PreK-12 Ed


Inside Stories

Does warm, friendly and exciting interior design make pre-K through 12 schools more effective learning and teaching spaces? We asked this question of design professionals at three architectural firms that specialize in pre-K through 12 schools. Following

The First 30 Seconds

Granting and instilling permission to live for staff faced with an immediate life-or-death crisis situation is relatively easy compared with many things that schools currently do to prepare for crisis situations. It also happens to be a life-or-death matt

Crisis Situation!

School crises can happen to any school at any given time. In fact, minor crises do occur frequently in most schools. It is impossible to describe every possible crisis that could occur and to prescribe a specific plan to deal with it. aving well-thought-o

Teachers Are the Wrong Target

Today, it seems, many people, especially my favorite targets, congressmen, governors and politicians of all stripes who insist they know how to make education better, have made teachers the target of their attack. Some may truly believe that poor teachers

Creating a College-Going Mindset

Much of the stigma associated with alternative education can be traced back to the quality of the educational facilities. Often, these programs are housed within traditional middle school or high school campuses. The tenant-like nature of this relationshi

The Technology Makeover

Step inside a K-12 classroom in many school districts in the U.S. today and the differences are truly jaw dropping. Some might even feel as if, like Alice, they have fallen down the proverbial rabbit hole into another world. Today's teachers are now

Turntables

With the LEED for Schools program clarifying requirements, school districts are successfully climbing the certification ladder. For many, incorporating innovative design features, such as Turntable Divisible Auditoriums (TDAs) are just the ticket. By util

Green Schools & Curriculum

Arizona State University's GK-12 Sustainability Science for Sustainable Schools program, a project funded by the National Science Foundation, furthers sustainability across high schools in the Phoenix metro area by engaging high school students in ST

Less Standardization, More Flexibility

Five new state-funded facilities — including a green construction and 
transportation academy and a Hollywood-class arts and design academy — 
are transforming South Tahoe High School into a career tech haven.

Sustainability in Action

When the Boerne ISD (Texas) School Board hired the design team of OCO Architects and Pfluger Associates to design new schools and renovate existing schools for a $99-million bond issue in 2004, it came with the charge to do whatever could be done to const

My Water's Better Than Your Water

Back in March, College Planning & Management published an article about the state of green cleaning. The piece observed that the green cleaning industry seems poised to enter a new phase: eliminating many general cleaning chemicals in favor of water.

Make Your School Control Itself

The key to controlling energy use in a building lies in integrating the mechanical, lighting and other building systems so that you can schedule each system, control how the systems work together and monitor performance. Innovative building controls and m

The Cleaning Component

Every janitor or cleaning crew member needs to understand how to clean for safer and healthier environments and that they're part of the larger effort — shared by the principal, teachers, nurse, building operations and other staff members —

A Battle Worth Fighting

There's no reason to be bullied by rising energy costs. Look at the available data, and take the proper action to eliminate wasteful practices, update antiquated systems and become more efficient. Monitoring the results shows that you get what you pa

Deciphering Ecolabels for Greener Schools

For school facility managers, architects, designers and even school faculty and administration, credible certifications and their ecolabels make it possible to find greener, healthier products with which to build, furnish and maintain school facilities. H

Cloud Computing: Do More With Less

There are many benefits to cloud computing, and it's important to remember that your SaaS subscription is not just accessing technology at a reasonable price anywhere and anytime. It's about what's behind the subscription — customer se

Green Building Initiatives

Believing that a healthy school is as integral to a student's learning environment as the curriculum itself, Alexandria City Public Schools decided to look for building initiatives and solutions that would make its buildings healthier and save money

School Security Technologies

Before you start shoveling money into security technology, spell out precisely the problem you want to solve or deter in the first place. Once that's established, start looking at solutions, but don't immediately jump to the latest gizmo — it may be

Not Like It Used to Be

Green school choices are embedded in every part of a child's experience in a school. Here are some of the trends we are seeing emerge in our work with healthy, high-performance, green schools across the country, as well as suggested tweets to tweet a

Get Ready, Get Finished, Get Out

Waiting until the last minute and scrambling to execute campus improvement projects can lead to disastrous results. All construction programs are unique and present their own challenges for the team. Start planning for your summer projects as early as pos

Digital Edition