St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Elementary School
Three school communities united in one new Kingston building — three multi-age learning communities around a shared gathering stair, now the board’s exemplar for the schools it builds.
Three learning communities around a shared stair.
Three communities, one building.
The Algonquin & Lakeshore Catholic District School Board engaged Education Design International as planning and design architect for a new 400-student school in Kingston, Ontario — one that would bring three separate communities of Kindergarten through grade six students together into a single, state-of-the-art building.
The process began with discovery workshops with each of the three communities and visits to their existing schools, then a master plan to gradually bring them together. That idea — three communities becoming one — became the basis for the design: three multi-age learning communities arranged around a large central gathering stair and shared specialty spaces.
From day one, students, teachers, and administrators embraced the new spaces, using the building’s flexible features to team-teach, support students who need extra help, and give learners more autonomy through the day. The school has been so successful that ALCDSB now uses it as the exemplar for all its new buildings and renovations.
More projects from EDI's work across 59 countries.
Browse the full collection of new campuses, transformations, master plans, and learning-effectiveness evaluations from EDI's portfolio.
Have a school in mind — or just a question?
Every EDI project begins with a Discovery conversation. We'd be glad to talk.