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1 Introduction
Pages 15-28

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From page 15...
... Local schools have been the center of efforts to provide equal educational opportunities to all segments of the population. School buildings also host other activities, including adult education classes, voting, and community events.
From page 16...
... The potential environmental benefits of green school buildings are significant: A 2002 survey of 851 public schools districts found that an average of $176 per pupil was spent for energy. This figure is likely to be higher in 2006 owing to across-theboard increases in the price of gas, oil, and electricity.
From page 17...
... This study, then, is intended to look beyond the environmental objectives established for "green" schools and to assess the research-based evidence related to their effects on student learning, teacher productivity, and the health of students, teachers, and staff. The results of this study should be of interest to a wide range of stakeholders, including school administrators, school district business managers, federal and state education officials, parents, teachers, and architects and engineers specializing in school design, both green and conventional.
From page 18...
... The ongoing debate about the purpose and nature of public education also has implications for school building design, and costs. If public education becomes increasingly focused on producing good scores on standardized achievement tests, for instance, curriculums may increasingly focus on traditional academic subjects, and the demand for music, art, vocational, and physical education courses may diminish.
From page 19...
... school facility needs are LOCAL FIGURE 1.1 Typical process for funding school buildings. rooms largely disappear, to be replaced by specialized labs and learning 1-1 centers (Lackney, 1999)
From page 20...
... In all cases, indoor environmental quality can and will deteriorate over time if buildings are not properly designed, systems are not operated appropriately, or needed maintenance and repairs are deferred. Although the interactions and interdependencies of building systems and their various components are known by building designers, individual systems and elements are typically treated as separate components, 1The annual operation and maintenance costs of a building, however, will be only a fraction of the annual costs to operate a school, which includes the salaries and benefits of teachers, administrators, and support staff; educational equipment and supplies; food service; and other expenses.
From page 21...
... The durability of materials, the level of maintenance undertaken, the timeliness and quality of the maintenance, the climate, and other factors will affect the service lives and performance of various systems and components. SCHOOL BUILDING PERFORMANCE Although most school buildings perform well when first built, their performance can and will deteriorate if the systems are not operated appropriately, if preventive maintenance programs are ineffective, or if needed maintenance and repairs are deferred.
From page 22...
... In 2000, the NCES reported that at least 29 percent of the nation's public elementary and secondary schools had problems with heating, ventilation, and air conditioning; 25 percent had plumbing problems; 24 percent reported problems with exterior walls, finishes, windows, and doors; and about 20 percent had less than adequate life safety, roofs, and electrical power. About 11 million students attended school in districts reporting less-than-adequate buildings, of whom approximately 3.5 million were in schools whose condition was rated as poor, which needed to be replaced, or in which significant substandard performance was apparent (NCES, 2000)
From page 23...
... The goal is to design buildings that meet performance objectives for land use, transportation, energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and other factors. Statements describing green objectives vary.
From page 24...
... They include design and engineering techniques to meet specific objectives: • Locating schools near public transportation to reduce pollution and land development impacts; • Placing a building on a site so as to minimize its environmental impact and make the most of available natural light and solar gain; • Designing irrigation systems and indoor plumbing systems to con serve water; • Designing energy and lighting systems to conserve fossil fuels and maximize the use of renewable resources; • Selecting materials that are nontoxic, biodegradable, and easily recycled and that minimize the impacts on landfills and otherwise reduce waste; and 2LEED for Schools is under development in 2006, in collaboration with CHPS.
From page 25...
... Operation and maintenance practices to achieve good indoor environmental quality include using nontoxic cleaning products, replacing air filters in ventilation systems regularly, and establishing a long-term indoor environmental management plan. Because they follow conventional design and construction practice, current green school guidelines typically treat materials, lighting, ventilation systems, windows, and other building components as individual elements, not as interrelated systems.
From page 26...
... The committee, appointed in January 2005, was composed of experts in education, green building technology, student performance, sustainable design, indoor environments, buildings and health, epidemiology, materials, infectious diseases, school design, management, and administration, and research methodology. The committee held five 2- or 3-day meetings between April 2005 and January 2006 and was briefed by the study sponsors, by experts in building design and operation, and by researchers.
From page 27...
... Following the discussion in Chapter 2, "Complexity of the Task and the Committee's Approach," Chapters 3 through 7 discuss specific elements of indoor environmental quality and their effects on human health, learning, and productivity. Each chapter begins by identifying issues, then discusses design requirements and solutions related to those issues, and ends with a discussion of current green school guidelines.
From page 28...
... Chapter 8, "Overall Building Condition and Student Achievement," summarizes the findings of a number of published and unpublished studies looking at overall conditions and functionality of school buildings and their effects on student achievement. Chapter 9, "Processes and Practices for Planning and Maintaining Green Schools," highlights the importance of participatory planning, setting up commissioning processes, monitoring building performance, postoccupancy evaluations, and training for educators and support staff.


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