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VIVOTEK VAST 2 upgrade

VIVOTEK Releases Update to VAST 2 IP Video Management Software

IP surveillance solutions provider VIVOTEK has released an update to its VAST 2 IP Video Management Software.

Vermont Schools Receive $550M in COVID Relief Funds

Among the three relief packages passed by Congress since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vermont schools and the state’s Agency of Education have received a total of $566 million in federal funding. About $100 million has already been put toward reopening schools, retrofitting buildings for social distancing purposes, upgrading HVAC systems, and other ancillary expenses like hand sanitizer.

Rapid Dx Labs, Ginkgo Bioworks Partner

Rapid Dx Laboratory, Ginkgo Bioworks Partner to Offer Pooled COVID Testing

Rapid Dx Laboratory has announced a partnership with Concentric by Ginkgo to provide pooled COVID-19 testing to K–12 schools in both in-person and hybrid learning environments.

Seminole County School District Proposes PreK-12 School Facility

Officials in the Seminole County School District, headquartered in Donalsonville, Ga., recently announced a proposal to build a new, all-inclusive, PreK-through-12 school facility. They attribute the need for a new building to the age of current facilities and continuing repairs to buildings damaged by Hurricane Michael, among others.

Stevens Institute of Tech to Fill All Electricity Needs from Renewable Sources

Stevens Institute of Technology has announced that it intends to fill all of its electricity needs from local renewable energy sources by October 2021.

George Mason University Gets Replacement Water Tank

George Mason University, located in Fairfax, Va., recently saw the installation of a new, 2.5-million-gallon water tank.

Techport at the Airport

Unique Ceiling Hatches Creativity at University Incubator

The University of Maryland is a strategic partner of the Techport @ The Airport, a business incubator designed to encourage transfer of technologies developed by the military into the commercial sector. The Incubator provides opportunities for students to gain real world experience and supports programs of the University’s Division of Research and James Clark School of Engineering.

Global School Recovery Tracker Monitors Education Status

Data Tracker Keeps Tabs on Education Status Worldwide

A new global education recovery tracker project developed by Johns Hopkins University's eSchool+ Initiative, the World Bank and UNICEF reveals the progress of schools around the world in the fight against COVID-19.

Collinsville Community Unit School District #10 LTE network

Private LTE Network Delivers Student Connectivity in Ill. District

An Illinois district has installed a $300,000 private LTE network to deliver internet connectivity to students. Collinsville Community Unit School District #10 worked with IT solutions provider STEPcg to address the needs of about 500 students in the area.

Cyberattack Wrecks Return to School for Mass. District

A cyberattack forced a Massachusetts school district to close for a day, just as kids were about to return to the classroom, and then revert to remote learning for most grades. Haverhill Public Schools made a public announcement when the district computer system was hit with a ransomware attack.

Many Students Stay Home Despite Availability of In-Person Instruction

K-12 instruction is being delivered in many different permutations right now, and so families are making various choices for the education of their students. By mid-March 2021 more than three-quarters of fourth- and eighth-grade students (76%) were being offered the chance to attend public schools open at least some of the time for face-to-face lessons. But just a fraction of those students attended in-person instruction. The remaining 24% of grade 4 and grade 8 students were in schools that were only online.

A Rational Approach to Ceiling Product Evaluation

A Rational Approach to Ceiling Product Evaluation

Despite widespread perception that architects and designers are fearless innovators, many, in the author’s opinion, are quite resistant to change. When a product works reasonably well, building professionals tend to stick with it until strong evidence justifies a change.

Mount Holyoke College Student Dining Commons

An Intimate Feeling Includes the Ceiling

A student cafeteria doesn’t have to feel like a student cafeteria. The new Student Dining Commons at Mount Holyoke College – a 1,000-seat, state of the art, anytime dining center created by Boston design firm Bergmeyer – is intended to offer an inviting, personal experience that evokes some of the school’s long tradition of intimate dining rooms. An important element of that effect is an unusual ceiling.

USU to Construct New Building for Language Programs

The Utah State Legislature recently approved the construction of a new home for Utah State University’s foreign language programs. The $17-million Mehdi Heravi Global Teaching and Learning Center will house all of the university’s language-based programs under one roof.

Ameresco, Holy Cross Energy Team Up for Solar Project on Colorado Campus

Clean technology integrator Ameresco, Inc. has announced a partnership with Holy Cross Energy to build a solar and battery energy storage project on land leased from the Spring Valley Campus of Colorado Mountain College, located in Glenwood Springs, Colo.

Towson University Science Complex

Towson Opens New Science Complex

Towson University has opened its new Science Complex. The building is a 320,000-square-foot facility—the largest academic structure on the Maryland university's campus. It features 50 classrooms, 30 research laboratories, 10 collaborative student spaces, eight lecture halls, an outdoor classroom leading to the Glen Arboretum, a rooftop greenhouse complex, a new planetarium and an observatory.

School bus

Iowa School District Moves Forward on Long-Awaited Bus Barn

In the Spirit Lake Community School District in Spirit Lake, Iowa, the school board has awarded a construction bid for a project that Superintendent Dr. David Smith says has been in the pipeline for quite some time—a “bus barn” to house the district’s school buses.

Texas High School Completes Campus Expansion Project

Lake Highlands High School, located in Richardson, Texas, announced this week that it has completed a campus expansion and renovation project. The work was done by Cadence McShane Construction and includes updates to multiple school facilities.

Ohio District Breaks Ground on New Elementary School

This weekend, school leadership in Finneytown, Ohio, broke ground on a new elementary school slated to open in spring 2022. The facility will measure in at 90,000 square feet, and its $22 million price tag will be split between the Ohio Construction Commission and the Finneytown Local School District.

Wash. School District Awards Bid for New High School

The Moses Lake School Board in Moses Lake, Wash., has awarded a contract for the construction of a new high school, informally referred to as the Real World Academy. At a meeting last week, the board voted 4-1 to give the $48.9-million contract to Absher Construction Co., based out of Puyallup, Wash. The project was originally budgeted for $51 million.

INVZBL Offers UV-C Disinfection Products to Schools

UV-C disinfection solutions provider INVZBL has launched a new line of products dedicated to reducing the risk of virus transmission through shared devices in K-12 schools.