School buildings cannot fall victim to our throwaway mentality. We have invested too much and need to do what it takes to protect that investment. When we look at the poor condition of many of our school facilities, we need to remember that it was not a l
Not every space needs to have every element necessary for student-centered education, but it should be included somewhere in the school. If we want the best from our students, we have to design a variety of spaces so that they can be their best.
Recently released by CDW-G, "21st Century Classroom Report: Preparing Students for the Future or the Past?" explores how students, faculty and districts view and use technology in high school classrooms. This is the second year CDW-G has done th
FAST!, Fix American Schools Today, is an opportunity for a national project to address chronic deferred maintenance and could create hundreds of thousands of jobs. Most school districts do not have resources to address the maintenance and repair backlog,
K-12 school districts that break their addiction to printing and find new ways to manage the flow of printed materials are logging substantial savings. The Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township, near Indianapolis, for instance, slashed printing e
Schools are generally safe places. But in the wake of Columbine and other school emergencies, educational administrators nationwide are searching for new, more effective ways to protect their students and staff. School Planning & Management reached ou
Keeping buses rolling requires fuel and that's been expensive in recent years. School boards and school systems' management are constantly seeking ways to economize their school bus fleet through better management and optimizing routes an
Educational budgets are tighter than ever, oftentimes frozen or no longer even existent within K-12. But with every challenge lies an opportunity. Here are areas for consideration in creating "more with less."
With net-zero energy schools starting up in different parts of the country, there is an increasing demand to see their return on investment (ROI). Communities in Texas, New Mexico and Las Vegas are fast embracing net-zero energy schools or grid neutral bu
Design teams are now also looking at products that reduce the need for large areas of concrete paving onsite. This can have a direct impact on emergency vehicle access. As your facility design team looks at replacing traditional concrete pavement with con
The point is, your emergency management plan as-is may not factor in some very real dangers and it could be time to reevaluate exactly what your risks are and how your school can best prepare.
The world has changed, global competition has changed, students have changed. If we want our students to be successful, education must adapt to these changing demands. Teach the basics, but teach the arts. Encourage trial and error, creativity and collabo
Crime prevention through environmental design is "place-based" crime prevention and is predicated on making the environment both man-built and natural safer. The built environment includes small-scale areas, such as street corners,
Summer floor care doesn't have to be something you dread. In fact, because there's so much to accomplish during the summer, having a leg up on floor care is to your advantage. Proper planning in terms of floor care policies, procedures and produ
Go ahead, hold onto your print edition, your cursive style of writing and your pocket calculator. While those preferences may not adversely affect your security program, failing to get in motion when it comes to trends in school security might. So, r u up
Whether a planning process involves a state-wide building authority or is managed entirely at the local level, the elements of sound planning should be in place. Mindful planning produces results that support students and communities for many generations.
Outsourcing does not mean bringing in a provider that relieves you of the responsibility for facility management, food service, transportation or other category of outsourcing. It means forming a partnership with a company more expert in a category of ser
With limited resources, it is important that practical decisions are made when investing in security equipment designed to alert staff about untoward events on campus. Fortunately, responding to an emergency in a classroom or on campus has been made easie
Obviously, bullying is not a new phenomenon it likely has been with us throughout time. But with the addition of new means of communications, students can no longer even escape into the safety of their own homes. MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and text
This piece is being written as the final battle lines are being drawn before there is agreement on a solution to the debt crisis and a first step for address the unbalanced budget better known as the budget deficit. It seems the Gang of Six has at least m
More and more schools are moving towards WLAN implementations, but they do require a stable and high-speed LAN back in the closets. As districts place more computing devices in the hands of their students, it is fairly straight forward to upgrade the LAN