Facility decisions can make or break a school’s budget and growth trajectory. Having worked with numerous schools on complex construction and renovation projects, I’ve witnessed how the difference between a smooth and bumpy project often comes down to strategic planning, professional guidance, and understanding where schools commonly go wrong.

The reality is that most school leaders are educators first—and that’s exactly how it should be. However, when it comes to facility planning, this expertise gap can lead to decisions that cost significantly more money down the road. Understanding these potential pitfalls and implementing strategic approaches can save schools hundreds of thousands of dollars while positioning them for sustainable growth.

The Most Costly Mistake: Last-Minute Construction Changes

Imagine you’ve designed and begun constructing a new building, and during a walkthrough, you realize you actually need more classrooms or additional bathrooms. Making this change during construction involves:

1. High-cost change orders that far exceed the original pricing

2. Work stoppages that affect your entire project timeline

3. Re-engineering and redesigning portions of the project

4. Reordering materials, often at premium pricing due to rush orders

5. Additional labor costs for demolition and reconstruction

6. Potential domino effects on other building systems

Work that could have been included in the original scope for standard pricing suddenly costs two to three times more when it is through a change order during construction. There will also impact the schedule and potentially delay your school’s opening.

This is why I require 3D renderings and virtual walk-throughs for every project I oversee. These tools provide genuine visualization of your space, allowing you to “walk through” your facility digitally before construction begins. Virtual reality capabilities take this even further, letting you experience the space as if you’re physically there.

This investment in visualization technology pays for itself many times over by catching design issues during the planning phase when changes are inexpensive rather than during construction when they’re prohibitively costly.

The Professional Expertise Gap

The second major mistake I observe is schools attempting to manage complex facility projects without adequate professional support. While some school administrators may have construction or real estate backgrounds, most are educators who should be focusing on what they do best: education.

The Roles You Need

Essential professional roles for successful facility projects include:

1. Project Manager or Owner’s Representative: Someone dedicated to managing budgets, schedules, and serving as your advocate throughout the process

2. Architect with Education Experience: Designers who understand the unique requirements of educational facilities

3. Contractors with School Experience: Builders familiar with education-specific codes, requirements, and operational considerations

4. Legal Support: Professionals who can review contracts and protect your interests

Schools that try to save money by skipping professional expertise often end up paying far more through:

1. Higher overall project costs due to inefficient planning

2. Expensive change orders during design or construction from poor initial guidance

3. Legal fees from unfavorable contract terms

4. Extended timelines from inexperienced project management

5. Suboptimal facility design that doesn’t serve educational needs

The investment in professional expertise typically represents 10-15% of total project costs but can prevent cost overruns that far exceed this investment.

Future-Proofing: Infrastructure and Flexibility

Schools often focus on the visible aspects of their facilities—classrooms, hallways, common areas—while neglecting the infrastructure that enables modern learning. This shortsighted approach leads to expensive retrofitting when technology needs evolve.

Design spaces that can adapt to changing educational needs:

1. Moveable partitions instead of fixed walls where possible

2. Flexible furniture that can be rearranged for different learning styles

3. Classroom sizing that can accommodate various teaching methods

4. Multi-purpose spaces that serve different functions throughout the day

This approach costs slightly more initially but saves enormous amounts when educational approaches evolve or enrollment patterns change.

Moving Forward Strategically

Successful facility planning requires balancing immediate needs with long-term vision, adequate professional support with budget constraints, and flexibility with functionality. The schools that achieve the best outcomes treat facility decisions as strategic investments rather than necessary expenses.

The key is starting with comprehensive planning, investing in professional expertise appropriate to your project scope, building in adequate contingencies, and designing for future adaptability. While these approaches require more upfront investment in planning and professional services, they consistently result in better facilities at lower total costs with fewer unexpected problems.

Remember: facility projects represent some of the largest investments schools will ever make. The cost of getting them wrong—both financially and operationally—far exceeds the investment required to get them right from the beginning.

About the Author

Michael Soh helps schools expand and improve their facilities. Along with a degree from USC in Civil Engineering, Michael has nearly a decade of experience—having managed projects in New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. He has expertise in mixed-use, multifamily, office, and commercial projects, allowing him to support schools through ground-up construction, building and space improvements, and redevelopment initiatives.

In today’s competitive educational landscape, the visual materials you create often serve as the first impression families have of your school. Understanding basic design principles can make the difference between materials that get noticed.

The truth is, design isn’t about having an artistic eye or expensive software. It’s about understanding how visual elements communicate and applying proven principles that guide the viewer’s attention exactly where you want it to go.

Color: Your Brand Ambassador

Colors communicate before your words do. In Western cultures, we already associate certain feelings and values with specific colors, making color choice a powerful tool for brand positioning.

Color Psychology in Action

Navy and burgundy convey trust and tradition—perfect for established institutions with decades of history and strong academic reputations. These colors signal stability and gravitas, appealing to families seeking time-tested educational excellence.

Conversely, bright blues and greens signal innovation and energy—ideal for STEM programs, progressive schools, or institutions emphasizing project-based learning and maker spaces. These colors communicate forward-thinking approaches and dynamic learning environments.

Building Your Strategic Palette

Start by asking: What is your school’s personality? Are you a traditional institution focusing on rigorous academics, or an innovative charter school with cutting-edge programs? Your color choices should align with these values.

Aim for 5-6 colors total: two primary brand colors, two accent colors, plus dark and light neutrals. This gives you enough variety for visual interest while maintaining cohesion across all materials.

Accessibility Isn’t Optional

Once you’ve chosen colors that reflect your values, ensure they work for everyone. Accessibility isn’t just good practice—it’s often legally required. Maintain a 4.5:1 contrast ratio between text and backgrounds. This ensures readability for people with varying vision abilities.

I recommend coolors.co for both generating color palettes and checking contrast ratios. This tool allows you to lock specific colors and suggests complementary options while testing accessibility compliance.

Print vs. Digital Considerations

Don’t forget about format requirements. Digital materials use RGB or HEX values, while print requires CMYK color processes. If you produce significant promotional materials, you may also need Pantone color specifications. Document these equivalents as you build your palette to ensure consistency across all mediums.

Finally, test your colors in real-world conditions. Print them on paper, view them on different devices, and ask staff with varying vision abilities to review materials before finalizing anything.

Typography: Where Small Changes Create Big Impact

Typography might seem like a minor detail, but it’s often where amateur materials reveal themselves. The good news? Small changes here create disproportionately large improvements in perceived professionalism.

The Two-Font Rule

Stick to two main fonts: one for headings, one for body text. Occasionally, a third font for small accents is acceptable, but resist the urge to use more. Font variety doesn’t equal visual interest—it usually creates chaos.

Contrast Is Key

Your typefaces should be sufficiently different in weight and visual density. Apply the squint test: even when you can’t read individual words, you should easily distinguish between headlines and body copy. This ensures clear hierarchy regardless of viewing conditions.

Create Hierarchy Beyond Color

Don’t rely solely on color to establish information hierarchy. Use size and weight differences so your materials work in black and white printing or for viewers with color vision differences.

Helpful Tools for Font Pairing

Use resources like fontjoy.com, fontpair.co, or mixfont.com for pairing suggestions. These tools let you preview font combinations and even lock specific fonts while suggesting complementary options.

Size Standards for Readability

Follow minimum size requirements: 16 pixels for digital materials, 12-point for print. These aren’t arbitrary numbers—they ensure readability across different viewing conditions and age ranges in your community.

Moving Forward With Confidence

Professional design isn’t about artistic talent or expensive software—it’s about understanding how visual elements guide attention and communicate values. By applying these principles consistently, schools can create materials that build trust, communicate clearly, and compete effectively for family attention.

Remember: every visual touchpoint is an opportunity to reinforce your school’s professionalism and values. When materials look polished and intentional, families assume the same care extends to educational programming.

About the Author

Niki is a design expert and visual communications specialist who helps schools create professional, effective marketing materials that support their enrollment and community engagement goals.

Essential Design Resources

Recommended Reading

The Non-Designer’s Design Book

Free Stock Photo Resources

Unsplash

Pexels

Pixabay

Color Palette Tools

Coolors

Adobe Color

Muzli

Premium Design Tools & Templates

Canva

Envato Elements

Creative Market

About the Author

Niki Blaker is a design strategist and founder of Five Sigma Studio—a design firm focused on bringing brand strategy, user experience, design, and content together. Her work is guided by an emphasis on cross-discipline collaboration and in-depth research that makes meaningful brand strategy and design experiences possible.

Crafting a clear mission statement is essential to defining how a school fulfills the responsibility of educating its students. More than just words posted in the lobby and on classroom walls, the mission statement offers direction for how leaders lead, teachers teach, and students learn. Board members and school administrators take the responsibility of writing a mission statement very seriously, often spending hours, days, and weeks refining the language. Whether your school is developing a new mission statement or revising an existing one, here are some guidelines for the process.

Keep It Clear, Achievable, and Repeatable

The mission statement is not a multi-point dissertation about a school’s philosophy of education. It is a simple articulation of the school’s educational goals. So, keep it simple, but significant.

Easy to Remember & Repeat – 25 words or fewer is the goal so that every staff member, student, parent, and Board member can recite the statement from memory.
Believable & Achievable—The statement should focus on realistic goals within the school community and include provable, measurable results. This is important when it comes to reauthorization and accreditation.
Rooted in reality – Idealistic statements lack authenticity and are often difficult to validate.

Your Mission Statement is a Living Document

Many schools treat the mission statement as untouchable. This may be a mistake. Schools are innovative places. Does a mission statement written decades ago reflect how students are learning today?

The school I attended – and loved – has a 100-word mission statement that has not changed in its 150-year history. It’s more of a historical document written in the 19th century than a reflection of the 21st-century education the school now offers.

While the mission statement does not need to be constantly reviewed, an occasional assessment is valuable. Is the school now doing what we said we were going to do when we wrote this?

Changing Your Mission Statement

Schools grow and evolve, and their mission statements should do the same. Nothing should be set in stone. If a school’s mission no longer aligns with its students’ needs, it may be time for a revision. Even a few words or phrases that reflect the new direction add value to the statement.

Who Should Be Involved in the Process?

Every member of the school community should believe in fulfilling the mission statement. Giving them the opportunity to participate in crafting it not only ensures buy-in but also makes the message authentic.

Board Members often kick off the process as the ones responsible for vision-casting and governance.
School Leaders & Teachers, the boots-on-the-ground whose daily work reflects the mission, can add value to the words.
Parents & Families add perspective as the consumers.
Students, the beneficiaries of the mission, will offer honest feedback and insights into what truly matters in their school experience.

How to Gather Input Effectively

Managing input from multiple groups can be tricky, but there are ways to streamline the process:

Surveys & Word Clouds – Ask stakeholders to submit keywords that resonate with them.
Draft and Revise – Have the Board create a draft, then circulate it for feedback, empowering readers to add suggestions.
Student Focus Groups – Students can provide real, unfiltered insight into what their school represents.

A school’s mission statement is an important guiding star. Creating one that is realistic, achievable, and measurable is critical to accomplishing the school’s educational goal.

About the Author

Susan Solomon Yem is a content strategist on the Enrollment Marketing Team at Grow Schools, where she helps schools define and communicate their mission and vision. She has worked in radio, television, film, and publishing, telling stories that resonate with educators, community leaders, and parents.