Casa Blanca Elementary: A legacy reborn

When Casa Blanca Elementary School in Riverside, California, opened its doors in August 2025, it was far more than the unveiling of a new campus. It marked the culmination of a community’s decades-long dream, representing healing and restoration. The original Casa Blanca School closed in 1967 as part of district desegregation efforts. For nearly 60 years, residents have advocated, organized, and envisioned the return of a school that would once again serve as the heart of their community. Today, that vision has been realized in a state-of-the-art, sustainable, and equity-centered campus designed for 21st century learning.

Honoring history and reclaiming identity From its inception, the new Casa Blanca Elementary was conceived as more than a building — it was a promise to restore belonging. The Riverside Unified School District Board of Trustees wanted to create a school that residents would treasure. Working closely with community members, civic leaders, and design partners, the board adopted a “design-by-committee” approach. Through meetings, charrettes, and collaborative workshops, the community shaped the vision of a school that honors the neighborhood’s cultural legacy while advancing educational innovation. The campus not only celebrates cultural pride but also positions future generations for success in an increasingly interconnected and sustainability-minded world.

A campus designed for connection and collaboration Set on a 9.8-acre site, the school’s design embodies a “Learning Village” concept. Each Learning Village is a self-contained cluster of classrooms arranged around a central outdoor plaza. This approach promotes a sense of belonging and community among students while supporting flexible teaching and learning methods. The central plaza can also be seen from the parent room that is placed adjacent to the school lobby within the administration building. While physical access is not direct, the view of the plaza allows a visual connection to the school, providing a strong connection between school staff and parents.

In every Learning Village, classrooms are organized into two-story grade clusters arranged around outdoor learning space and include a flex lab or maker space. Large, shaded patios, raised planting beds, and open plazas provide multiple settings for project-based learning, performances, and cross-grade collaboration. Classrooms open directly to these outdoor spaces, supporting hands-on exploration in science, art, and environmental studies.

Outdoor learning as a core design principle Outdoor learning isn’t an afterthought at Casa Blanca — it’s the foundation of the educational experience. Each Learning Village integrates five distinct types of outdoor space designed to support different modes of learning and interaction.

1. Plaza spaces: Large enough to accommodate three or four classrooms, these areas serve as gathering points for presentations, assemblies, and performances.

2. Breakout spaces: Smaller areas adjacent to classrooms allow for individualized or small-group instruction. 3. Educational gardens: Raised planting beds between plazas and breakout zones are used for lessons in botany, ecology, health and wellness, and sustainability.

4. Flex lab patios: Directly connected to classroom labs, these patios support messy or loud projects — ideal for experiments and maker activities.

5. Second-floor outdoor labs: Overlooking the campus courtyards, these secure terraces provide dedicated spaces for long-term research projects and observational learning.

This diversity of outdoor learning environments not only strengthens academic engagement but also enhances students’ physical and emotional well-being. The design recognizes that access to nature and fresh air fosters curiosity, reduces stress, and improves overall academic performance — a principle strongly supported by current research in educational design.

A school purpose built for STEM The Casa Blanca community regularly stressed the desire for outstanding academic programming. As RUSD’s first purpose-built STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) campus for elementary students, Casa Blanca integrates high-quality science and maker labs into every grade level. Flex lab spaces are outfitted with a laser cutter, and a robotics lab with a demonstration arena. These spaces provide early exposure to hands-on learning that builds problem-solving, collaboration, and creativity.

Music and performing arts spaces are located central to the campus and are available to all grade levels. A centrally located music room and indoor/outdoor stage provide spaces for performing arts.

Raised planting beds and the roof terrace garden allow students to learn about health and nutrition, botany, and biology, and the farming history of Riverside. These life science learning spaces are furnished with planters, raised beds, and hydroponic towers containing native plants, flowers and heirloom fruits and vegetables serve as NGSS hands-on learning opportunities. Students utilize these spaces to make observations and gather evidence as they consider a multitude of scientific variables.

The life science learning spaces also lend themselves to cross content hands-on lessons such as applying measurement and data skills, calculating statistics and probability, and applying mathematical knowledge with real world applications.

Teachers have and will create problem-based learning units in which students gain a deeper connection to the natural world and their community by exploring plants with deep historic and cultural roots stemming from their heritage. All of this is done with environmental sustainability at the forefront. Our young leaders are learning about and practicing water conservation, ecologically focused growing techniques and building a biodiverse living and breathing learning space.

Partnerships with local universities, business and industry — such as Collins Aerospace, Growing Together Education and Phenix Technology — further enrich the program by connecting students to real-world applications and mentors. Professionals who designed and built the school — GoArchitects, Tilden Coil Constructors and others — will stay connected and provide learning support.

Sustainability: Building for the future Beyond its cultural and historical significance, Casa Blanca Elementary stands as a model for green and resilient school design — one that prepares both its facilities and its students for the realities of climate change.

The campus integrates sustainable design strategies throughout, including:

These features do more than reduce the school’s environmental footprint — they actively contribute to a healthier learning environment. Shaded outdoor spaces mitigate heat and support microclimate regulation, while native plantings attract pollinators and promote ecological health.

The design process embraced the concept of buildings that teach, where the school itself becomes a living laboratory. Students can observe and measure energy use, study water flow systems, and participate in recycling and composting programs. Through such initiatives, sustainability becomes not just a facility feature but a daily learning experience.

Numerous studies over the past two decades have shown that appropriate use of natural light in schools improves student outcomes, including attention, retention, and attendance. Casa Blanca’s design applies these insights at every level.

Each classroom is equipped with windows on two opposing sides, ensuring balanced, even daylight throughout the learning environment. Every window is carefully shaded — either by overhangs or exterior-mounted shades — to reduce glare and direct heat gain. This combination allows soft, natural light to fill classrooms while providing students with consistent views of the outdoors.

In larger spaces such as the library and multipurpose building, skylights and clerestories further enhance natural illumination, reducing the need for artificial lighting during the day. To complement these features, light-level sensors automatically dim LED lighting based on the amount of available daylight, ensuring energy efficiency without sacrificing comfort.

The benefits extend beyond energy savings. Natural light supports circadian rhythm regulation, promotes focus, and contributes to mental wellness — factors especially important in young learners.

Equally critical to wellness is indoor air quality, a key focus of Casa Blanca’s design. The school’s HVAC system includes a “make-up air” feature that mixes outside air with recirculated, conditioned air — balancing energy efficiency with freshness. All materials used in construction were selected for their non-toxic, low- or zero-VOC properties, ensuring that air remains clean and free from harmful off-gassing.

Each HVAC system underwent rigorous commissioning to ensure peak performance and proper calibration before the school’s opening. Together, these systems demonstrate a comprehensive approach to creating a healthy, high-performance learning environment where students and staff can thrive.

From sustainable infrastructure to sustainable learning At Casa Blanca Elementary, sustainability is not confined to the building — it’s embedded in the curriculum. Students participate in hands-on STEM and environmental education that connects classroom learning to the campus’s sustainable features.

Lessons in renewable energy, recycling, and water conservation draw directly from the school’s systems. For example, students might analyze energy data from the lighting sensors, observe how drought-tolerant plants thrive with minimal irrigation, or study how stormwater is filtered before entering the groundwater system. These experiences cultivate a deep understanding of environmental stewardship and civic responsibility from an early age.

This integration of learning and design ensures that sustainability is experienced, not abstracted. It empowers students to see themselves as active contributors to a more sustainable future — a critical mindset in the face of global environmental challenges.

Casa Blanca’s approach to design recognizes that health and learning are inseparable. The school’s layout promotes physical movement, mental focus, and social connection throughout the day. Wide walkways, outdoor stairs, and open courtyards encourage students to move naturally between indoor and outdoor learning spaces.

The placement of multipurpose facilities, gardens, and playfields invites activity while also supporting wellness-oriented programming — from nutrition education in the kitchen gardens to physical education in shaded outdoor courts. The inclusion of dedicated music and arts spaces within the multipurpose building reflects RUSD’s commitment to nurturing creativity as part of holistic development.

Small group areas, reading nooks, and outdoor terraces provide opportunities for quiet reflection and emotional regulation — an important design response to the growing emphasis on social-emotional learning. The result is a school that supports the mind, body, and spirit of every learner.

Lessons for education leaders Casa Blanca Elementary offers a powerful model for education leaders seeking to design or modernize schools that are equitable, sustainable, and health-centered. Its success illustrates that visionary school design does not require sacrificing practicality or cost-effectiveness — it requires alignment of mission, community, and design intent.

For district and state education leaders, Casa Blanca’s example underscores several key takeaways:

1. Start with community voice: Equity begins by centering the lived experiences of those the school serves.
2. Design with pedagogy in mind: Physical spaces should reflect instructional priorities such as project-based learning and collaboration.
3. Prioritize health and sustainability: Daylighting, ventilation, and biophilic design yield measurable benefits in student outcomes and operational savings.
4. Plan for the long term: Maintenance, professional development, and community stewardship are essential to sustaining innovation.
5. Make the facility a teacher: Integrate environmental systems and building features into the curriculum to build sustainability literacy from day one.
6. Include cultural and regional features: Finishes such as Talavera tiles represent the decorative arts, pattern making, and local heritage and community. “Rivers” and bridges applied to the playground harken to the nearby Santa Ana River, the inclusion of raised planting beds and their organization into repetitive grids represent the area’s long and continuing history with citrus orchards.

A legacy reborn Casa Blanca Elementary stands as a testament to what can happen when a community refuses to give up on its vision. What began as a campaign to reclaim a lost neighborhood school has evolved into a national model for what future-ready, equitable education can look like.

The new campus honors the neighborhood’s past while boldly preparing its students for a sustainable future. It embodies the principles of wellness, resilience, and cultural pride — not as slogans, but as architectural, pedagogical, and operational realities.

In every window that captures the daylight, every garden bed tended by young hands, and every gathering in the outdoor plazas, the Casa Blanca community’s legacy of perseverance lives on. It is a shining example of how schools can serve as both sanctuaries of learning and symbols of community rebirth.

Bernie Torres is the principal of Casa Blanca Elementary School. Dennis Roney is partner with GOArchitects, Inc. Renee Hill is the superintendent emeritus of the Riverside Unified School District.