LEED Certification for Schools
As schools emerge as a key part of the growing green building movement, board members and district officials should have a healthy discussion about the costs and benefits of investing in facilities. Green schools return the greatest benefits when they are based on the relationship between community, facilities, and curriculum.
April 2009
Green Schools Teach Green Lessons
Numerous sustainable technologies are being used in schools, ranging from geothermal, ice storage, and heat recovery systems to photovoltaics and daylighting. Each has the potential to be incorporated into school curricula. The challenge for school facilities managers is to include this technology in a way that students can observe.
October 2008
Will Renovations Work for Your School Buildings?
Chances are that a school in your district is underperforming. Not the students, but the school itself. And in the long run, that’s not good for your students either. A link has been drawn between adequate facilities and the quality of education, absenteeism, morale, productivity, attrition, and student health.
October 2008
Using Demographics in Your School Construction Plan
Enrollment projections always have been a moving target for districts. But recent years have brought about some unexpected demographic shifts. A faltering U.S. economy and housing market make the job even more difficult. Reliable demographic data is critical, and more districts are investing in new technologies to gauge mobility trends.
October 2008
Essential HVAC Upkeep
Your school buildings, along with what's inside them, are district assets. Most districts have maintenance programs to protect those assets. But what about your building's heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC) systems? Using an asset management strategy with your HVAC systems can protect those heating and cooling systems and save money in the long run.
July 2008
EnergySmart Schools Save Money
The initial cost for EnergySmart Schools used to be significantly higher than for their traditional counterparts, but thanks to technology advances and integrated design practices, school districts enjoy paybacks in five to eight years as well as ongoing returns on their energy efficiency investments. The business case for an EnergySmart approach has become stronger than ever.
July 2008
Future Planning Is Crucial for School Facilities
Futurists would have us believe there will be no school buildings within the next 50 years. Facilities planners are talking about wireless schools and schools without books, paper, or even walls. That might not be the case, but there's no question that student learning methods are shaping design trends.
June 2008
Saving Money on Your New Auditorium
Auditoriums represent some of the most expensive spaces within schools, and due to budget constraints, they are rarely built large enough for the school's needs. So the challenge is twofold: How to optimize the dollars spent and increase the use of the space. The solution lies in using approaches to reduce initial construction and ongoing operating costs.
March 2008
Finding the Smart Solution
By revamping how it purchases school supplies, a Pennsylvania district learns how to meet its ever-changing instructional needs.
November 2007
Building the Perfect School
As school design moves into the 21st century, architects and planners look at trends that are taking hold
October 2007
Planning for Integration
The Supreme Court's decision on using race in student assignment sets new rules, but it leaves out the necessary tools for success
October 2007
Bringing Back the Neighborhoods
Community schools are playing a lead role in the rebuilding of New Orleans and beyond.
October 2007
Achievement by Design
Buildings and classrooms play a role in how students learn, but while amenities are nice, don't let the frills overshadow your district's instructional goals
October 2007
Sustainable School Design
Low-tech design solutions improve student achievement and save money
September 2007
A Library for All
When a private developer and a public school district decide to build a joint-use facility, both the community and the students profit.
August 2007
Can You Hear Me Now?
If students can’t listen, they can’t learn. In a number of schools, districts are turning to wireless microphones and other systems to boost sound—and achievement. It seems like a simple—and relatively inexpensive—concept. But preliminary research on acoustical systems in classrooms is also hard to ignore: The better students can hear, the more they may learn.
June 2007
Merging Eras
The School District of Newberry, S.C., recently renovated a stately, three-story structure that originated as the local high school. Following a meticulous restoration and modernization, the building now serves as a 500-student neighborhood elementary school. The district’s commitment to preserving this splendid structure demonstrates the merits of preserving older school buildings whose potential capacity and upgrade costs are often competitive alternatives to new construction.
April 2007
Conserving Watts by Watching
An Oregon school district dramatically cut its energy costs by educating teachers and staff about effective utilities management. The greatest difference, however, is the change in students' attitudes. Thanks to education and participation programs, they are developing energy conservation habits that will last a lifetime.
March 2007
Building a Successful Addition
Who hasn’t driven through a community and seen a public school building that has grown with multiple additions, each one different and designed by a new architect? Style should be considered when designing a building, but continuity also is important if you want to construct an integrated, recognizable facility.
February 2007
The Value of Partnerships
During a period of growth, an Illinois school district and a local college build a long-term relationship that benefits both. The secret to their collaborative success was born from a desire to do what is best for the community without worrying about turf issues or which agency is in control.
January 2007
Improving Comfort, Enhancing Learning
The Southwest Licking School District, near Columbus, Ohio, faced the unwelcome trio of aging facilities, shrinking budgets, and a growing student population. They found the answer to their dilemma in Ohio House Bill 264, a 20-year-old piece of legislation that allows schools to enter into a performance contract with a vendor, giving the district a way to raise capital and pay for improvements with energy savings.
December 2006
Building Schools in Phases
Population surges have stretched buildings to capacity in many school districts across the United States. Unfortunately, the funding to house additional students has not followed as quickly—if at all. Increasingly, district officials struggle to do more with less, especially when it comes to new construction. Whether the goal is to renovate and expand existing schools or to build new ones, multi-phasing—also known as creating educational facilities in stages—is one solution.
October 2006
When Large Is Small
Thirty years ago, American educators thought they knew what made a good high school: It was highly efficient, departmentally organized, and served students of all abilities with a "cafeteria menu" of courses. Smaller high schools were consolidated into larger, regional units to provide a broader curriculum and greater efficiency. Today we recognize the weaknesses of the 1970s high school. "Schools within schools" provide the intimacy and personalization of small schools without sacrificing the efficiency and offerings of large facilities.
October 2006
A Working Lesson in Civics
The Medina High School and Community Center in Medina, Ohio, is a model of cooperation and collaboration between a school district and its community—and a great civics lesson for students. Since the high school was expanded and modernized in early 2003, it has become the home base for a number of school-community partnerships that offer wide-ranging programs in a state-of-the-art facility.
September 2006
"No Cost" School Renovation
Ohio’s Poland Local School District recently completed $5.5 million in additions and upgrades at no cost to the taxpayers. How did they do it? The district entered into a multiyear energy performance contract that allows them to pay off their loan through the savings realized by the renovation itself. Taking advantage of an energy performance contract let this small district make extensive improvements without asking the taxpayers for money.
May 2006
Planning for Equity
No magic formula will help school districts find long-term strategies for attaining—and maintaining—desegregation and equity. But districts can take some simple steps to further desegregation. A comprehensive focus on equity in programs and facilities is the best way to help desegregation stick. School board members and administrators, and the courts, must be attuned to opportunities to encourage desegregation as a part of district planning—and to the equity that such careful planning engenders.
April 2006
Spaces for Teaching Science
When planning new science space, architects are often confronted with an astounding variety of different and contradictory points of view from science teachers, laboratory consultants, and administrators—all of whom believe passionately in their opinions. Typically, the only objective on which everyone agrees is that the new facility needs to provide the best possible teaching and learning environment.
April 2006
Opening the Doors to Learning
Among the first school buildings to be LEED certified, Forest Hills Eastern High School in Michigan is a green school. In addition, its innovative design eliminates bottlenecks to student traffic and to learning itself. Open classrooms with double-wide doors, open corridors with no locker congestion, and open areas that encourage interaction all help foster the growth of open minds. It’s a clear example of how architecture and accessible design can produce practical results.
March 2006
8 Strategies for Middle School Design
The middle grades are crucial to captivating and keeping students as lifelong learners. These are the years when students become engaged in critical thinking—or stop wanting to have anything to do with school. Based on interviews and our experience, we have developed eight strategies for designing middle grades educational facilities.
October 2005