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Greening America's Schools
Use with permission from the author. A Capital E Report, www.cap-e.com“This carefully documented study conclusively demonstrates the financial, environmental, and other benefits of using green technologies in schools. In fact, failure to invest in green technologies is not financially responsible for school systems; the study uses conservative accounting practices to show that investments in green technologies significantly reduce the life-cycle cost of operating school buildings. And the public benefits of green schools are even larger than those that work directly to the financial advantage of schools. These include reductions in water pollution, improved environmental quality, and increased productivity of learning in an improved school environment.” - Henry Kelly, President, Federation of American Scientists -
Leaner, More Effective Schools
"This article originally appeared in the November 2012 School Business Affairs magazine and is reprinted with permission of the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO). The text herein does not necessarily represent the views or policies of ASBO International, and use of this imprint does not imply any endorsement or recognition by ASBO International and its officers or affiliates."Twenty-first century school configuration reduces operational expenditures and promotes student learning."...our preconceptions about what a school should look like must be challenged, and that can be difficult. School buildings, and particularly classrooms, have moved beyond being simple spaces; they are now iconic. The idea of changing their fundamental structure seems too radical to consider. But it shouldn’t be.Think back to the corporate world of the 20th century. Picture the rows of offices, seas of desks and cubicles, and endless hallways. They supported a hierarchy and kept it firmly in place, much like the traditional classroom, with students in desks facing a teacher who delivers and filters knowledge “downstream.”
Now, think about what the most innovative and successful companies of the 21st century are like. For example, “Google strive[s] to maintain the open culture often associated with startups, in which everyone is a hands-on contributor and feels comfortable sharing ideas and opinions. . . . [Its] offices and cafes are designed to encourage interactions between Googlers within and across teams, and to spark conversation about work as well as play” (www.google.com/ about/company/facts/culture/).
How can our kids learn the skills that Google and other forward- thinking companies want in their people if they are learning in spaces designed to produce workers for past centuries?"Read the entire article for more.... -
Green Schools Go on National Display
"The impact and design features of the growing number of environmentally sustainable school buildings are on display at the National Building Museum as part of an exhibit on green school space.The exhibit, which opened earlier this month, also houses the first display of "Sprout Space," a new sustainable modular classroom designed by the Chicago-based architecture firm Perkins+Will. Featuring solar panels, a low-flow toilet fed by rainwater, and large glass doors and skylights, Sprout Space is designed to improve health and educational outcomes, the firm says, while also reducing the cost of construction and eliminating energy costs.
Part of a museum series focused on sustainable design, the exhibit showcases 41 schools.The opening coincides with the release of a report from New York City-based McGraw-Hill Construction focusing on the financial, health, and academic benefits of green schools."
Last Modified on May 15, 2013