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Category: Guides and Manuals

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Baltimore City Public Schools, 2013

This vision set in motion City Schools’ 21st-Century Buildings for Our Kids initiative. To fulfill the vision, the Board articulated a set of guiding principles that the district in turn used to develop a plan with specific recommendations for renovating and replacing all of its school buildings, starting in the 2014-15 school year.

Guiding Principles

• Invest to support academic success for all students

• Maximize fiscal responsibility and stewardship of resources

• Engage school communities to inform the creation of excellent school buildings for their students

• Align school buildings with demographic trends, enrollment trends and parent and student choices

• Invest to have maximum impact on community stability, growth or development

• Provide diverse options in every geographic area of the city

• Create school buildings on the cutting edge of technology and environmental sustainability

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"It’s a pivotal moment for our schools and our community. A thriving city depends on a strong public school system. This bond offers us an opportunity to not just redesign and rebuild outdated schools, but to reimagine and redefine the education that happens inside them. We heard the feedback in voices and languages that represent many of Portland’s diverse communities. People want schools that are safer, more inclusive and more flexible than they are today. They want learning spaces that spur greater collaboration and stronger relationships between students and teachers. They want classrooms that inspire creativity and innovation, and give students a chance to engage new technology. They want schools that welcome the community and build partnerships that help students explore the world outside the school."

Carole Smith, Superintendent Portland Public Schools

May 28, 2013 PPS Vision Summit

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Public Schools of North Carolina (2002)

Once the decision to construct a new educational facility or to construct a major addition or renovation to an existing facility has been made, the first and perhaps most important step in the process of providing a facility that truly enhances the educational program is the development of educational specifications. With the approval of the board of education and with the assistance of staff and selected others, the superintendent of schools must assume the responsibility for the organization and supervision of the educational specifications project, as well as serve as liaison between the board of education, school staff, and the citizens of the community.

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Once the Prince William County School Board chose the name for the 11th high school as Patriot High School, a portion of the identity of the school was determined. As the planning principal, one of the responsibilities was the selection of school colors, the coordination of those colors within the building, and the selection of a mascot for the school. It was important to select colors and a mascot that would help to create an identity within the community as well as within the northern Virginia area. The mascot needs to be approved by the PWCS school board.

The new school would be (1) the first school in the county with wireless devices available for staff, no desktop PC’s would be positioned in the classrooms, (2) Promethean boards were installed in every classroom for instructional purposes, (3) the building’s design was significantly different from the other 10 high schools as it incorporated natural lighting, wide open spaces, and a variety of instructional spaces for students and staff into the design of the building, and (4) it was set to have two artificial turf practice/multi-purpose fields for athletics use on the site.

Going forward, this manual was created to guide the next planning principal in the process of opening a high school in PWCS because there was not a manual/guide for completing the process in 2010-11. The information contained in this manual was specific in some cases to the site design and/or limitations/expectations for the school and should not be considered as the definitive collection of “how to open a school.” But it is comprehensive in nature and should provide the new principal with a plan to implement and modify as needed.

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Address the safety of school buildings by incorporating the principles of crime prevention through environmental design

By G. Victor Hellman Jr., Ed.D.

An effective learning environment is one in which students and staff feel safe and secure. Unsafe or unhealthy facilities can contribute to increased absenteeism among students and staff (Simons et al. 2010), affect learning outcomes, and lead to potential legal actions against the school division. Research indicates a correlation between students’ negative perceptions of safety and negative academic performance (Milam, Furr-Holden, and Leaf 2010). In other words, students do not perform as well in facilities in which they do not feel safe. Other studies link students’ perceptions of safety to inappropriate behavior (Kelling and Wilson 2012). It is reasonable to assume that these correlations extend to perceptions of facility conditions, as students may be more likely to exhibit behavioral issues in facilities that are unkempt. America’s education facilities are in need of improvement. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, the average school facility is over 40 years old (Alexander and Lewis 2014). Although not true in all cases, aging facilities may be inadequate to serve our nation’s student population. For example, research indicates that students who attend school in older buildings that are not wellmaintained score 5–11 percentile points lower on standardized achievement tests than students in modern buildings (CGCS 2014). Furthermore, students don’t perform as well in facilities in which they do not feel safe (Milam, Furr-Holden, and Leaf 2010).

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This article originally appeared in the July/August 2015 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

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ACEF, 2011

Vulnerability assessment is the ongoing process through which school districts and campuses identify and evaluate potential risks, and areas of weakness, capable of adversely impacting the campus or school system (The United States Department of Education, 2008). “Vulnerability assessment tools may vary from one school site to another, depending on variables such as location, environment, size, structure, and even student population and school culture” (p. 9). As a result of varying characteristics, assessments must be customized to fit the physical environment, culture, and resources of each educational facility.

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21st Century School Fund, 2011

Quality schoolyards are important places for elementary schools because outdoor activities are critical for growth, health, education and enjoyment. All children should experience pleasant and well equipped outdoor environments on a daily basis.

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This manual presents recommendations on safe rooms used in cases of adversarial, incidental, and human-caused threats. School engineers, architects, and building officials may use this resource to inform the design, construction, or rehabilitation of safe rooms.

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Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (2014).

Our nation’s schools and school districts are entrusted to provide a safe and healthy learning environment for approximately 55 million elementary and secondary school students in public and nonpublic schools. Families and communities expect schools and school districts to keep children and youths safe from threats, including human-caused emergencies such as crime and violence, as well as hazards like natural disasters, disease outbreaks, and accidents. Preparedness is a shared responsibility. In collaboration with their local government and community partners, schools and school districts can take steps to plan for these potential threats and hazards through the creation of an emergency operations plan (EOP).

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National Science Teachers Association, 2007

For over 50 years, the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) has been providing information to teachers and schools regarding science facilities and equipment. To provide assistance in the design of secondary school science facilities, NSTA in 1954 published its first book on facilities, School Facilities for Science Instruction. This publication was revised and updated in 1961. Although the Association subsequently released several related pamphlets, it became evident by the end of that decade that an updated document was needed.

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