Discusses planning and designing schools that serve fifth and sixth graders. This combination of grade levels is seen by many to be the school's greatest strength: fifth graders have the opportunity to transition from the elementary environment, while sixth graders are removed from the adolescent peer pressure of seventh and eighth graders. (EV)

Examines the provision of two small government schools in Australia's Northern Territory in response to the aboriginal movement from central Australia to their homeland in the outer territories. A profile of the community is provided and the learning center development are discussed. (GR)

Presents survey data from college and university business officers on the growing popularity of outsourcing traditional in-house services. Overviews are presented on outsourcing operations and maintenance (O/M) and planning and construction (P/C). Regional analyses by region, type, size, and role of O/M and P/C services outsourcing are provided.…

Discusses school building program planning for construction projects on occupied school campuses. Advice is given for choosing a general contractor, scheduling the work to limit its disruptive effects on the school community, establishing safety procedures, preparing the surrounding community for the inconveniences that construction may cause, and…

Discusses the selling of naming rights for school sports complexes as a way of funding the construction of school athletic facilities. Explains how schools can effectively manage such arrangements and provides an example of one such project involving the building of a $3 million ice center for the Arrowhead School District in Menomonee Falls,…

Each month, "American School & University" provides a mix of thought-provoking features, how-to-articles, industry reports, exclusive surveys, new sections, insightful columns, new product introductions and case histories to assist education officials in better performing their jobs. This February 2005 issue includes the following: "Under Fire"…

Each month, "American School & University" provides a mix of thought-provoking features, how-to-articles, industry reports, exclusive surveys, new sections, insightful columns, new product introductions and case histories to assist education officials in better performing their jobs. This April 2005 issue includes the following: "Taking Pride"…

Pedagogy, the art and science of teaching, should be the driving force behind the design of any teaching facility. What is taught and how it is taught should determine the size, type, and configuration of educational space. The statement seems obvious, but often miscommunication and ill-considered compromises can divert a capital project from an…

For some schools and universities--particularly private institutions--a major construction project doesn't come along frequently. When it does, administrators can find themselves facing a complex and costly enterprise, fraught with pitfalls, for which they have neither the expertise nor the time required to handle it effectively. This was the case…

Billion-dollar investments in public higher education do not come easily in the State of Connecticut--or anywhere in New England. So, when in 1995, Connecticut Gov. John Rowland and the state's General Assembly approved the $1 billion comprehensive infrastructure improvement and private support incentive program known as UConn 2000, this was…

As in other regions, development on many New England campuses over the past 30 years has tended to be more random than planned. Following the same patterns of sprawl that have defined most development in today's era, the placement of new campus buildings often separated them from the life of the university, while a hodgepodge of architectural…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to add to the emerging literatures on organizational learning and strategic management by developing a practice perspective on strategic organizational learning (SOL). While the literature on SOL has been growing, much of it has targeted exclusively practitioners and has not yet elaborated the mechanics and…

The connections between the design and use of space in higher education, and the production of teaching and learning, and of research, are not well understood. This paper reports on a literature review on these topics, and shows that higher education spaces can be considered in various ways: in terms of campus design, in terms of how space can…

The Plowden Report encouraged the design of more compact and flexible school buildings to accommodate its vision of child-centred teaching. These schools came to be known as "open plan". By the late 1970s about 10% of schools were of open-plan design but researchers found serious weaknesses in the quality of their work. Plowden's ideals…

This publication discusses conditions that feed wildfires, how a building catches fire, determining the school's risk, creating a survivable space for the school, the importance of maintenance, the fire-resistant school, meeting code requirements, and related flood and mudslide risks. Much of this publication has been adapted for schools from the…