When John Lewis Elementary School opened in August 2021, it became the first school in the District of Columbia school system to pursue a WELL Building certification. To get it, the school was designed and built with mental health in mind.
The WELL Building Standard is a set of concepts laid out by the International WELL Building Institute, an organization focused on the relationship between design and health. Those concepts鈥攌eying in on air, water, nourishment, light, movement, thermal comfort, sound, materials, mind, community, and innovation鈥攁re built off decades of research demonstrating how design can facilitate active learning and childhood development.
鈥淭here are myriad strategies that we have for really improving educational outcomes and for improving鈥� the mental health of students, teachers, and staff,鈥� said Rachel Hodgdon, the president and CEO of the IWBI.
Large glass windows that allow for natural light to soak the whole library, geothermal wells that heat the building, pod-style classrooms with garage-style doors that open to collaborative spaces, and increased ventilation are all elements that were designed as part of the certification. And the school itself is part of DCPS鈥� Capital Improvement Plan, a six-year, $2.5 billion initiative to modernize its facilities.
鈥淲e鈥檙e here for academics, but if you鈥檙e not well, you can鈥檛 learn,鈥� John Lewis Elementary鈥檚 principal, Nikeysha Jackson, said. 鈥淚 think this building really supports that and it鈥檚 a step in the right direction.鈥�
Jackson also said that, compared to the previous building, she鈥檚 seen how the new environment has helped her students focus and changed the way they interact with the space.
鈥淛ust the attention to not littering our space. I hear them on the playground [say], 鈥楳ake sure you put it back where you found it,鈥� 鈥楥lean up after you鈥檙e done,鈥欌�� Jackson said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e just at a level of consciousness that I鈥檝e never seen before.鈥�
