New Construction
The Stafford Municipal School District (SMSD), located near Houston, Texas, recently opened a new Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Magnet Academy. The $2.8-million facility is the first of its kind in Fort Bend County, and it can accommodate almost 200 students in grades 3–8.
Grants
The U.S. Department of Education announced this week that it is establishing a new grant program to provide funding to school districts that have been penalized for implementing safety measures against COVID-19.
Campus Renovations
The College of Charleston in Charleston, S.C., has announced a renovation project for its Albert Simons Center for the Arts. The facility originally opened in 1979 for about 800 students. Today, it serves about 4,000, according to a press release, and officials are moving forward with plans to update its classrooms, performances spaces, technology and infrastructure.
Campus Sustainability
Colorado State University Pueblo in Pueblo, Colo., recently announced that it has become the first university in the state to achieve net-zero efficiency.
Campus Renovation
Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore, Md., recently celebrated the opening of its newest academic building, the Miguel B. Fernandez Family Center for Innovation and Collaborative Learning.
Cybersecurity
Howard University in Washington, D.C., announced this week that its online and hybrid classes have been suspended following a ransomware attack.
New Construction
A groundbreaking ceremony was held this week for a new high school in Boys Town, Neb. The three-story, 110,000-square-foot facility will stand on the site of the small town’s previous high school, which was built in 1948 and was recently demolished to make room for construction.
Indoor Air Quality
Johnson Controls announced this week that it is contributing its OpenBlue Healthy Buildings portfolio to a pre-existing partnership between two science and safety organizations. UL and SafeTraces joined forces in March 2021 to begin evaluating the effectiveness of indoor air quality and HVAC systems, as well as infection control strategies, in K–12 schools.
Campus Amenities
Too often, outdoor spaces are seen as an afterthought – spaces that can be determined once everything else is evaluated and developed. But that can be a costly mistake. When prioritized as part of the school’s overall programming, value-added outdoor space benefits students’ learning and social experience, providing a solid return-on-investment for schools.
COVID-19 and Schools
Across the country, K–12 school administrators, teachers and staff are preparing to return to school in the midst of continued uncertainty. As COVID-19 continues to evolve, conflicting positions on mask mandates and safety requirements have spilled out of school board and PTA meetings into the national discourse, complicating decision-making at every level. The ongoing pandemic has created new risks, and elevated others — all of which pose challenges to K–12 operations.
Adaptive Reuse
Chapman University, located in Orange, Calif., recently announced the construction of a new facility for the Sandi Simon Center for Dance. The project entails the renovation of an historic Villa Park Orchards Building on the campus’ west side.
New Construction
The University of Maryland in College Park, Md., has a new dorm on campus. Pyon-Chen Hall opened its doors in time for the fall semester to about 450 University Honors living-learning program students, as well as others.
University Renovations
Washington State University Spokane announced this week that its Native American Health Sciences program has received a grant to enrich its space.
Funding
Montana State University, located in Bozeman, Mont., announced this week that it has received a sizable philanthropic gift for its College of Nursing.
New Construction
Everywhere you look, Holmes Hall is more than a collection of classrooms and studios; it’s a forum where left- and right-brain thinkers build the future together.
New Construction
On the campus of the University of Maryland in College Park, Md., officials gathered recently to break ground on a new 105,000-square-foot chemistry building.
New Construction
The city of Boston, Mass., will soon be getting a new public school. HMFH Architects announced this week that it is putting finishing touches on the design for Josiah Quincy Upper School (JQUS), which will stand in a one-acre lot in the city’s “dense and diverse Chinatown neighborhood,” according to a news release.
New Construction
The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) has announced a new elementary school on the grounds of Fort Knox in Kentucky.
Campus Renovations
Columbine High School, located in Littleton, Colo., held a ribbon-cutting ceremony recently for a series of renovations to the campus, including a new entrance.
Campus Renovations
A new student commons is expected to open later this fall at Western Kentucky University. WKU Commons is part of Margie Helm Library and offers study and collaboration spaces alongside dining options.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 08/24/21