A significant obstacle along the way has been the perceived economic challenges associated with building green. The vast majority of these challenges have been debunked or resolved, but understandably much of the dialogue around the topic of green schools
Next to salaries, energy is often the next-highest expense for educational facilities. To effectively manage this precious resource, it is necessary to understand how and when it is being used throughout the facility. The majority of K-12 schools have onl
Whether through the adoption of better visitor management procedures, such as the credential exchange, or the purchasing of a visitor management software system, effectively protecting students, staff and visitors in our schools depends greatly on improvi
Creating community schools involves more than letting adults use the gym at night. It involves starting the planning of new or remodeled buildings with the question, "what is this school's place in this community?" What are the services the
Recently, growth has slowed and enrollment is declining. With easing pressure to house students, it is time to think long term. It is time to create a vision of what the built educational environment or healthy schools will look like in 20, 40 or 60 years
In the perpetual desire to get more money in the classroom, school officers around the country have looked to contracting out support services to private companies. The idea, taken right out of business books, is that districts need to focus on their core
Evaluating school safety and crisis plans almost every week, one cannot help but note certain patterns. One concern I have found in hundreds of these plans over the years is the use of language that could be interpreted as a promise to provide a level of
I have been fortunate enough to sit on a number of architectural juries in the past few years. I have always enjoyed reviewing the projects and seeing what was new, but it wasn't until the last year or so that I really began to see schools where the
Starting in October, K-12 schools will play a major role in immunizing Americans against swine flu, also known as the H1N1 virus, which will make a return visit to the northern hemisphere this winter. We explore how to prepare staff, facilities and commun
Using key elements in the design of music therapy rooms will create bright, lively and inviting spaces for our children to continue on a positive path of growth and development. It is well known that music therapy rooms affect and change the lives of indi
Enhanced amplification is be a learning boon to all students, whether they have special needs or not. As companies have created new offerings over the years, the improved technology has also often resulted in greater ease of use and lower cost. It has als
Facilities DO impact learning. Researchers have repeatedly found a difference of between five-17 percentile points between achievement of students in poor buildings and those students in above-standard buildings (when the socioeconomic status of students
While the goal of optimizing energy efficiency once required such straightforward considerations as the orientation of the building on a site or the installation of high-performance HVAC systems and flexible lighting controls, the range of alternatives to
On July 21st, Bill Gates spoke to the National Conference of State Legislatures meeting in Philadelphia about creating common national standards and data systems to measure and document student and teacher achievement. We spoke with Harry Barfoot about th
Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology is a software-based approach to building design that incorporates 3D data, performance data, and more. BIM is not new technology. It is, however, just now "rising to the consciousness of a substantial nu
As important as proper school crisis plan development, distribution and training are, the methods used to properly equip staff to function under extreme stress are at least as important and, in some cases, are more important than the quality of crisis pla
Brilliant ideas are definitely needed in school maintenance and operations departments as budgets become more and more stringent in this current turbulent economic climate. Maintenance and operations managers share what they're doing to save money while,
A trend called convergence is all the rage today in the commercial security world. Convergence aims to integrate various forms of security: the physical security of people, physical facilities and network facilities; the security of information flowing ac
While traditional construction has its place, other methods may be more practical and appropriate for different circumstances and needs. In addition, these alternative solutions are being designed to offer energy efficiency, durability and design flexibil
Today, there are more than 600 green schools in 47 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, according to the Congressional Green Schools Caucus. And it has largely been Individuals leading the "green schools" movement — a gras