Not many years ago, an epidemic of mold rampaged through K-12 school buildings across the country, rocketing mold prevention to the top of the priority list for the design of school building envelopes. Today, however, mold concerns have receded, and the p
Security is like an exercise program, where each and every exercise addresses a different weakness while improving overall strength daily. Implementing a good access control solution does not necessarily mean spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a
The life skills and vocational education components of high schools are no longer relegated to "found" space in a back corridor. Instead, they're taking a front-and-center spot as program, curriculum, design and technology advances are made. The
On the local level, we still hear that states are balancing their budgets by cutting support for education translating into more teacher layoffs, larger class sizes, fewer electives and the elimination of extracurricular activities. Some districts are dep
A quick look at three different efforts being made to improve the availability of funds for school construction and renovation, pending bills in the House and Senate, and the pending Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (HR 3962).
Most of us will promote and fight for the technologies where we have personally experienced success or have been convinced by other adults that it works. Yes, we must verify that a specific technology works for the teachers but, more importantly, we need
Is there any school administration or architect today that does not strive for high performance? Definitions may vary and the word is sometimes overused, but the objectives are valid. For more than a decade, the universe of education has been on course to
Evermore sophisticated student hackers, criminal hackers and regular thieves require a new security priority for K-12 schools: the convergence or coming together of physical and IT (sometimes called logical) security. Simply put, if you don't lock th
Nontraditional construction methods are helping to provide that space, in part because they can offer financial savings over traditional construction methods. Nontraditional construction methods include but are not limited to SIP, tilt-up, I
President Obama proposed on Feb. 1, an education budget for fiscal year 2011 that takes a bold approach to elementary and secondary education. The two main themes of this FY 2011 budget request are education reform and college access. When Secretary Dunca
As architects, we've worked with school administrators who face the daunting challenge of designing and building a much-needed facility when budgets are tight. The good news is that in our experience, a school can build a high-quality facility on eve
Once up in the cloud, a user selects the software applications he or she wants to use and goes to work. Data stays on disk drives within the cloud. It is a simple and economical approach to computing. It is catching on in the commercial world and in the a
There are ups and there are downs. Ten years ago, I was happy to report that school construction increased 16 percent over the year prior. This year, the figures are not nearly as positive.
Through the state's comprehensive K-12 school construction program, Ohio has built more than 760 new or renovated schools during the past 12 years. Each of these buildings is part of an extensive school district-wide master planning process that incl
Thanks to a large number of temporary health-related school closures and the H1N1 pandemic, 2009 will be remembered as the year of pandemic planning. Here's what school administrators learned along the way.
There have been many positive and negative discussions over the use of contracted janitorial services. A good friend at another school district shared his belief with me that "you must inspect what you expect." This must be followed whether you
Last month, I asked "What do you do when elementary school population is shrinking, the budget is tight and schools have empty seats and empty rooms?" Thirty-five years ago, school districts answered by selling buildings. Later, when population
School maintenance is a year-round issue. But, generally, it's the winter season that presents the most problems. Here are the reports from a city school district, a county-wide district and a state-wide program on how they cope, especially when the weath
Sage on the stage, independent study, collaborative teaming, hands-on/project-based teaching methodologies and many other learning/teaching styles and methods that have evolved and transitioned throughout the years will not be thinking of the past, but wi
A report from the Rural School and Community Trust warns of the effects of poverty on students in rural school districts.