Jefferson Early Childhood Center

Houston, Texas

Firm

PBK

Client

Alief Independent School District

Area

80,557 sq.ft.

Total Cost

$22,432,184

Completion Date

08/2022

Wade Griffith

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Alief ISD is a diverse, urban district spanning 36.6 square miles on the west side of Houston. More than 82% of students in the district qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the median household income is $46,655. The Jefferson Early Learning Center campus is organized into two villages that provide students with a sense of community and place. Each village consists of three neighborhoods: Discovery, Inquiry, and Voyage. Each neighborhood includes four houses or experiences with a shared collaboration area. Following the theme of connecting children to nature and a sense of place, each village has unique outdoor learning environments; a centralized courtyard and two outdoor exploration courtyards. The villages surround a central building spine that shares administrative spaces, instructional support, and shared core enrichment spaces like indoor play, art, and music.

Many students in Alief ISD do not have access to nature or the benefits it provides for health and academics. Outdoor learning spaces at the new early childhood center provide students an opportunity to safely enjoy time outside and experience the benefits of learning in nature.

The early childhood center features an alternative approach to site development. In lieu of a flat site with Bermuda grass and city-required landscaping, this site will use low-impact development ideas with sheet flow, bioswales, pocket prairies and even some reforestation.

Paths and outdoor classrooms are situated throughout the undulating site to encourage student and community engagement with nature. They enable students to safely enjoy time outside to explore and play with water, plant, and harvest vegetables in an edible garden, and observe the nature and prairies in their backyard.