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New Schools, Old Schools, Safe Schools

  • By Jerry Enderle
  • 06/01/17

GROUNDBREAKING NEWS

As I was working on the News & Views section of this issue, I noticed that I had about nine press releases or articles about groundbreaking ceremonies for PK-12 facilities. (In fact, two more came in while I was finishing this column.) Unfortunately, we did not have enough space to publish every one of them. My point is this: If my memory serves me correctly, it has been nearly 10 years since I have had the problem of not enough space to publish news about project starts. Is this an indication of an increase in school construction projects or simply a coincidence that all of the groundbreaking news came in the same few weeks this year? Let’s hope it is the former and not the latter.

Taking Care of What We Have — The U.S. Department of Education estimates that the average school building in our country is 44 years old. Our cover story focuses on one of those schools, and how, through a modernization project, the facility has not only been brought up to 21stcentury standards, but it now has an extended lifespan of 30 to 50 years and the revitalization of the school has renewed the spirit of its community.

The Education Budget — In this month’s Washington Update column, Fritz Edelstein provides details and some clarification concerning education and related funding in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017. This column is a very abbreviated version of his Washington Update that ran in our Facilities & Design Newsletter a couple of weeks ago. You can access that version on our website, webSPM.com.

Safe & Secure — The special section in this issue focuses on keeping our schools safe and secure. Mike Dorn writes about how building design and the use of smart technology can help prevent instances of sexual abuse and molestation. The second article in the section, written by two architects from Bailey Edwards, give examples of how they used design elements, during a facility conversion, to create a more secure environment.

A Reminder — Our next issue is dated July/August, so you won’t receive another issue of School Planning & Management until August.

Enjoy your summer.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • California Middle School Completes Two New Academic Buildings

    Sunnyvale Middle School in Sunnyvale, Calif., recently announced that construction is complete on two new classroom buildings of two stories each, according to a district news release. The new wing will house seventh- and eighth-grade students and is part of a larger campus modernization project.

  • Delta State University Completes Renovations to School of Nursing Facilities

    Delta State University recently completed a major expansion and renovation project for the Robert E. Smith School of Nursing facilities on its campus in Cleveland, Miss., according to a news release. The project includes about 14,000 square feet of new construction and more than 21,000 square feet of renovation work to the existing space.

  • Different Starting Points, Same End Goal

    Higher education campuses can enhance student experience by implementing mobile credentials to streamline building access, on-campus payments, and access to other amenities. This enables students to connect to their campuses through the technology they use most: their mobile devices.

  • Three U.S. Universities Install Acre Security Access Control Platform

    Cloud-native physical and digital security solutions company Acre Security recently announced that it has deployed its access control platform at three major universities in the U.S., according to a news release. Acre partnered with Atrium Campus to provide coverage for more than 69,000 students at the University of Virginia (UVA), George Mason University, and Rockhurst University.

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