of the Executive Committees that renamed and rebranded the organization. He was also part of the team instating the global transition of the organization and continues in that capacity today.
In his parting statement, David expressed his sincere appreciation to his A4LE colleagues for this amazing camaraderie, to his professional colleagues for their support during his tenure and to his family for their love and support.
SCHRADERGROUP Gives Thanks for 2018 and Welcomes the New Year
Time sure flies when you’re having fun!
Everyone at SCHRADERGROUP is grateful for all the opportunities and adventures that we’ve had over the past year. Let’s recap some of those great moments from 2018…
The SCHRADERGROUP Team
Early this year, our Lancaster office moved its location to the downtown area on East King Street, in the middle of all the action in Lancaster city.
We congratulated Eric Weiss and Kelly Ryan for becoming registered Architects in Pennsylvania as well as Jeff Rothermel for becoming a registered Structural Engineer. We welcomed back Paige Geldrich, our previous summer intern, as our newest Architectural Designer. We also recognized five years of dedication to SCHRADERGROUP (SG) from Principals, Harry Pettoni and Tom Forsberg, Architects, Eric Weiss and Kelly Ryan, and Marketing Associate, Rachel Dougherty.
Community Engagement
Senior Project Manager, Danielle V. Hoffer, generously lent her time and experience to Hatboro-Horsham School District by participating in their girls’ STEM talk, Blair Mill Elementary School’s “Tiny House” project, the School District’s Career Fair, the School District’s Statistic Fair and the School District’s Networking Event.
Project Manager and Architect, Dan D’Amico, visited Upper Merion Area School District’s elementary schools to discuss designing spaces for everyone (accessibility) and classrooms for the future.
Project Architect, Kelly Ryan, volunteered her time to help teach students how to cook with the Vetri Cooking Lab program.
Managing Partner, David Schrader, had the opportunity to talk to the students at Penn State’s Blue and White Society sharing his life and professional experiences as an Architect and managing his own firm. He also discussed sustainability with a panel of Doctoral Candidates at Arcadia University and published thoughts on “What We Understand About the Next Generation of Learning Environments” on our SG blog. He also published thoughts on “Changing the Face of Education” in Learning by Design Magazine.
Conferences and Events
The SG team made exciting new connections at various conferences and events we attended this year.
We enjoyed connecting with future architects and designers at PSU’s Stuckeman School’s Career Day—an event at which our attendance can always be counted on.
As always, we loved seeing familiar faces and meeting new people in the academic community at the PASBO, PSBA, A4LE, Maryland ASBO and DVASBO annual conferences.
We also enjoyed meeting and speaking with members of the Communications, Emergency Operations and the Law Enforcement communities during our exhibition and attendance at various Public Safety conferences including IACP, APCO, NSA and NENA.
Awards and Recognition
With tremendous support from our clients, we’re proud to announce a number of awards and recognition our projects have earned over the past year.
Phoenixville Area School District’s new Early Learning Center and Manavon Elementary School received four separate Outstanding Design awards from Learning by Design and American School & University magazines. For more detail, check out Learning by Design’s 2018 spring issue here and 2018 fall issue here; American School & University’s August issue and their November-December issue here.
Bristol Township School District’s Brookwood, Mill Creek, and Keystone Elementary Schools were featured in Sherwin William’s STIR magazine. STIR praised us for our ability to “create an inviting and beautiful environment that the District and its children are proud of.”
The State Emergency Operations Center that SG and AECOM designed and built together for the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency also received an AIA AAJ Justice Facilities award from the American Institute of Architects. Further, South Korean delegates took a tour of the Emergency Operations Center to view its state-of-art technology and facility design.
We received word that a young student created a perspective painting of the Hayshire Elementary School that we previously designed for Central York School District. It’s wonderful to see our designs appreciated by students!
We were delighted to have our firm profile featured in Learning by Design’s summer issue as well as ranking #95 in Engineering News-Record MidAtlantic’s Top Design Firms of 2018 and ranking #38 in the Architect Magazine’s Top 50 Firms in Business.
David Schrader earned Fellowship recognition this year for his service with the Association for Learning Environments (A4LE). He also reflected on his time with A4LE and the organization’s international accomplishments in an article in Learning Spaces Magazine. Though David’s role as Chairman came to a close this past year, he remains an active, contributing member of A4LE and supports the new Chairman and Board Members in their mission to improve the environments in which children learn.
Beginnings and Next Chapters
We began a grand journey for the construction of Hatboro-Horsham School District’s Crooked Billet Elementary School, Springfield Township School District’s newest Early Learning Center with groundbreaking ceremonies as well as Springfield School District’s, in Delaware County, newest High School.
We welcomed the opening of Cherry Hill Elementary/Middle School with a Ribbon cutting with officials from Baltimore City Public Schools. We celebrated the completion of Upper Merion Area School District’s two new Elementary Schools: Caley and Gulph in King of Prussia. We finished construction of Council Rock School District’s newly renovated Holland Middle School. We are also proud to see the completion of the Phelps School Athletic Facility, renovations to Circle of Seasons Charter School, and the renovations to Palmyra Middle School.
We thank you for all the adventures we’ve had during 2018 and are excited for more opportunities in the new year!
From all of us at SCHRADERGROUP
SCHRADERGROUP Welcomes Our Newest Architectural Designer!
SCHRADERGROUP welcomes our newest Architectural Designer, Paige Geldrich, Associate AIA, LEED Green Associate!
Ms. Geldrich is a Pennsylvania State University graduate. For her senior thesis, she investigated concepts for high school design to encompass 21st Century Learning. The thesis focused on the development of learning environments to support creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration skills so essential to prepare in a student for the future.
Ms. Geldrich began her time with SG as a summer intern and now is one of SG’s architectural Designers. She will focus her efforts on academic design to follow these critical skills she investigated in her thesis. Coordinating with our Project Managers and Project Architects, Ms. Geldrich will collaborate with consultants and owners as part of the SG team.
SCHRADERGROUP Architect attends Hatboro-Horsham High School’s Statistic Fair
As each school year winds down, the Advanced Placement Statistics course at Hatboro-Horsham High School hosts an event in June to evaluate the students final statistics project. SCHRADERGROUP’s Danielle Hoffer, Senior Project Manager for the Architectural firm designing the new Crooked Billet Elementary School for the School District, was invited to participate as a Guest Evaluator.
Over 40 student-teams shared their projects and findings at the fair which is modeled after science fairs, where students share exhibits and take questions from those who attend in a casual environment. The students are given the task of explaining their project quickly and effectively, keeping in mind the audience may have limited statistical knowledge.
At SCHRADERGROUP, we continue to support our communities in our schools—especially where we can help to promote science, technology, engineering and math!
Check out HHSD’s video on their Statistics Fair here.
SCHRADERGROUP Architect Volunteers with Vetri Cooking Lab
SCHRADERGROUP’s Project Architect, Kelly Ryan, AIA, volunteered her time with Vetri Community Partnership (VCP): Vetri Cooking Lab.
Vetri Cooking Lab is an after-school time program that combines cooking, nutrition education and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) core concepts.
This 10-week curriculum-based program engages 4th through 6th–grade students, using recipes to teach important nutrition lessons (like whole vs. processed foods), the importance of breakfast, reading nutrition labels, added sugar, food marketing and more.
Below we asked Kelly why she did the Cooking Lab and what her experience with VCP and the kids she mentored was like.
The kids drew a portrait of Ms. Kelly
SG: How did you find this program?
Kelly: I learned about this program from a neighbor who works for VCP.
SG: Is this your first time volunteering with them?
Kelly: Yes, this was my first semester with VCP, but I plan to continue in the future.
SG: What made you want to do this program? Did you have any programs with mentors or volunteers that inspired you to do this?
Kelly: My architectural thesis centered on creating a network of localized food growers and community education centers to alleviate urban food deserts. At the time of my research, over 2/3 of Americans were overweight or obese and one cause was attributed to limited access to fresh, healthy foods. Programs like Vetri Cooking Lab provide hands on nutrition education and culinary skills to equip children with the knowledge and ability and create healthy habits. I wanted to be a part of VCP’s “Eat. Educate. Empower.” slogan.
SG: What do you think you offered to the kids in the program? Did they offer you anything? (knowledge or experience wise)
Kelly: Outside of teaching them basic kitchen skills, I hope I offered myself as a confident, female role model and an open ear to listen to their daily successes and concerns. It was rewarding to see the kids build their skill sets from class to class, like watching them cut an onion week 1 vs. week 10, and discover the thrill of using an immersion blender. Our Tuesday class was always a Top 10 highlight to my week.
SG: Are there any programs that you are interested in getting involved with in the future?
Kelly: I plan to continue volunteering with Vetri Cooking Lab in the future!
At SCHRADERGROUP, our purpose to give back to the community is our genuine focus in all of our work–inside the office and out.
Read more about VCP and get involved here.
Congratulations to SCHRADERGROUP’s Newest Registered Architects and Registered Structural Engineer!
SCHRADERGROUP (SG) Congratulates our newest registered Architects, Eric Weiss and Kelly Ryan, and newly registered Structural Engineer, Jeff Rothermel. We congratulate all three for on passing their exams!
Eric, Kelly and Jeff are all Pennsylvania State University graduates—Eric and Kelly have been with SCHRADERGROUP for five years and this is Jeff’s first year! Eric and Kelly graduated from the Stuckeman School of Architecture and Jeff graduated from the School of Architectural Engineering.
We look forward to their continued contributions to our projects to our clients and to communities that we represent.
SCHRADERGROUP Project Architect Helps Kick Off “Classrooms for the Future” Project at Roberts Elementary School in Upper Merion Area School District
The SCHRADERGROUP (SG) team recognizes that the facilities we design can also become tremendous project-based learning experiences for the students that inhabit our facilities!
Recently, Project Architect, Dan D’Amico, AIA, had the opportunity to help kick off an assignment about designing “Classrooms for the Future” for 1st graders at Roberts Elementary School in the Upper Merion Area School District (UMASD). SCHRADERGROUP recently designed and currently has in construction two new elementary schools for UMASD, Caley Elementary School and Gulph Elementary School.
Mr. D’Amico assembled a presentation showing overview of architecture and the role architects play during the design process. He then discussed the differences between classrooms of the 20th century versus learning studios for the future. As part of this experience, students provided creative observations about the colors and shapes used in the next generation of learning studios to help stimulate learning. The students also expressed curiosity about the process of constructing academic facilities.
The 1st grade students were beginning to design a “Classroom of the Future” as part of an overall critical thinking and design project. Mr. D’Amico’s presentation helped kick off the project with real-world experience by showing designs for the new Caley and Gulph elementary schools currently being constructed in Upper Merion. To help introduce the students to their assignment, Dan provided “architect’s tools” to the students. Following this introduction, the children approached their project with excitement!
SG strives to utilize the processes that we advocate through our building designs in order to achieve the goal of enhancing communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking for the next generation of learners.
SCHRADERGROUP Visits Blair Mill Elementary for Their Grade Level “Tiny House” Project
As part of SCHRADERGROUP’s (SG) mission to do their part to enhance the student’s educational experience, members of the team continue to inspire students through the built environment as well as investing in their educational development through participation in the classroom. Recently, the SG team contributed to Hatboro-Horsham School District, Blair Mill Elementary School’s “Tiny House” grade level project. SG kicked off the program by speaking with students about the architecture profession and about the process of planning for a “Tiny House.”
To help put into context how a building is designed, Danielle V. Hoffer, Senior Project Manager for the new Crooked Billet Elementary School in Hatboro-Horsham School District, used the new school project as an example of the concepts the students must consider when planning and designing their own “Tiny House.” Similar to designing a school building, the students must consider where their “Tiny House” will be built, who they will be building it for and what they will need to include as part of their design to work.
Over the following weeks the students will be reading and writing about “Tiny Houses”, learning about the environmental and social impacts of a “Tiny House” versus a larger home and will then create the design of their own “Tiny House.” Ms. Hoffer indicated that their questions demonstrated their unbridled imagination and creativity at this early age, as well as their enthusiasm for the project. She also expressed how exciting it was to contribute to this great project-based learning experience!
SCHRADERGROUP Attends Stuckeman School Career Day 2018
SCHRADERGROUP (SG) is proud to have participated in the 32nd annual Stuckeman School Career Day at Penn State University on February 9th. SG was represented at the event by managing partner, David Schrader (Penn State Class of 1991), and Architectural Associates, Kelly Ryan and Eric Weiss (both Penn State Class of 2013). SG has a strong group of talented employees, some of whom are graduates of the Penn State Stuckeman School – we were honored to meet so many bright, dedicated architecture students with promising portfolios.
SG also partners with the Stuckeman School for their Intern(partner)Ship Program, helping to place talented Penn State Students in challenging summer internships that will advance their careers. We’re looking forward to seeing a few familiar faces from career day this summer!