Schools In Focus Podcast

Schools In Focus is a podcast dedicated to the design, planning and management of educational facilities and campuses. Listen in as we chat with industry experts, facility managers, architects, security and safety professionals, and other thought leaders. Catch up on previous episodes below.


Flooring Design Solutions in the Era of COVID-19

06/14/21

Interior design plays a fundamental role in not only making education spaces functional, but also in creating a calm, soothing environment for students and faculty alike. Aesthetics—from color selection to layout—are crucial in helping schools re-emerge from the pandemic as safe spaces that promote emotional and psychological well-being.

Here to shed further light on the topic are David Dembowitz and Royce Epstein from the Mohawk Group, and Rebekah Matheny from the Ohio State University. Today’s episode is sponsored by Mohawk Group.

Duration: 49 min


Safe Air in Schools

06/09/21

Maintaining indoor air quality has gained renewed importance as K–12 students around the country prepare to return to in-person learning full time. It’s one of the timeliest, most important methods of keeping learning environments safe as the COVID pandemic winds down. And the more we learn, the more we refine and revise what we thought we knew. Our guest is Scott Huffmaster, the commercial HVAC leader for indoor air quality for North America for Trane Technologies, Inc. This episode is sponsored by Trane.

Duration: 32 min


Best Practices for ID Card Issuance

05/26/21

K–12 schools and colleges issue ID cards to students, faculty, staff, and sometimes even visitors to campus. The logistics of creating and printing these cards—especially Smart Cards with technical capabilities—are more complicated than you might think. Here to break down the process are Senior Product Marketing Manager Mike Mans and Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives David O’Driscoll, both with HID Global. Sponsored by HID Global.

Duration: 35 min


Mastering the Strategic Master Plan

04/29/21

When it comes to designing an educational facility, there's no such thing as "one size fits all." There’s a lot that goes into creating the strategic master plan for a school. Here to tell us more about that design process, both generally and specifically, is Elie Newman, Senior Principal at BNKC Architects, based in Toronto, Canada.

Duration: 55 min


Talking Campus Security with Mitch McKinley

02/08/21

In this special episode of Schools in Focus, Security Today and Campus Security & Life Safety Editor Ralph Jensen discusses securing a campus with President of M2 Consulting Mitch McKinley. Listen along as Ralph and Mitch talk about security from the outside in

Duration: 20 min


Indoor Air Quality

01/15/21

One way schools and universities can mitigate the COVID-19 risk is to utilize their HVAC systems to circulate clean fresh air. In this episode, Mike Wolf, Director of Regulatory Affairs at Greenheck, and Ron Wendorski, Director of the Bernard A. Greenheck Education Center, talk about indoor air quality in classrooms. They explain how foundational technologies like increased air ventilation and filtration can help reduce the spread of COVID-19. They also explain how additive technologies like ultraviolet technology and bipolar ionization can help. We also discuss cost-effective ways to improve HVAC systems and the long-term benefits of indoor air quality.

Music by Joseph McDade

Duration: 41 min


Sponsored Content

  • Wenger Corporation

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