(Brighton, NY—October 31, 2011)—The Harley School has received a $1 million lead gift from the Chesonis Family Foundation to build the Chesonis Commons, a 21st-century “living building” on the Harley campus at 1981 Clover Street.
Chesonis Commons will be the first K-12 education space in the country that is a leader in multiple dimensions of education for a sustainable future. Fundraising for the building project has reached $2.1 million of the $3 million goal. Groundbreaking is expected in 2012 with a building opening planned for the fall of 2013. The Commons will be located near the athletic fields of the school.
The Commons will support an overarching social curriculum that puts students in charge of resource use and waste production and challenges them to manage a net zero operation in energy, water, and carbon dioxide.
The Commons will house the Briggs Center for Civic Engagement. The Briggs Center expands Harley’s leadership in public-private programs, including partnerships that help close the achievement gap for urban students from the City of Rochester. Civic responsibility is central to healthy commons and the Briggs Center will further Harley’s already nationally recognized student and institutional initiatives that are committed to leadership for the greater good.
The Commons will also house the Center for Mindfulness and Empathy Education (CMEE). The CMEE, supported by 2011 Educational Leadership Grant from the EE Ford Foundation, is nationally recognized as a leader in teaching emotional literacy. The CMEE builds on the Harley Hospice program, an elective course where students provide end-of-life care regionally and internationally.
Within the Commons is planned a state-of-the-art Science Center. The Science Center will focus on student-led programs that welcome broad participation and collaboration in tackling authentic science projects. Initiatives will be done in a collaborative way, using Internet mapping and group work with institutions and organizations regionally and around the globe.
Creative problem solving and design thinking to help spark the next “Steve Jobs-types” of the world, is the mantra of the Projects Space, which will be housed in the bottom floor of the Commons. This hands-on area will provide the space, and support necessary for design thinking and student exploration focused on bringing ideas into reality.