The Pressing Problem_ The traditional educational system that is widely recognized and implemented in communities around the world is cloistered and no longer in sync with today’s global economy. As a result, our children are losing interest in the educational system as it is not properly preparing them for the Knowledge Age. Every 29 seconds another student gives up in school, resulting in more than one million American high school students dropping out each year. At TEACH THE SCHOOLS it is understood that we can no longer mend the current educational system, rather we need creative spatial and pedagogical responses that integrate learning environments into communities while instilling in our children knowledge that is relevant to today’s economy. Example after example shows that educational projects are often approached from either a curriculum perspective or a spatial perspective, but infrequently both. We need to start looking at the problem comprehensively.

The Innovative Solution_ The TEACH THE SCHOOLS team understands the value and importance of realizing comprehensive learning environments. Our free, online, interactive database of learning environment projects around the world brings together clients, educational consultants, designers and interested community members in an open platform, equipping TEACH THE SCHOOLS with the talent, knowledge and tools necessary to assemble interdisciplinary teams for each client to realize their vision. TEACH THE SCHOOLS works closely with each client to develop their project’s vision and parameters, and then launches an open ideas competition. After the competition, a team of experts is assembled to realize the client’s vision and create a project that is relevant to today—instilling in our children the ability to share and leverage knowledge through insight, synthesis and judgment. Each project is documented in TEACH THE SCHOOLS’ online database, continually providing useful, free, and up-to-date information to people around the world. While the database offers an abundance of ideas and knowledge to draw from, no two communities are identical; therefore, each project must be developed with specific social, environmental and financial parameters in mind for success.