The school year has nearly wrapped up for students around the country, and we look at some of the trends in educational design for elementary- and high school-aged students. As with everything in recent years, the pandemic changed the way in which students, teachers, parents and educational leaders all looked at the school system.
It also changed the way in which schools will be designed moving forward, with trends in project-based group or team learning becoming key; integrating technology for both students and teachers; a variety of flexible learning spaces; updated safety considerations and, of course, sustainable design elements. Check out the article here to see what architects in the educational space have to say about the ways schools are being designed.
And on that note, the Center for Green Schools recently released a new report titled “Managing Sustainability and Indoor Air Quality in School Districts: A Profile of Staff in the K-12 Sector.” The report provides insights from a national survey on the financial costs and benefits of hiring PreK-12 sustainability and environmental health staff to drive better working and learning conditions within schools.
Findings from the report, which looked at 70 PreK-12 school system-level sustainability and environmental health professionals who represent 4.1 million students—show how an internal change agent, such as a dedicated sustainability or environmental health professional, is essential for schools systems that are looking to save and leverage substantial sums of money; update curriculum with relevant, meaningful and integrated learning opportunities; and improve the health and well-being of students, teachers and staff.
Some of the findings highlighted in the report include that on average, even in school systems struggling with tight budgets, sustainability staff can achieve annual savings of $1 million, equaling 10 times their salary, and the PreK-12 sustainability staff most commonly work in facilities departments focused on money-saving endeavors such as energy and water conservation and waste reduction. Additionally, the sustainability staff are reaching beyond facilities departments where they are typically placed and are working with student activists and curriculum leaders to bring sustainability into teaching and learning. Since COVID-19, school districts are increasingly focused on good indoor air quality (IAQ) for ensuring healthy schools, changing IAQ management to include heating, ventilation and air conditioning strategies.
The future of schools including high-performance buildings that create and maintain functional, safe learning spaces that also educate students, staff and the community about the impact of schools on climate change and health.
Learn more by downloading the report at: www.usgbc.org/resources/managing-sustainability-indoor-air-quality-school-districts-profile-staff-k-12-sector.
