Good Morning Friends of the Harley School!

My name is Valerie Myntti and I am the Interim Head of the Harley School.

We are delighted to welcome you to this exciting event—one that we have waited for with bated breadth—the groundbreaking of the Chesonis Commons. It took the vision— the hard work—the talent—and the treasure of many dedicated Harley supporters—many of whom are gathered in this room today to bring this extraordinary endeavor to fruition. For that we are profoundly grateful.

The Chesonis Commons is a 21st Century barn that will house a cutting edge educational experience for Harley students—dedicated to creating a sustainable future. There is no other building or educational program like it—anywhere!

In 1926, Harley’s first Head of School, Louise Sumner, bought a 32-acre property covered with aging apple trees, a small white farmhouse and a large barn for $13,000 at 1981 Clover Street. The barn was torn down in 1974—and there are still members of our community to this day who mourn the passing of that old barn. Today, we will begin to re-raise the 21st Century version of the Harley barn. The Chesonis Commons will bring The Harley School into the forefront of innovative educational practice in science and sustainability AND connect us with our humble but sweet beginnings.

In the Commons, we are taking on the challenge of a net-zero building AND—as is our progressive school tradition—we will put the responsibility of achieving a minimal operational footprint in the hands of our students. The Commons will include a greenhouse and systems for sequestering carbon, a green wall and a solar chimney to naturally regulate the temperature in the building. Solar panels will be installed along with systems for rainwater collection and a solar hot water heating system. The Commons earns its status as a living building because it will generate its own energy—heat and cool with renewable—non-toxic resources—capture and utilize water and carbon in its greenhouse—and operate efficiently using students as the brains or controls for managing its operations. Systems will be controlled and monitored from a central control room operated by students. The Commons will demand that the Harley students keep a careful eye on its systems to be sure they have the energy needed to power lights, equipment, and to heat and cool the space. Students will have multiple opportunities to democratically decide how to inhabit this space—simple decisions such as deciding whether to keep the temperature at 60 degrees in the winter and encourage their peers to don sweaters. These discussions will become a part of the daily life in the Commons.

Chesonis Commons will be home to three new educational resources at the school including the Briggs Center for Civic Engagement, the Center for Mindfulness and Empathy Education, and a state of the art Science Center. In addition the basement will house a Projects Space and Work Shop—essentially a creative problem solving and innovative design program—a hands-on area that will provide students in grades K-12 with the space and support necessary for design thinking and student exploration focused on bringing ideas to reality.

Tom Johnson is the designer of the Commons, The Nichols Team is the Construction Company building the Commons, and Chris Costanza is the architect. We thank them for their brilliant work on this project.

Thank you for your generosity and your continued good will as we break ground for the Chesonis Commons.

At this time, I would like to introduce Peter Willsea, the President of Harley’s Board of Trustees.

Brighton, N.Y., November 19, 2012—The Harley School will break ground on Chesonis Commons—a “living building” that will be dedicated to environmental education and sustainability at 1981 Clover Street—on November 26, 2012. The groundbreaking ceremony will begin at 9:30 a.m. with a performance by Harley’s a cappella group, Vocal Chords. The program will include remarks from lead donor and former PAETEC CEO Arunas Chesonis, The Harley School Board of Trustees President Peter Willsea, Harley Interim Head of School Valerie Myntti, and Brighton Town Supervisor William Moehle.

Chesonis Commons will be the first K-12 education space in the country to offer students multiple dimensions of education around creating a sustainable future. The 14,000-square-foot structure earns its status as a “living building” because it will generate its own energy, heat and cool with renewable nontoxic resources, capture and utilize water and carbon in its greenhouse, and operate efficiently using students as the “brains” or controls for managing its operations. The $3 million project was funded by a $1 million lead gift from the Chesonis Family Foundation, as well as fundraising and donations to The Harley School. Chesonis Commons is expected to be complete by September 2013.

“When complete, Chesonis Commons will support a rich social curriculum that puts our students in charge of resource use and waste production. Students in the building will work toward a net-zero operation in energy, water, and carbon dioxide,” said Myntti. “We’ll be able to offer our students a unique and creative educational experience that challenges them to think differently about science and our environment as a whole. This is an experience they won’t get anywhere else in our region.”

Chesonis Commons will be constructed in the barn located near the athletic fields on The Harley School Campus. It will be home to three new educational resources at the school, including the Briggs Center for Civic Engagement, Center for Mindfulness and Empathy Education (CMEE), and a state-of-the-art Science Center.

The Briggs Center will focus on programs that put students, faculty, and the institution in positions of civic leadership—expanding Harley’s leadership in public-private programs. The CMEE will support emotional literacy among students, and build upon The Harley School’s Hospice Outreach Program, an elective course where senior students volunteer to provide end-of-life care as full-fledged caregivers at nine Comfort Care Homes in the Rochester area. The Science Center will focus on student-led programs that welcome broad participation and collaboration in tackling authentic science projects, which will join science and civic responsibility to tackle current science problems. In addition, Projects Space—a creative problem solving and design program—will be housed in the bottom floor of Chesonis Commons. This hands-on area will provide students in grades K-12 with the space and support necessary for design thinking and student exploration focused on bringing ideas into reality.

Plans include a greenhouse and systems for carbon sequestering, a green wall, and solar chimney to naturally regulate the temperature in the building. Solar panels will be installed as well as a geothermal system and variable refrigerant flow air source HVAC system, rainwater collection, and solar hot water heating system. Systems will be controlled and monitored from a central control room operated by students.

The Harley School selected Rochester-based organizations to design and build Chesonis Commons. Tom Johnson was chosen as the designer for the project, while Nichols Construction and architecture firm 9×30 will build Chesonis Commons using sustainable practices and material.

It is my pleasure to report that the Harley Board of Trustees received the final bid for the project and has approved moving forward. We are well within our fundraising goals for the project, which means a shovel will go in the ground in early November. We are planning a public groundbreaking celebration for the middle of November. More details on this will be coming soon.

We will continue to keep you informed of the progress and plans for this exciting project!

Aimee Lewis
Director of Communications and Public Relations
The Harley School
1981 Clover Street
Rochester, NY 14618
(585) 442-1770 ext. 3013
alewis@harleyschool.org

At this juncture, we are continuing to determine the details of the project, including final costs, materials, timing, and design. In September, the Harley Board of Trustees will review the construction proposal and status of fundraising. As of today, we have raised $2.4 million, which is within the expected cost and keeps us on track for a fall groundbreaking. We are excited to see the vision of Chesonis Commons coming to life!

Chesonis Commons will create valuable student experiences like no other in Rochester and all of Western New York. It is planned as a 14,000 square foot living building that will challenge Harley students to manage a net-zero operation in energy, water, and carbon dioxide. It will provide and open, ongoing experiment that links behavior and real decisions to sustainable living. In addition, the Commons will house the Center for Mindfulness and Empathy Education, the Briggs Center for Civic Engagement, the Center for Citizen Science, two science classrooms, and a project/design space.

It is important to note that building this new building will not impact tuition, but rather the fundraising has been done in a specific, concerted effort that will not raise the cost of a Harley education.

We will continue to provide periodic updates on this Web site.

Please also save the date for Sept. 26, 2012 for an evening presentation at Harley by Chris Costanza, Tom Johnson, and John Nichols to share updates and visuals. This will be an informative and quite thrilling event open to the entire Harley community—you don’t want to miss it! More details will be made available as they are finalized.

Best Wishes,
Valerie Myntti
Interim Head of 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.