What is at stake?

Education: The learning environment impacts student achievement and teaching quality. Studies show that students learn best in an environment that is healthy, comfortable, naturally lit, clean, and in good repair. The quality and design of school facilities affect the ability of a school to retain teachers and what and how they teach. Student and staff absenteeism are lower in buildings in good condition.

Health: The school environment is not just an educational issue, but a public health concern. School buildings and their sites directly affect student and teacher health. Children are especially vulnerable to environmental hazards such as poor air quality, mold, pesticides, construction, contaminants, chemical fumes, heavy metals, asbestos, excessive noise, heat and cold.

Environment: America’s 115,000 schools, by their use of raw materials, commercial products, energy, land, and water, have considerable impact on the environmental quality of our communities. High performance school buildings save energy, reduce pollution and provide opportunities for children to learn environmental stewardship.

Community: The design, construction, maintenance, and renovation of our school buildings affect not only the individuals who study and work there, but the entire neighborhood. Schools are physically prominent, a part of local history. The local public school is often our only public commons, a building claimed by everyone, inviting opportunities for shared public use.

Public Investment: Schools represent a significant investment of hard won community resources. We cannot afford to build “good-enough” schools. We owe it to future generations to find and use the building technologies and design methods that will produce schools that are not just the cheapest, but the most cost effective over time. Maintenance, cleaning and repairs represent major ongoing public expenditures and need to influence design decisions.