• In Prep for Re-Entry, Boston Schools Invest in Window Repair, Replacements

    Throughout the month of March, Boston Public Schools is expanding the number of students it brings back into classrooms for in-person instruction. 03/08/2021

  • Classroom Purifier Cuts Infection Risks in Half—Same as Opening Windows

    A study in two South Korean high schools found that window ventilation reduced the risk of COVID-19 infection by 55%, while the use of an air purifier shrank the risk by 50%. The combination of the two dropped the risk by nearly three-quarters (73%). Researchers from the Infrastructure Safety department at the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT) said the use of the air-purifying device worked best when it was placed in the middle of the room, which was sized to hold about 25 students. 03/08/2021

  • Tutt Construction to Upgrade Wyoming High School's Bleachers

    At its meeting in early March, the Sheridan County School District 2 in Sheridan, Wyo., awarded a bid for new bleachers to Tutt Construction Inc. of Billings, Mont. The total bid for the project, including delivery and installation of the new bleachers at Sheridan High School, was $147,000. 03/08/2021

  • Vermont High School Relocates to Former Macy's

    Burlington High School, located in Burlington, Vt., has reopened its doors—on a slightly unconventional new campus. After a whirlwind 10-week renovation process, the downtown Cherry Street building that formerly served as a Macy’s department store is now ready to welcome BHS students and faculty to their new home. 03/08/2021

  • Ann Arbor Schools to See $63M in AC, Lighting Upgrades

    The Ann Arbor School Board in Ann Arbor, Mich., approved $63 million in funding for air conditioning and lighting renovations at 13 schools in the district, as well as contracts for future architectural and engineering projects. 03/08/2021

  • Wave energy testing facility

    Oregon State University to Move Forward with Wave Energy Project

    Federal energy regulators have given Oregon State University permission to move forward with PacWave South, an offshore wave energy testing facility. 03/04/2021

  • Universities See Quarantine, Isolation Spaces Begin to Fill

    Many universities around the country have designated certain campus residence halls as temporary housing for students in coronavirus-related quarantine or isolation. And some universities are starting to see these spaces fill up quickly. 03/03/2021

  • Mohawk Chromascope design

    Mohawk Adds Four Designs to LVT Collection

    The Mohawk Group has announced the expansion of its Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) line, Living Local, with four new styles. 03/02/2021

  • Michigan Regional Theater to Renovate Historic School Building

    The Encore Theatre Company, a nonprofit theater group in Dexter, Mich., is raising money to renovate its new performance space—a historic school building downtown. 03/02/2021

  • Illinois High School Approves $75M Gym Upgrade

    The school board of the New Trier High School Winnetka campus, located in Winnetka, Ill., has unanimously approved plans to construct a new gymnasium. The $75 million project involves demolishing the existing gym, which was built in 1928, and replacing it with a new, state-of-the-art facility better suited for the school’s current size and athletics programs. 03/02/2021

  • Georgia Schools Add Ionization Devices to HVAC Systems

    The Bibb County School District in Macon, Ga., announced in a press release that it will be adding needlepoint bi-polar ionization devices to the HVAC systems in each of its schools. 03/02/2021

  • Winter storm

    Austin ISD Surveys Damage After Winter Storm

    Austin Independent School District (AISD) officials in Austin, Texas, spent last week walking through schools and surveying the aftermath of the recent wave of winter storms. The verdict: Ninety of the district’s 130 schools were affected, and the total damage is estimated at about $15 million. 03/02/2021

  • Smart locker

    Quadient Nearly Doubles Number of Smart Locker Installations in U.S. During 2020

    Quadient has become the second-largest provider of parcel locker solutions worldwide after it reached 13,000 installation sites and more than 600,000 lockers overall during FY2020. During the first nine months of the fiscal year, which ended on Jan. 31, 2021, the company reported a 78% increase in the number of packages delivered to its smart lockers. 03/01/2021

  • Professor Randall Ellingson receives grant from U.S. Air Force

    U Toledo Developing Solar Sheets to Generate Power in Space

    The University of Toledo just received a five-year, $12.5 million grant from the U.S. Air Force to develop flexible solar cell sheets for space. The photovoltaic energy sheets will be used to collect solar energy for powering Earth-based receivers or other orbital or aerial instrumentation, such as communications satellites. 02/26/2021

  • Cybersecurity

    Audits Reveal Cybersecurity Weaknesses in New York School Districts

    The Office of the New York State Comptroller has completed audits on three school districts in the state. The audits uncovered that the districts have neglected to follow some crucial cybersecurity policies, leaving them potentially vulnerable to cyberattacks. 02/25/2021

  • Oakwood Schools to Receive New HVAC System

    One of the only remaining components of the $18 million Oakwood City Schools renovation project in Dayton, Ohio, is the installation of a brand-new HVAC system for the high school/junior high building. Currently, about half of the 97-year-old building is running on a new system, and the other half still uses an outdated, steam-heated network, according to school district Operations Coordinator Todd Scott. 02/25/2021

  • School bus

    California School District to Install Charging Stations

    The Porterville Unified School District (PUSD), located in Tulare County, California, recently placed an order for six new electric school buses. During its Board of Education meeting on Jan. 28, the district also approved plans to install six new electric charging stations. 02/25/2021

  • LumAware ClearGuard Desk Guard Shields Students in the Classroom

    One of the primary concerns in reopening schools is being able to ensure proper social distancing between students.Guidance from the CDC suggests setting up physical barriers like partitions and sneeze guards in areas where spacing people out remains impractical. Building off of that idea, LumAware recently released a series of desk guards customized for use in the classroom. 02/25/2021