Introduce 3rd-5th Graders to Architecture & Design; age + Referral

Introduce 3rd-5th Graders to Architecture & Design (age 23+) Referral

Are you a design/building professional passionate about youth education? Volunteer for AFO's 2025-26 Architects in Schools (AiS) program at Hazeldale Elementary, Sato Elementary, Holy Cross Catholic School, Sauvie Island School, or Bonny Slope Elementary
! AiS introduces Oregon elementary school students to the power and possibilities of design with the end goal of creating lifelong learners and critical thinkers who have a voice in their community.
We are currently seeking more volunteers for this year's program so we can meet the teacher demand for AiS across the state. Help us bring free design education to more Oregon students!

Every school year, volunteer design/building professionals are partnered with an elementary school teacher. Together, they develop a custom design-based residency for the students, with the help of our staff and many resources. The volunteer professional attends up to 6 classroom sessions during the school day to teach students about their profession and work toward a final design project.

AFO encourages participation by design and building professionals including architects, engineers, contractors, interior designers, city planners, architecture historians, architecture students, engineering students, and more. Anyone passionate and knowledgeable about the designed and built environment!

Design/building professionals volunteer around 20 hours total throughout the school year, 12 of those hours spent in the classroom over a 6-week period and 8 hours of planning time. The dates and times of the planning and in-classroom sessions are determined by the volunteer and teacher. Classroom sessions are typically around an hour long.

• Residency Planning: ~8 hours across January-February on a schedule determined by you and your partner teacher. This typically includes several virtual meetings, time to plan lessons, and create slide decks.
• In-Classroom Residency: ~12 hours (including prep and transportation) from February-May on a schedule determined by you and your partner teacher. In-classroom sessions are during the school day and typically an hour per week for 6-weeks, but will ultimately depend on the classroom's schedule.

Here are next steps:

• Complete an online application form through the Architecture Foundation of Oregon, including a background check (please note: we cannot accept volunteers with convictions listed on the ODE Forever Crimes list) (ASAP)
• Complete school district background check (ASAP, upon application approval)
• Complete online self-paced orientation (ASAP, upon application approval)
• Attend online trauma-informed practices training (February 3, 4-6pm)
• Get in contact with your partner teacher, plan your design-based residency, and determine session dates and times (ASAP, upon application approval)
• Submit a residency plan to AFO staff before you begin classroom sessions
• Complete your in-classroom residency (before the end of the school year)
• Learn more and apply:
  www.af-oregon.org/architects-in-schools/application-information

At AFO, we are passionate about the future of the built environment in Oregon. The best way to ensure we have great places to live, work and play is to ensure that future generations are exposed to the importance of design and creative problem solving.

The Architects in Schools (AiS) program aims to do just that: introduce the youngest Oregonians to the power and possibilities of design with the end goal of creating lifelong learners and critical thinkers who have a voice in their community. This is AFO’s longest running program.

Administered by AFO since 2003, the program has grown from annually serving 800 students to currently serving more than 5,000 3rd-5th grade students in the Portland metropolitan area, Salem, Eugene, and Central, Southern, Eastern, and Coastal Oregon.

Architects in Schools delivers arts programming, environmental understanding, awareness of cultural links to history, understanding responsibility to the natural environment, career awareness and communication skills – all through the…