March 16, 2006
NJ Ed. Constuction Derailed
A committee led by the governor has recommmended replacing the New Jersey Schools Construction Corporation with a new agency in light of mismanagement, spending without budgeting, and a financial short fall of $300 million. The end of the article includes a puzzling quote:
"I'm also concerned that requiring municipalities to donate land for school construction purposes will put local officials, especially in our cities, where open space is nearly exhausted, in the position of imposing eminent domain without the state's backing," Mr. Rice said in a statement.
Panel Urges Replacing New Jersey School Building Unit
March 09, 2006
Greenbuilding and Schools
Clackamas High School, Oregon
Oregon is actively seeking to support green designed school buildings.
District building managers report energy savings of as much as 50 percent in the new buildings. Ross Cain, facilities manager for The Dalles School District, said the energy-efficient middle school built two years ago is saving the district about $50,000 a year in energy costs.
Green Buildings Start to Sprout Cash for Classrooms
BOORA, the school's architects
February 23, 2006
Charter School Facility Developers
Bronx Charter School for the Arts
Here's a niche in a growing market - Civic Builders in New York takes on one of the most difficult aspects of charter school development, finding real estate. So far, they have completed one project and are currently working on their second.
February 16, 2006
Link Roundup
Before I forget where these articles went:
- NY Times: Housing for Teachers in Santa Clara
- NY Times: As Test Scores Jump, Raleigh Credits Integration by Income
- The Planning Report - The Planning Center Instructs Schools on How & Where to Build
- Teachers as Placemakers: Investigating Teacher's Use of Physical Learning Environment
class, education, school facilities
Liverpool Kids and Walkability
The City of Liverpool worked with local children to map raod safety hazards between residences and schools. Maps of the results and a film made by the students are on display in the Maritime Museum, and the city council has allocated funding to deal with many of the safety hazards noted by the children.
Liverpool Kids have it all mapped out
school facilities, urban design
November 01, 2005
Family Affordable Housing and a Charter Elementary School
Built on a 5-acre block abandoned by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the Tierra del Sol apartments and school marks a first in the San Fernando Valley and in California: it blends affordable, five-bedroom apartments with a charter school for grades K-5.
School-House Project Comes to Fruition
community and housing development, school facilities, urban design
September 28, 2005
Emeryville's Center for Community Life
Emeryville's proposed Center for Community Life is a partnership between the city and the school district to create a new focal point for the city at the current site of the Emeryville Middle/High School and an existing Caltrans depot.
community and housing development, school facilities, urban design
August 18, 2005
Harbor City International School, Minnesota
This public charter school will occupy the third floor of an 1860 industrial building in the central business district. The school provides a small, learner-directed community that encourages investigative learning, global citizenship and nurtures a sense of belonging. The school’s purpose is to graduate students who are knowledgeable, discerning, passionate, creative, and reflective.
A total of 100 seats will be available in the fall of 2002, with a projected enrolment in 2004 of 200. The school expects to expand onto the 4th floor as enrollment grows. The 14,000 square foot 3rd floor area is small by high school standards - typically about 140 SF per student or 17,000 square feet would be utilized; however, the school is located within walking distance of the public library, YMCA, art museum, aquarium, and television station – allowing the school to leverage other facilities for learning.
The Harbor City International School
August 17, 2005
Article: In Housing a School, Unused Commercial Space Sells Itself
Before Redesign
After Redesign
Interior Redesign
Thomas Blurock Architects of Costa Mesa, CA, converted part of a shopping center into the Pueblo Educational Village for Pomona USD -- a site now containing two elementary schools and a conference center, and slated to include an adult education center, child care center, and a teacher training center. The project received an Adaptive Reuse Merit Award from the AIA (the award website includes floor plan and elevation thumbnails).
- Capacity: 1,800 students
- Space/Student: 92 square feet
- Area: 110,000 square feet
- Total Cost: $12.6 million
- Cost/Square Foot: $112
- Completion: September, 2000
In Housing a School, Unused Commercial Space Sells Itself
Article: NYC's Cool Schools
Manhattan Village Academy by Beverly Willis
The article discusses projects by the New York City School Construction Authority (SCA), including:
P.S. 56 by Mitchell/Giurgola Architects LLP
"The school's L-shaped plan separates community spaces (the short leg) and school spaces (the long leg), so the former can operate into the eveninig. Corridors are treated like village streets; classrooms boast windows 'where the life of the classroom is displayed.'"
P.S. 54 by R.M. Kliment & Frances Halsband Architects -- 82,000 sq. ft., 5 stories, 600 students, Bronx infill site -- light, air inside and three brick colors for entrances and different volumes
August 11, 2005
Community Development and School Development in L.A.
LAUSD, LA City, A Community of Friends, and New Schools Better Neighborhoods have completed a collaborative process that has resulted in a plan that includes Gratts New Primary School, family housing, childcare facilities, a Boys and Girls Club, an early education facility and a playground that will also serve as a neighborhood park. In this interview, Councilman Ed Reyes, ACOF CEO Dora Leong Gallo, and ACOF Project Manager John Wolter, reflect on the process to acheive these community benefits.
Collaborative Planning Process Used to Benefit School and Community
August 09, 2005
Princeton Arch - Claiming Space for Small Schools
A studio at Princeton's School of Architecture in 2002 focused on the development of 30 new small schools within 9 existing school buildings in the Bronx, called the New Century Schools. Claiming Space for Small Schools, a report produced by Assistant Professor Laura Kurgan, is linked to by Architects of Achievement.
Notes in the extended...
Continue reading "Princeton Arch - Claiming Space for Small Schools"
June 27, 2005
CEFPI Schools for Smart Growth Report
The Council of Education Facilities Planners International put together a report on school and community design in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency as a how to manual for applying Smart Growth principles to education facilities. The report includes nine case study schools that range from rural to urban and include Smart Growth aspects such as green design, walkability, and shared community facilities.
Notes on the case studies in the extended. . .
Schools for Successful Communities
Continue reading "CEFPI Schools for Smart Growth Report"
June 24, 2005
Schools for Cities Conference Essays
notes in the extended . . .
Continue reading "Schools for Cities Conference Essays"
Report: Impact of Clicks on Bricks: VET facilities planning
Report on impact of new learning technologies in Australia, based on literature review and 7 search conferences with 150 VET stakeholders.
Whitaker, Jan, Impact of Clicks on Bricks: VET facilities planning in an information age, Final Report, JLWhitaker Associates, Department of Public Works and Services, PMG/Programs/Education Facilities Research Group for NSW Department of Education and Trianing (TAFE) March 2002.
Notes in the extended...
Continue reading "Report: Impact of Clicks on Bricks: VET facilities planning"
June 16, 2005
Schools: Big Picture Schools - The Met in RI, MetWest in Oakland
The Met (Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center) in Providence was started in 1996 with a focus on individual, project-based learning. The Big Picture Company, the parent organization of the Met, has since gone on to open 23 schools nationally, with 8 more in the pipe-line (thanks to generous funding by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation). The organization has posted statistics online detailing performance results for Met Providence's classes of 2000-2004:
The Met's graduation rate is ~94%;
Of the 229 Met Providence alumni, 75% (~ 172 students) went on to college or technical training immediately after graduation;
5% (~ 11) of the 229 alumni went on to college or technical training at some point after graduation;
And, of the ~183 alumni who went on to college or technical training, 75% (~ 137 students) have either graduated or are still attending their programs.
In other words, of the 243 (based on 229 = 94% graduation rate) students who attended the Met, roughly 56% are attending or have graduated from either college or a technical training program. I do not, however, know what the average college graduation rates are for students matriculating from Rhode Island public schools, meaning there is little for me to measure these stats against.
One of the Big Picture Company's recent exapansion schools is located in Oakland, CA -- Metwest Oakland.