Describes a secondary education school in Pendao, Portugal being designed to accommodate multimedia and computer equipment, including networking and Internet connections to meet the needs of its disadvantaged student population. How the new school will meet student needs for the next century and manage the information students receive are…

Examines renovation issues involving 30- and 40-year-old school facilities. Explores ways a school district can renovate old buildings to first-class cost-effective facilities while avoiding excessive transition costs. Discussions include installation of new technology and the resulting wiring demands, and developing more energy-efficient heating…

Describes ways to make school washrooms more vandal resistant and cost effective through the use of durability and use-and-abuse criteria. Explores washroom accessory and toilet-partition selection and discusses additional vandal-prone concerns such as mirror and dispenser protection. (GR)

Provides guidelines for school administrators to aid in the selection of school-roofing systems, and information required to make specification and purchasing decisions. Low-slope roofing systems are examined, as are multiply systems such as modified bitumen, EPDM, thermoplastic, metal, and foam. (GR)

Provides tips on easy ways to design school restrooms with minimal cost; these design elements will pay for themselves and make a big difference in restroom cleanliness. Also included are ideas for making custodial closets more efficient and cost effective. (GR)

The decision to build a new or renovate an existing community college library has been triggered by one or more of these problems: collection growth, increased student population, or new technologies. Increasingly, the perception of diminished use is triggering reconfiguration of library space. This article discusses implications, case studies,…

Principals, teachers, students, and parents all have dreams for improving their schools, but often they do not have the funding to make their dreams come true. How can schools provide the additional financial support to make their dreams come true? Members of the Broughton High School community in Raleigh, North Carolina, found one answer: create…

Circuit breakers are the linchpin of an institution's power-distribution system, so it's not surprising that several warning signs of an aging system relate to these devices. When warning signs occur, it's a message to facilities managers and administrators that breakers may need to be upgraded to help the power distribution system meet existing…

For most of Minnesota's 150 years of statehood, its distinctive economic advantages were largely a function of its natural resources, such as timber, taconite and tourism. Today, while these and other resources remain cornerstones of the state economy, it is clear that the intellectual capacity of Minnesota's people is emerging as a promising…

The 2009 edition of the "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) third annual review of state laws, rules and regulations that govern the teaching profession. This year's report is a comprehensive analysis of the full range of each state's teacher policies, measured against a realistic…

The Idaho edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) 2009 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the third annual look at state policies impacting the teaching profession. It is hoped that this report will help focus attention on areas where state policymakers can make changes that will have a positive impact on teacher…

Facing mounting evidence that California has fallen behind on many key indicators of educational performance, policymakers and the public share considerable interest in exploring whether California should expand public funding for preschool education. This expanded funding will be most effective if resources can be directed to their most efficient…

This year the Center on Education Policy (CEP) analyzed data on the achievement of different groups of students in two distinct ways. First, it looked at grade 4 test results to determine whether the performance of various groups improved at three achievement levels--basic and above, proficient and above, and advanced. Second, it looked at gaps…

This year the Center on Education Policy (CEP) analyzed data on the achievement of different groups of students in two distinct ways. First, it looked at grade 4 test results to determine whether the performance of various groups improved at three achievement levels--basic and above, proficient and above, and advanced. Second, it looked at gaps…

The leadership of Qatar has a social and political vision that calls for improving the outcomes of the Qatari K-12 education system. With this vision in mind, the leadership asked RAND to examine Qatar's K-12 education system, to recommend options for building a world-class system, and, subsequently, to develop the chosen option and support its…