Offers a three-point plan for increasing the effectiveness of Jamaica's community college system. The plan consists of a mission statement, a design for three additional colleges, and a financial model to ensure program enhancement, institutional continuity, and greater accessibility. (DMM)

A school business administrator should be equipped to lead a district facility planning effort. Describes the processes of demographic planning, facility assessing, long-range financial facility plan budgeting, and aligning the facility plan with the district strategic plan. (MLF)

Explores areas to consider when planning and designing libraries/media centers. Examines wiring capabilities to meet future needs, ergonomics and furniture durability for workstations, and color and lighting schemes to enhance the indoor environment. (GR)

Explores the ergonomic needs of students within the classroom and the mistakes schools commonly make regarding classroom furniture. Several considerations are discussed for improving desk and chair design, particularly involving computer desks, and the proper use and placement of lighting. (GR)

Examines general principles in designing child care centers and preschools: (1) design the site and building so that it has a friendly, child-like, inviting image; and (2) design child development environments to be child scaled, including furnishings, materials, the building, and the site as a whole. Contains criteria and suggestions for…

Discusses how colleges can finance new construction projects during lean financial times by employing public/private partnerships in an off-balance sheet financing format. Construction planning of a new school parking deck is used to illustrate the process. Benefits of savings in operating costs, management fees, and other line-item expenses are…

Presents U.S. regional data on public school construction spending, including trends, profiles on new schools planned or currently underway, building types and composition, types of construction completed in 1998, and comparative construction spending analyses between regions. Data reveal an overall $3 billion increase in construction spending…

Discusses the importance of library systems administrators addressing the Year 2000 problem in their libraries. Reviews Web-based resources that deal with understanding the problem, offer vendor statements about their products, and discuss how some libraries are preparing for the Year 2000 problem. (AEF)

Recounts the innovative approach taken by Charlotte Catholic School administrators and Little & Associates Architects to convert an abandoned office building into a high-performance school. Describes the community's skepticism and the steps taken by administrators and architects to search for solutions that benefited the entire North…

Explores the house-concept design in educational facilities and explains how this concept addresses the relationship between the following dimensions of the school: learning processes; organizational structures; and learning environments. Also discusses how this concept can be incorporated into renovation projects and its future possibilities. (GR)

Computer-aided facilities management is a software program consisting of a relational database of facility information--such as occupancy, usage, student counts, etc.--attached to or merged with computerized floor plans. This program can integrate data with drawings, thereby allowing the development of "what if" scenarios. (MLF)

After three bond issues failed in De Soto, Kansas, the new superintendent, Marilyn Layman, moved immediately to build a districtwide consensus. A year later, voters passed a $14.7 million bond issue to construct a new high school and middle school with additional high and middle schools planned for the future. (MLF)

Describes the building designs of 22 elementary schools, including their educational contexts and design goals. Includes information on size, construction costs, architects, and contractors. Also includes floor plans and photographs. (EV)

Describes the building designs of 10 middle schools, including their educational contexts and design goals. Includes information on size, construction costs, architects, and contractors. Also includes floor plans and photographs. (EV)

Describes the building designs of 28 high schools, including their educational contexts and design goals. Includes information on size, construction costs, architects, and contractors. Also includes floor plans and photographs. (EV)