Using John Naisbitt's "Megatrends" as a guide to learning environments for the future, characteristics for the following spaces are delineated: food service, vocational and technical, language centers, health and physical education, libraries and information centers, commons or people places, arts and crafts, administration, and employee…

An experienced interior designer, equipped with a well-written educational specification, will specify the best materials and coordinate colors, materials, and furnishings in line with the district's budget. (MLF)

Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts and its architects devised a way to plan for growth and to coordinate development over 10 years of four buildings with a diversity of uses; time completion with planned population growth; save land, energy administrative time, and fund-raising efforts; and provide added educational benefits. (MLW)

The second part of the article published in "American School and University," December 1984 (EA 518 236), outlines specific steps administrators need to take to determine whether or not a direct purchase of natural gas is going to benefit their schools. (MLF)

This report presents key findings from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002) Facilities Checklist for all ELS:2002 public and private schools and students in the 10th grade. The facilities instrument was administered as a part of the ELS:2002 and focused on the conditions of school facilities, including disrepair, cleanliness,…

This paper asserts that school buildings have been and continue to be places to warehouse children, and that new schools just do it in more comfortable settings. It suggests that an examination of the way most government agencies handle the business of school design and construction illustrates how the system is designed to systematically weed out…

This publication examines 10 educational trends that should be considered in the planning, design, and modernization ofschools. The trends were identified by reviewing research on the relationship of school facilities to student outcomes; by performing a general environmental scan of current trends, issues, problems, andinitiatives in education;…

School improvement in rural places cannot succeed without attention to the rural context of learning. Most especially, smaller schools need to be preserved and sustained in rural areas, particularly impoverished communities, for the sake of student achievement and personal development. This school improvement tool suggests the character of a "good…

This book presents New York State planning standards for school buildings. The standards offer advice and counsel to school districts, architects, and engineers to help them resolve their school building problems while considering educational and planning efficiency, conservation of natural resources, and initial and long-range economy within the…

This report explores the current role of portable classrooms in California schools and the options available for their use. It examines how widespread portables are, and estimates that more than 86,500 were in use in 1997-1998, a significant increase over previous years, which is partly attributable to the state's classroom reduction plan in…

This descriptive study involving interviews with school district superintendents assesses the congruence to a School Facilities Construction Model by school districts participating in the 1983 to 1990 round of Ohio School Building Assistance Projects. Chapter 1 introduces a general background on the need for studying the amount of congruence to a…

This paper offers unconventional and innovative ideas for school planning and construction in North Carolina for creating smaller and safer community schools in response to rising enrollment, tight budgets, and dwindling school space. Often using examples from across the country, the paper discusses school construction costs and economy of scale…

This manual presents guidance for creating a constructive dialogue between school officials and the surrounding community on the design of community schools that contribute to enhancing educational quality. The benefits of community participation are addressed as are descriptions of the principle parts of the participation process, including…

With the increasing pace of school construction, knowing how much a school should cost can facilitate effective new-school planning. To help with this process, this document provides new-construction costs as figured for the State of Georgia. The estimates include costs per square foot for elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools, as…

England's non-profit School Works project was initiated to respond to the challenges of updating school infrastructure by showing the links between design and education, producing beautiful schools which further learning, and working in new ways with new partnerships. The first part of this "toolkit" guide explains the thinking behind…