Lists the American Association of School Administrators' criteria for judging whether school building renovation is a sound investment. Eight categories should be investigated: historical information, architectural characteristics, material integrity, regulatory codes, and structural, mechanical, electrical, and educational adequacy. (Author/JM)

Under the skilled supervision of a master carpenter hired to direct this Comprehensive Employment and Training Act project, seven high school students and two beginning workers are learning the varied and complex skills of building maintenance, renewing their city's schools, and bringing home a badly needed paycheck. (LRA)

Describes the problem of sexism in education, and presents ten steps which school media specialists can take to increase educational equality for male and female students. (CMV)

The author describes a successful attempt to get community involvement and support through a school improvement effort. (KC)

Argues that "we of the middle class must teach and assist the poor to use those techniques of prodding and pressure and persistence that we find essential to getting a decent education. Where the most feasible route points towards making nonwhite schools effective, we should not shun that direction because some fear that it is a return to separate…

Describes one school's approach to school renovation that supported the seven ways in which students are smart as advocated by Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory. It includes a highlighted section on MI that covers its framework, descriptions of each intelligences, and five entry points to the MI framework. (GR)

Identifies invalid and self-defeating assumptions held within the educational reform movement that have thwarted its success. Suggests that reformers' assertions that American schools are worse than in the past are based on anecdotes, not research, and that their belief in the importance of tradition prevents them from seeing major social and…

Winner of the School Planning & Management 1997 Building Team Contest is the Jackson Memorial Middle School in Massillon, Ohio. Renovation and addition to the middle school (Jackson Local School District)--the original high school built in 1930--preserved the nostalgia that the structure held for many of the townspeople. Lists 15 ways to help…

Construction in and around a school building can be disruptive. With planning, communication, and a willingness to be creative, a school can run smoothly and construction can also be used as a learning opportunity for students. (MLF)

Describes the Ohio School Facilities Commission, whose mission is to provide funding, management oversight, and technical assistance to Ohio's 612 school districts for the construction and renovation of school facilities. Discusses the commission's actions at various stages of the construction process. (EV)

Offers a brief synopsis of the unique characteristics of the following roof membranes: (1) built-up roofing; (2) elastoplastic membranes; (3) modified bitumen membranes; (4) liquid applied membranes; and (5) metal roofing. A chart compares the characteristics of the raw membranes only. (MLF)

The heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in older buildings often do not adequately handle air-borne contaminants. Outlines a three-stage Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) assessment and describes a case in point at a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, school. (MLF)

A law enacted last year created a new National Science Foundation program to modernize research facilities, but the program is expected to receive little or no money. The lack of funds has intensified debate over colleges' efforts to win direct appropriations from Congress for their campuses. (MLW)

Questions and answers to help school business officials weed through the promotional material in order to determine the roofing system right for their buildings. (MLF)

Analysis of a sample of 1,636 11- to 20-year olds from the Ghana Living Standards Survey showed the following: no strong selectivity bias in the sorting of higher ability children into better schools; indirect effects of improving school quality on student achievement; and repairing classrooms as a cost-effective investment compared to providing…