Notes on Meeting With Alton Hicks

First Impressions:

My first impression of Al Hicks was that he was a good, relaxed guy that genuinely cared about his students and wanted this courtyard project to succeed. He took us into a science classroom on the first floor, all the while talking to us and introducing himself. Although he was very nice, he struck me as an odd character. In a school with tough students and a long school day, I expected more of a hardened individual. I expected hi to be more of a displinary figure by trade that has put too many students to count into detention. Towards the end of the introduction process, though, his demeanor started to make more sense. He told our class that it was only second year working at Blodgett. To me this means he still has that young fresh-out-of-grad-school energy and passion that wouldn’t be so present in an older figure. Anyway, after we introduced ourselves… the meeting continued…

Meeting Content:

Part 1: In the beginning of the meeting, Adam, Riley, and Jen, introduced the project while Dan set up the PowerPoint on the smart board in the classroom. Adam, Riley, and Jen gave an overview of who we were and what we are trying to do with this project. Specifically, Adam spoke first about how our group wants the space of the courtyard to be for learning and enjoyment. Adam continued by saying we want the space to be something to look forward to for the students and staff. Al Hicks jumped in by saying that that idea is exactly what he wanted to do with the space, too. He mentioned that because of the extended school day it would be nice for the people in the building to have a new space to go to or even see out the window. Riley jumped in and asked Al to tell our class what would be necessary in the space to represent the students and staff of Blodgett. Al responded with a few (grandiose) notes about the history of the school and how he hopes it can be not only a school, but also a community center-like place in the near future.

Part 2: After Al spoke about his vision of the school, Brian, Victoria, Ryland, and Dan took over this part of the meeting. Dan was in control of the powerpoint, while the others discussed the designs. They went through the PowerPoint that they had collaborated on, discussing a few design possibilities and how our design-minded students had thought about the space thus far in the process. The slides contained a few 3-D renderings of the space as well as images of illustrations of what could be in the space. The slides also contained our concepts about oru first installation – Brian discussed how our group wanted to cover the windows with paper and add mystery and suspense to what we were doing in the space. However, the most important part about this part of the meeting was how impressed Al seemed by all of it...especially when the PowerPoint displayed the pictures that Victoria had taken while in the school. I believed it showed Al that we really cared about this project and we had already gone to considerable lengths to think about the space. After Al spoke about the design possibilities, mostly nodding and agreeing with Brian, Victoria, and Ryland, Victoria asked that we were interested in repurposing some objects in the space. She spoke about the importance of material re-use and how it could bring meaning to the space. Al responded in agreement – saying that he knows that there are a few classrooms in the basement that cannot be used as classrooms because they don’t have emergency exits and that those rooms are chuck full with old desks and other materials that we could possibly use. Our nodded in agreement, but what Victoria was hinting at and what our class was really after was the objects in the condemned auditorium (particularly the old theater-style seats).

Part 3: Marion Wilson, our class professor, took over at this (crucial) part of the meeting. With the intent on gaining permission to repurpose some of the objects in the auditorium, she asked if there was any way we could gain access to the auditorium and take out some of those objects to use. Initially, Al Hicks was unsure. He said that he knows that the auditorium is condemned and that he also knows that some items in the auditorium may belong to other schools. But, he concluded with a positive note. He said he was talk to his maintenance staff and would communicate to us what exactly would have to be done if we were to take some of the objects out of the auditorium.

Meeting Conclusions: At the end of our meeting, the group iterated that we wanted to come in to talk to the teachers of the school about our project – specifically we wanted to introduce the project and hope to gain teacher and student help with the first iteration of the project – covering up some of the school windows that look into the courtyard. I believe that we all had in mind that the perfect time to talk to all the teachers at once would be during a staff meeting (especially after Mr. Hicks told us that the staff meeting happens at the same time that our class does each week!). Initiallly, Al did not want to rush the project too much and maybe have us meet the teachers at the staff meeting on March 12^th. But, Marion then told Mr. Hicks that many of the students in the class would be gone that week on Spring Break and that we would really like to meet next week if possible. Mr Hicks’ facial expression seemed unsure but then Marion informed him that we would only take five minutes of the teachers time and present just a couple images and a group email address for the interested teachers to contact if they wanted to be involved in the project. We left the room in good spirits and I believe we are excited for our quick presentation next week!