CHETEK AREA SCHOOLS -- The Chetek Area Schools are located in rural Northwestern Wisconsin. The schools serve about 1,140 students in grades K-12. The aim of the New Designs process here was to develop an educational design to: (1) bring current initiatives into clearer alignment, (2) serve as a basis for extending present and starting new initiatives, and (3) provide the foundation for a technology enhancement and facilities remodeling request to the public. The initial plan for remodeling facilities was developed by Cedar Corporation, an architectural firm located in Menomonie, Wisconsin. School contact: Al Brown, Superintendent, Chetek Area Schools, Chetek, Wisconsin, 715-924-2226.

DOWNTOWN SCHOOL -- The Downtown School is a new K-12 school for 520 learners located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is a project of the West Metro Education Program, a special consortium of nine public school districts bordering Minneapolis. The purpose of WMEP is to encourage interdistrict strategies and activities that will: create multicultural exchanges for teachers and students; create prototype schools that model interdistrict cooperation and collaboration; help to share curricular expertise; and explore and refine delivery system improvements. The school started operation in September 1998 with its new facility scheduled to be completed in early 1999. The architectural firm that designed the Downtown School is The Cuningham Group, located in Minneapolis. School contact: Barbara Shin, Principal, Interdistrict Downtown School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 612-332-9552.

KAPOLEI HIGH SCHOOL -- Kapolei High School is designed to be a major feature attracting residents to the new city of Kapolei being developed on the island of Honolulu, Hawaii. Key features of the school include: (1) a year-round school with three attendance tracks, (2) four houses of about 500 students each in separate buildings on one site, (3) commitment to serving the lifelong learning needs of the community, and (4) individual student work stations and production/resources spaces to support project-based learning. The architectural firm that designed the Kapolei High School is The Cuningham Group, located in Minneapolis, MN. School contact: Katherine Kawaguchi, Kapolei High School Project Coordinator, Makai Village Partnership, Honolulu, Hawaii, 808-535-2128.

LIFEWORK LEARNING CENTER -- The 1995 Minnesota Legislature established the State Vocational High School Planning Committee to develop a preliminary plan for a state-of-the-art vocational high school in Minnesota to serve the needs of students with special vocational interests and talents and to serve as a demonstration site for vocational education. The Lifework Learning Center serves four integral functions: as a teaching and learning center, research and development center, professional development center, and clearinghouse. The Minnesota Legislature provided start-up funds for the Lifework Learning Center during 1997 and 1998. Requests for proposals were issued and several sites have now been funded. School contact: Tom Strom, Supervisor, Work-Based Learning, Minnesota Department of Children, Families, and Learning, St. Paul, Minnesota, 651-297-2657.

SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES -- The School of Environmental Studies is a school for 400 juniors and seniors located on the site of the Minnesota Zoological Gardens as a partnership among the zoo, the city of Apple Valley, and the Rosemount/Apple Valley/ Eagan schools. The vision of the School for Environmental Studies is to be a community of leaders learning to enhance the relationship between people and their environments. The school is in its fourth year of operation. The facility was designed by Bruce Jilk, then with H.G.A., Inc. and now with The Cuningham Group, located in Minneapolis. School contact: Dan Bodette, Principal, School for Environmental Studies, Apple Valley, Minnesota, 612-431-8750.