SMMA Principal Matthew Rice recently received the Accredited Learning Environments Planner (ALEP) designation, a mark of excellence developed to reflect the knowledge, skills, and abilities of a competent educational facility planner.

The ALEP credential is designed to elevate professional standards, enhance individual performance, and identify those in the educational environment industry who demonstrate the knowledge essential to the practice of educational facility planning. Rice stated: 

“I believe that [as architects] we have a distinct responsibility to create learning environments that are simultaneously forward-thinking and well-integrated into their communities,” said Rice.

“Receiving the ALEP designation is an honor, as it connotes a thorough understanding of the core competencies needed to enable communities to achieve their goals successfully. Robust educational planning is the first critical step in that process and is a responsibility that brings me pride and joy.” 

After meeting eligibility requirements and submitting an in-depth application, Rice passed a rigorous interview process.

The Association for Learning Environments (A4LE) is the only professional organization whose principal purpose is improving the places where children learn. A4LE embraces a diverse group of professionals with one single goal—building healthy, safe, high performance and sustainable learning environments that enhance student and teacher performance and support culture and community vitality.

Rice joins the ranks of others at SMMA who hold this accreditation, including Phil Poinelli, who stated:  

“Matt has been exploring with classroom teachers and other educators how a building can enhance the real-life issues of social-emotional learning, Universal Design for Learning, project and problem-based learning, equity and how they manifest in the built environment. Though Matt identifies himself as an architect, he has become an educational planner, with a deep understanding of teaching and learning.”