AiS Participant Handbook

This handbook is your reference guide for the Architects in Schools season. Here you will find important deadlines, requirements, resources and recommendations for your residency.

To stay on track, we recommend you use the following checklists for each portion of the AiS season:

Residency Process

AiS Curriculum Guide:
Residency Planning Resources:
Orientation Videos:
Trauma Workshops with Dr. Renee Mitchell: 
For Teachers to Send to Parents:
  • Image Release Form
  • AiS Exhibit Invite – If you participate in an AFO sponsored in-person exhibit, we will email you an exhibit invite that you can email to parents or print out and send home with students

Meet with AFO Staff

Before Your Residency

DOWNLOAD A PRINTABLE CHECKLIST

  1. Understand your role as a teacher, design & building professional or architecture student – We have several resources to prepare participants for the AiS program. If this is your first time participating, please read through the following resources to ensure a successful residency.
  2. Complete an orientation (November) – If you are new to AiS and have concerns about completing an orientation, please contact sam@af-oregon.org. Past participants are encouraged to attend as well to receive updates on new resources. See orientation dates and details below.
  3. Attend trauma trainings (Winter-Spring) – Please plan to attend our free, trauma-informed practices workshops if you are a volunteer, to prepare you to work with youth of all different backgrounds. Teachers are also welcome to attend. All AiS participants will receive calendar invites to the workshops.
  4. Complete a Team Questionnaire – The Team Questionnaire will help you talk through classroom culture and how to prepare for a session.
  5. Determine residency goals – What do you want to achieve through this residency? What concepts should the students understand at the end of the residency? Use this outline to help you determine residency goals.
  6. Plan your residency (November – January) – Most teams schedule a time to meet up after the orientation to complete their residency plan. If you are teaching online or hybrid, read over these tips.
  7. Submit your residency plan (by February) – Before your residency begins please submit a plan (one per team) along with session dates and times using this form. Send AFO staff any changes to your plan throughout the residency.
  8. TEACHERS ONLY: Email Image Release Form to parents – Before Session 1, email the Image Release Form to students’ parents/guardians.
  9. TEACHERS ONLY: Have students complete a before residency assessment – Before Session 1, have students complete the Before Your Residency Student Self-Assessment.
  10. Prepare for Session 1 (after January) – Reference this checklist before each session to make sure the whole team is prepared and materials are gathered prior to the session.

Teachers: We recommend all first-time participants (only including teachers who apply to partner with a design/building professional) attend a 1.5-hour live virtual orientation, designed to help you have the best experience with AiS. If you cannot attend one of the scheduled live orientations or plan to participate in a fall residency, a self-paced LearnDash orientation course is available. Teachers will also have access to our free trauma training in case you do not have access to such trainings through your school or district.

Design/Building Professional & Design Student Volunteers: All first-time volunteers are required to attend a 1.5-hour virtual orientation. If you have participated in the past, but it has been more than 5 years, we highly encourage that you attend an orientation as well. In addition, we require all volunteers, new and returning, to attend our trauma workshop. The orientation and workshop will prepare you for working in the classroom and with students of all different backgrounds.

Orientation Dates: Please plan to complete one of the following online orientation options if you are new to the program. If you are new and have concerns about completing an orientation, please contact sam@af-oregon.org.

  • Saturday, November 15, 2025, 9:30-11am (11-11:30am – optional Q&A/work session), Zoom
  • Tuesday, November 18, 2025, 4:30-6pm (6-6:30pm – optional Q&A/work session), Zoom

Trauma Workshop: Please plan to attend our free, trauma-informed practices workshop if you are a volunteer, to prepare you to work with youth of all different backgrounds. Teachers are also welcome to attend. All AiS participants will receive a calendar invite to the workshop.

  • Tuesday, February 3, 4-6pm, Zoom
Orientation Recordings:

Program Introduction, Residency Resources, FAQs and Next Steps
Presented by Kim Knowles, AFO Director of Education Programs; Candice Agahan, AFO Director of Community Engagement; and Sam Majors, AFO Community Outreach Manager

Tips for Team Residency Planning
Presented by Sina Meier, Opsis Architecture

Tips for Online Team Teaching
Presented by Kristina Engstrom, Woodstock Elementary and Zach Suchara

Teacher Breakout: Integrating AiS into the Classroom
Presented by Amanda Francois, Gilbert Heights Elementary

Volunteer Breakout: In-Classroom and Online Teaching Tips
Presented by Sam Majors, AFO Community Outreach Manager

Trauma-Informed Workshop Recordings:

Access supplementary digital resources here.

2025 Workshop:
Go Within to Make the Biggest Impact: When I Heal, WE Heal, YOU(th) Heal, January 21, 2025

2024 Workshop Series:
8 Tips to Infuse Your Volunteerism with JOY, February 29, 2024

When I Heal, WE Heal, YOU(th) Heal, April 18, 2024

Volunteering With Youth in These Uncertain Times, June 11, 2024

2023 Workshop:
Infuse Your Volunteerism with JOY, April 17, 2023

2022 Workshop Series:
Trauma Informed Practices & Social Emotional Learning, February 8, 2022

What Do I Do Now?: Trauma-Informed, SEL- Sensitive Strategies that Support Youth and Create Belonging, May 17, 2022

Go Within to Make the Biggest Difference: When I Heal, We Heal, You(th) Heal, December 6, 2022 

Submit your residency plan before you begin your residency

During Your Residency

DOWNLOAD A PRINTABLE CHECKLIST

  1. Begin your residency (after January) – Start your sessions at the agreed upon time listed on the residency plan. Plan check-ins with your team between sessions to adjust time or activities as necessary. Use this checklist to make sure everyone is prepared before each session.
  2. Check in with AFO staff – Relay all questions, concerns or issues during your residency to AFO staff. We are here to help! If any of your session dates or times change, please notify us.
  3. TEACHERS ONLY: Watch for an email from AFO in the spring with directions to receive graduate credit for participating in AiS – This is optional. You must fulfill all the credit requirements by Friday, May 22, 2026.
  4. TEACHERS ONLY: Remind parents to submit Image Release Forms to AFO – Access the Image Release Form link here.
  5. Attend trauma trainings (Winter-Spring) – Please plan to attend our free, trauma-informed practices workshops if you are a volunteer, to prepare you to work with youth of all different backgrounds. Teachers are also welcome to attend. All AiS participants will receive calendar invites to the workshops.
  6. Choose a student exhibition option and notify AFO staff – There are several ways your team can decide to exhibit the work created by students during their AiS residency, including the AFO sponsored in-person exhibits, a self-organized exhibit at the school, or by submitting photos to AFO. Watch for an email from AFO before spring break with exhibit details and specific instructions.
  7. Complete your residency (by end of April, if possible)

Connect with other AiS participants, ask questions, exchange ideas, seek advice, share successes!

After Your Residency

DOWNLOAD A PRINTABLE CHECKLIST

  1. Participate in a student exhibition – There will be specific deadlines and requirements if you plan to participate in an AFO sponsored in-person exhibit. Please refer to the email sent by AFO before spring break for more details.
  2. TEACHERS ONLY: Share information about student exhibitions with parents – If you are participating in an AFO sponsored in-person exhibit, we will email you digital invites to send to parents, families, colleagues, and friends. Please help us spread the word! All exhibits (with the exception of OMSI which requires admission) are free and open to the public.
  3. TEACHERS ONLY: Have students complete an after residency assessment – After you have completed all sessions, have students complete the After Your Residency Student Self-Assessment. Email the assessments to sam@af-oregon.org or mail them to AFO, Attn: Sam Majors, PO Box 40230, Portland, OR 97240.
  4. TEACHERS ONLY: To receive graduate credit, submit all required documentation to AFO by Friday, May 22, 2026 – Register to receive graduate credit and submit all credit requirements to sam@af-oregon.org.
  5. Be on the lookout in August for applications to participate next school year!

We are excited to be planning as many in-person exhibit opportunities as we can for the 2025-26 season. If there is enough interest in your area (multiple schools participating), we will sponsor an in-person exhibit. In addition, your team is always welcome to self-organize an exhibit at the school.

In-Person Student Exhibit Options

We will be in touch to gauge interest in in-person exhibits and announce all in-person exhibit options in late winter. If you prefer an in-person exhibit experience for your students that includes other schools, please feel free to let us know! It helps us to know that there is enough interest to support an in-person event in your area.

For planning purposes, if you would like to participate in an in-person exhibit, please complete your residency by the end of April (exhibits will open early May). Keep in mind that each class will be given a 2 foot by 8 foot space for display. Please also plan on how to store and transport projects.

To participate in an in-person exhibit, please submit an exhibit request form. This will be emailed to you as we get further into 2026.

Submit Project Photos to AFO

If your team is not able to participate in or host an in-person exhibit, we highly encourage you to submit photos of student projects to AFO staff. AFO will be in touch in late winter with more information on how to share photos of student work. We also encourage you to share any student quotes or testimonials.

Photos and quotes may be shared in the AFO newsletter, social media, and at in-person AFO exhibits.

Questions?

Kim Ruthardt Knowles
Director of Education Programs
kim@af-oregon.org
503-317-7537

Candice Agahan
Director of Community Engagement
candice@af-oregon.org
503-542-3823

Sam Majors
Community Outreach Manager
sam@af-oregon.org
971-357-3178