Education Conference
The TCEA (Texas Computer Education Association) Convention & Exposition took place last week from Monday, Feb. 7, to Thursday, Feb. 10, at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas. I had the opportunity to drop in on the convention for a day, and the following are some loosely organized thoughts about my experience there.
Campus Amenities
While most teachers and educators are aware of the eSports phenomenon and its ever-expanding popularity, many remain unfamiliar with all the benefits an eSports program can offer to both students and schools themselves. Moreover, some educators looking to introduce eSports programs feel overwhelmed and in the dark about how to get started.
New Construction
The Lafayette Parish School System in Lafayette, La., announced this week that it has selected construction companies for three rebuilding projects within its district.
Food Service
Contract food service management provider Chartwells Higher Education announced this week that it is partnering with food automation company Picnic to provide an automated pizza assembly station to a college campus dining hall.
New Construction
Furman University in Greenville, S.C., is gearing up to tackle the largest construction project in its history. Groundbreaking starts this Saturday, Feb. 12, for a comprehensive renovation of South Housing that involves constructing a new residence hall and renovating four others.
New Construction
The Board of Trustees at Quinnipiac University’s Mount Carmel Campus in Hamden, Conn., recently approved the construction of three new buildings on campus. Two new academic buildings and a new residence hall will come together to form a new “South Quad” area.
Learning Devices
With 50 million Chromebooks now in use in schools around the U.S., Google recently introduced a new repair program for U.S. education users of its Acer- and Lenovo-made models, with a new website providing self-service repair guides for each model.
- By Kristal Kuykendall
- 02/07/22
Campus Safety
The Salt Lake City School District in Utah recently announced that it has adopted a training management system from Vector Solutions. Vector Training, formerly known as SafeSchools, provides online video training courses for K–12 schools and will help the district maintain federal, state and local staff training and compliance among its 4,000 employees.
New Construction
Auburn-Washburn Public Schools USD 437 near Topeka, Kan., is preparing for a bond election that could provide the district with funds to build a second middle school. The existing Washburn Rural Middle School is currently the largest middle school in the state that serves students in grades 7–8.
New Construction
College of the Redwoods, a community college in Eureka, Calif., recently broke ground on a new creative arts building. The new facility will measure in at 29,888 square feet and will replace the former creative arts building, which was built in 1974.
New Construction
The University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz., recently completed an $81-million, seven-year construction project called the Student Success District. The project’s goal was to centralize and upgrade a variety of crucial student resources including library services, tutoring and advising, mentoring and career services, and health programs within a single area of campus.
Healthy Schools
Robotics company OhmniLabs recently debuted an autonomous cleaning robot that uses UV-C light to disinfect spaces. OhmniClean is capable of disinfecting a 3,000-square-foot space in less than 15 minutes and was designed for use in schools, hospitals, hotels and other spaces that require deep cleaning of high-touch surfaces.
HVAC
For the first time ever, the main gymnasium and cafeteria at Fort Dodge Senior High School in Fort Dodge, Iowa, will have air conditioning when the next school year begins this fall.
New Construction
Braintree Public Schools in Braintree, Mass., recently announced that construction has begun on a new school facility for the district. The structure will serve as a new home for the existing South Middle School, and it will also be the town’s first new school construction in more than 50 years.
Campus Design
Design firm LPA Design Studios recently announced that it has promoted Kate Mraw to the position of Director of K–12. In this new role, Mraw will spearhead the development of the firm’s national education design practice, according to a press release.
Campus Renovations
Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass., recently announced that the renovation and expansion project for Swartz Hall has been completed. According to a news release, the 60,000-square-foot renovation and 13,000-square-foot expansion began in May 2019.
Campus Sustainability
Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Ga., recently partnered with facility energy solutions provider ABM Industries to upgrade campus STEM labs—and save about $11.7 million across ten years in the process.
School Signage
From students to faculty, any school’s first priority should be the safety of people on campus. By now, you’ve probably learned that safety signage plays a vital role in keeping people safe at your school. From the parking lot to the playground, having the proper school safety signs not only keeps your students and faculty safe but also helps you avoid costly lawsuits or OSHA fines.
New Construction
Officials from the Nye Country School District recently approved the construction of a new, $15.2-million elementary school in Tonopah, Nev.
Campus Renovations
The Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School (AMSA) in Marlborough, Mass., recently selected Boston-based Finegold Alexander Architects to provide the design for an upcoming series of renovation and addition projects.
Liberty Defense Holdings Ltd. recently announced that it has signed an agreement with the University of Wisconsin Police Department (UWPD) to test a new security detection walkthrough portal on campus.
Several North Texas school districts cancelled school on both ends of the long Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, citing staff shortages and a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Campus Security
A 16-year-old student is facing charges after an active shooter incident put Seminole High School in Sanford, Fla., on lockdown for several hours on Wednesday, Jan. 19.
A Texas school district recently entered a partnership with cybersecurity solutions provider IronNet, Inc. to help combat an increasing number of cyber attacks against the district’s networks.
Campus Renovations
Butler University in Indianapolis, Ind., has announced that it will soon be renovating its Residential College. The residence hall was built in 1988 and serves mainly first-year students. The project is slated to last about two years and cost more than $20 million.
New Construction
Construction on a new Campus Recreation and Wellness Center at the University of Pittsburgh is underway. The project is part of a wider Campus Master Plan that was finalized in 2019 and will provide amenities like a recreational pool, jogging track, basketball courts, weightlifting equipment and more.
Architecture & Design
Plunkett Raysich Architects in Milwaukee, Wis., recently announced that it has named two new partners to join the firm’s ownership.
Transportation
Electric vehicle manufacturer GreenPower Motor Company signed an agreement last week with the state of West Virginia to begin producing zero-emission, all-electric school buses in a new manufacturing facility,
- By Kristal Kuykendall
- 01/18/22
New Construction
The planning process for a second high school for Minot Public Schools in Minot, N.D., is underway after voters passed a $109-million bond in December 2021.
Student Housing
Those students born between 1997 and 2012, otherwise known as Generation Z or Gen Zers, are redefining expectations for college housing and services, according to an architectural firm that specializes in working with colleges and universities.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 01/18/22
Building Blueprints
Architecture firm Perkins&Will recently saw the completion of its third elementary school for the Melissa Independent School District in the northeast part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
Campus Amenities
Penn State is expanding its on-campus nuclear reactor and the facility that houses it. The university broke ground on the $9.5-million project, which is intended to accommodate an upcoming equipment donation, facilitate neutron beam research and help grow the nuclear engineering program at the institution.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 01/13/22
Healthy Schools
Today, college students are experiencing tremendous pressure and stress caused by an ever-broadening range of influences and factors, negatively impacting many aspects of social development, learning, and overall well-being.
New Construction
A military college has begun construction on a new aquatic center. The $44.2 million project underway at the Virginia Military Institute is scheduled for completion in November 2022.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 01/12/22
Construction Education
A public technical college in Colorado will be launching a new construction trades certification program that will give students experience in building affordable housing.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 01/12/22
Campus Amenities
Ecore, a company that converts reclaimed materials into a variety of performances surfaces, announced this week that it is partnering with flooring sales and marketing company Spartan Surfaces to relaunch its popular ECOsurfaces product line.
School Staffing
The U.S. Department of Transportation recently announced that it is coordinating with the U.S. Department of Education and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to address a labor shortage of school bus drivers.
New Construction
The Lamar Consolidated Independent School District (Lamar CISD) in Fort Bend County, Texas, about 40 miles west of Houston, celebrated the start of 2022 with the opening of a new elementary school.
Campus Amenities
Islington Junior Middle School in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which serves students in grades PreK–8, recently announced that it has installed new acoustic ceiling and wall tiles in four of its classrooms.
Campus Renovation
The city of Fresno, Calif., recently proposed the conversion of a local motel into a housing facility for students at Fresno City College. Construction could be complete as soon as fall 2022, providing 69 apartments with subsidized rent that could provide space for about 300 students.