Guidelines are presented of the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) that illustrates to parents and community members of local school councils how they can advocate for and get real capital improvements to their local schools. A nine-step process is detailed for increasing capital investment in local schools. Steps include setting up a facilities…

This report offers suggestions on finding, planning, and financing a home rehabilitation project. Information on finding a "fixer-upper" includes deciding where to look, learning what to look for in a house and neighborhood, learning about local building and zoning codes, deciding what characteristics of houses and neighborhoods are…

The President of the United States uses the occasion of National School Modernization Day to offer brief remarks on the American economy and his administration's plans for improving educational facilities for the nation's children. He mentions the administration's first ever initiative at the national level to build, repair, or modernize 5,000…

Moisture problems are identified as an important element in home energy conservation programs. A systematic approach to understanding, recognizing, solving, and preventing moisture-related problems is offered in this four-section report. Section I examines the root of moisture problems. Section II discusses symptoms and causes of excess moisture…

The Department for Education and Employment has produced this updated bulletin on school grounds development, highlighting the potential of these grounds as a valuable resource that can support and enrich the whole curriculum and the education of all pupils. The educational use of school grounds has positive affects on student attitudes towards…

This strategy brief presents general principles and strategies for financing facility improvements and highlights five examples of innovative strategies found throughout the United States. The strategies described concern facility improvements for out-of-school time and community school programs and include the following: (1) accessing school…

Energy-efficient retrofits are suggested as alternatives to conventional weatherization practices in this three-chapter report. Chapter 1 provides information necessary to help readers decide if a major energy retrofit is the right approach to a particular housing situation. Chapter 2 examines various aspects of retrofit designing, considering…

Presents eight noninstructional strategies for improving employees' performance in any organization. These alternatives to instruction include job redesign and reassignment, recruitment, organizational development, facilities and tool redesign, incentive and feedback systems, and provision of a strong rationale for the desired performance so…

A slide presentation examines the decisionmaking process behind whether a community should renovate their older school facilities or abandon them for new facilities. Three factors to be considered in this decision are addressed and involve the school's location, the history of the school, and the relationship of the school to the community and the…

Helping school, district, and/or community leaders facilitate discussions with community members about improving schools, this guide discusses how to use informal focus groups to gather information about what is important to people in the school community. The guide helps users gather information in a systematic way, organize what they hear,…

Focused on the practical tools that education leaders can use to improve communications with their own colleagues, with parents, and with the general public, this guide can be used by school districts and states to organize their communication efforts strategically to build public support. The guide includes step-by-step information to develop a…

Today in Milwaukee 11,163 children receive vouchers to attend 107 different private schools. What began as an experiment in market-based education reform has grown to be one of the largest educational programs in the state of Wisconsin. Over the past five years, the Public Policy Forum has conducted a census of all schools participating in the…

Quite often, the people responsible for spending school facility dollars have little information with which to make wise investment choices. The process is typically driven by vendors, consultants, and public opinion. The result is that the schools become a poorly performing component of the education process. This document was developed to…

This guide provides a comprehensive method for measuring the quality and educational effectiveness of school facilities and may be used to perform a post-occupancy review; to formulate a formal record; to highlight specific appraisal needs; to examine the need for new facilities or renovations; or to serve as an instructional tool. Suggestions are…

This comprehensive plan for library development in Vermont over a five year period is the result of extensive consultation with professionals in the field, the State Advisory Council on Libraries, and the U.S. Department of Education. Focusing on the role of the Vermont Department of Libraries as the implementor of the long range program of…