PreK-12 Ed


Small Districts Can Lose Out With Title I Weighting Formulas

Title I funds are supplemental funds designated to assist in educating disadvantaged and low-income students. A majority of the funds go to students in first through sixth grade, and they are supposed to be supplemental assistance, meaning the funds do no

Safe Passage Out

Sure, school administrators know about life safety, such as how to operate a command center and how to conduct a fire drill. And, of course, school facility managers know about life safety, such as how often to check the generator. But there's more,

Four Years Later…

A school benefits from a geothermal heating and cooling system.

Plugging Into the Earth

Despite a slow start in its early days, more school districts are embracing geothermal technology as a viable source of energy to power their school buildings. A growing interest in renewable energy, cost savings and popular sentiment against dependence o

What I Would Do With $100 Million

When I read that Mark Zuckerberg, who made billions starting Facebook, was giving $100 million to the Newark, N.J. Public Schools, I wondered how I would spend that money if I had the opportunity.

Green by Design

Ten years ago, many thought that the green buildings movement would be a passing phase. History will show that it is not. This is one movement that has the buy-in of all age groups, from the flower children of the '60s to the young children of today.

Computing Made Practical for K-12 Schools

The educational benefits promised to students by computer technology sounds irresistible: Computers can put the Web's virtually infinite research capabilities to work. Teachers can record assignments online; automate testing, create online pod-cast l

Why Can't All Schools Be Like This?

Whether here in the U.S. or in another country, we should all be deeply impressed with, and grateful for, those school employees of any job description who understand how important it is to make things happen FOR students, instead of letting things happen

Dreaming of Net Zero

Since buildings are responsible for nearly 50 percent of our energy consumption, we concluded that the school should be a model of energy efficiency — a place where children engage the intertwined ecological, social, political and economic realities

Windows and Doors

Windows and doors are such basic components of any building that it would be easy to assume that the choices are so standardized there wouldn't be much need for discussion or debate, especially in terms of questions such as energy efficiency and LEED cert

Green Doesn't Always Mean Non-Toxic

Unfortunately, what constitutes "green cleaning" isn't necessarily what constitutes "healthier cleaning" — despite the implication that the terms are interchangeable. In fact, some of the green cleaning products we assume are

Race to the Top Funds Help Spur Reform, May Offer Some Budget Relief

Phase 2 of Race to the Top funds winners were announced last month, along with the hope that these states will serve as trail blazers in school reform. We spoke with administrators about the importance of Race to the Top funds and what they hope they can

New Three R's in School Design

In recent years, however, school design has shifted to include some very modern thinking — how to create school buildings that not only reflect their surroundings, but also safeguard and respect the natural world around them. The principles of sustai

Too Much Information

Many students would be quick to assert that they just use Facebook for fun. They don't believe that they are at risk. It is Facebook's vague and complicated privacy structure that leads to this misunderstanding. No matter how a student controls his or her

State of Safety

The Hawaii Department of Education relates school safety efforts to academic success.

Are Teacher Layoffs Around the Corner?

The Center on Education Policy (CEP), an independent, nonprofit organization, recently released the results from a survey of 233 randomly selected school districts dealing with the state of these districts' budgets in the upcoming 2010-11 school year

Space and School Design

How much space should we provide (and of what type) to accommodate the program we want to run now and into the 21st century? And that, more than anything else, is the question your district should answer first when it contemplates adding new school space.

Classroom Amplification

One of the latest and fastest growing trends in high-tech is classroom amplification. But just buying a sound amplification system and installing it does not necessarily make an improvement in students' hearing. It may make it worse. On the other han

Walls, Ceilings and Learning Environments

What do walls and ceilings have to do with creating a good learning environment in K-12 schools? Aren't these building systems simply supposed to look pleasant?

Staying Safe at the Construction Site

When it comes to K-12 phased occupied construction, it is critical to keep students safe. However, students aren't the only ones using the site — so are construction workers, teachers/administrators and visitors. Keeping everyone safe starts wit