Progressive Districts Promoting High-Performance Schools

摘要

K-12 schools, coupled with the university construction market, represent the single largest sector in the nonresidential construction industry. Construction spending for educational facilities is expected to reach nearly $83 hillion in 2005. Of course, educational facilities are vital not only to the construction industry, but to the communities they serve, Each day, more than 50 million children and six million adults enter the nation's public schools to learn and teach. Yet numerous research studies suggest that much of the nation's public schools infrastructure is outdated at best. Consider that the average school building is more than 40 years old, and I hat student enrollment has risen for 19 consecutive years while annual school spending has remained stagnant, and there's little wonder why so many of the nation's children go to school in overcrowded, dilapidated facilities. Several progressive states and local jurisdictions are rethinking the way schools are designed and operated. They are adopting policies, programs, and practices as part of new construction and modernization programs that promote the development of "high-performance schools. The ultimate goal is to create healthier and more effective learning environments that are less expensive to operate, minimize impact to the environment, and, most important of all. support and promote the education process.