EDspaces Grant Program Provides Schools a New Vision for Future

Silver Spring, Md. — The Education Market Association (EDmarket) is pleased to announce that key facility decision makers from 13 universities and community colleges and 71 schools and districts with billions in planned renovation and construction dollars were awarded EDspaces 2016 Educational Facility Improvement Grants.

Educational Facility Grants assist with housing expenses and conference registration for the EDspaces Conference & Expo, November 2-4 in Cincinnati, OH. School and college facility planners, superintendents, and purchasing officials come to EDspaces to help make effective decisions for their upcoming facility construction or renovation project and to take part in the discussion about how facilities impact learning.

“The approved grant projects vary in scope and function, including a youth employment and training center, a historic preservation of a 1914 elementary school, and even the conversion of a 1980s WalMart into a community college workforce building” says Jim McGarry, President/CEO of the Education Market Association. “All will be at EDspaces in search of product solutions, design ideas, and education on what makes the ideal learning environment.”

Winners for this year include buyers from many of the major school systems including: Atlanta Public Schools (GA), Beaverton School District (OR), Berea City Schools (OH), East Side Union HS District (CA), El Paso Independent School District, (TX), Lake Washington School District (WA), Melissa Independent School District (TX), Orange County Public Schools (FL), Osseo Area Schools (MN), Spokane Public Schools (WA), Wake County Public School System (NC).

Colleges and universities approved for grants include Penn State University, Radford University (VA), Meridian Community College (MS), Porterville College (CA), Southern University of Baton Rouge (LA), Vancouver Community College (British Columbia), Indiana University of PA, Jacksonville State University (FL), Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, and University of North Texas among others.

See the full list www.ed-spaces.com/grants/winners/.

Featured

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.

  • Virginia Tech Tops Out New College of Engineering Building

    Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., recently celebrated the topping out of Mitchell Hall, which will soon stand as the largest College of Engineering building on campus, according to a news release. The university partnered with Skanska on the 285,500-square-foot facility, which has an expected completion date of winter 2028.

  • Q&A: How to Prevent Kitchen Grease Fires in Commercial Kitchens

    School cafeterias and university dining halls serve thousands of meals daily, relying on high-heat equipment like fryers, grills, and ovens. While these operations keep students fed, they also generate significant grease-laden vapors. Without proper controls, this grease becomes a silent fire threat. As a certified exhaust cleaning specialist and business coach who has helped hundreds of institutional facilities achieve NFPA 96 compliance, I emphasize that proactive grease management isn’t optional; it’s a core fire/life safety practice.

  • Tomball ISD Opens New Tomball West High School

    Tomball Independent School District in Tomball, Texas, recently celebrated the official opening of Tomball West High School, the district's third comprehensive high school, with a community ribbon-cutting ceremony, according to a district news release.