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More About The SDPL
The
aim of the SDPL is to promote
effective, unbiased leadership in all focused, strategic planning
and design activities for public and independent school
systems and public agencies.Planning activities require a wide range of knowledge, skills, patience, and a genuine concern for students and the community. SDPL is committed to involving a broad community base in planning educational facilities for schools. Focused Strategic Planning methods are employed to develop a concept design for each client community. Custom made student population forecasting models are used to integrate local data with the context of the school, region, and larger surrounding geographical areas. UGA's SDPL had its beginning in 1997, when Dr. C. Kenneth Tanner initiated this Web-site financed by the Georgia Board of Regents, and introduced new educational facilities planning courses in the Educational Leadership Program. Dr. Tanner's first formal planning activity was completed at the University of Tennessee’s School Planning Laboratory (SPL) in 1969. Early on, he was mentored in educational planning and forecasting processes by pioneers in the field. As a graduate student at the Florida Sate University, he was guided by Dr. Frank W. Banghart. His service to SPL continued through 1982, when he moved to the University of Georgia and became a colleague of the late Dr. Carol McGuffey, a well known educational facility planner and active member of Council of Educational Facility Planners, International (CEFPI). During the past 36 years, Dr. Tanner has authored several books and papers on the topic of educational planning and worked on over 100 planning and forecasting projects. He is an active CEFPI member, and holds the Recognized Educational Facility Planner Certificate (REFP). Over the years, the University of Georgia's School Design and Planning Laboratory (SDPL) has been a source of research and training on how the physical environment influences student behavior and outcomes. The SDPL Web site averages 750 page views per month, representing 24 countries and 12 languages (Source: Site Meter, Inc. 2006). The SDPL is a facilitator of services to Georgia, the United States, and the International Community. Clients in Government and Independent schools, and church-related schools are served by a select, independent group of professional planners, demographers, architects, and service colleagues that work at the request of UGA, usually contracting directly with the client. They assist in completing student population forecasts; conducting related research; expediting data collection, analysis, and processing; and perform demographic analysis, facilities planning, facilities design, and other strategic planning and evaluation services quickly, effectively, and efficiently. Pre-design and pre-planning activities are conducted by the SDPL. Large projects requiring independent contractors are referred to competent planners and architects, where SDPl assists the client in planning, design, and management of educational facilities planning activities. |