Ayesha Ercelawn finds that after students spend even a small amount of time outdoors, they return feeling calm, relaxed, and quiet — all signs that students have experienced a state of mindfulness.
As education specialist for Green Schoolyards America — a nonprofit that supports transforming school grounds into green spaces that benefit children, the environment and communities — Ercelawn advocates for giving students time outdoors anywhere, especially in cities. She says students can enter these peaceful states of mind just by having some exposure to the outdoors and nature, even without being overtly led through a mindfulness lesson.
“With students indirectly nature journaling or doing other activities where we ask them to observe, they develop mindfulness without having to say, ‘OK, we’re doing this mindfulness activity,’” she says. “It happens naturally.”
Mindfulness is a practice that can essentially be done anywhere. After all, the goal is to bring oneself into the moment, activating an awareness and consciousness of being present. Mindfulness also appears to be linked to positive psychological health.
 

PASO ROBLES — A comprehensive list of maintenance needs was presented to trustees at the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District (PRJUSD) for the district’s campuses. The Tuesday night meeting on Feb. 27 compiled an evaluation of needs amongst the facilities.

The plan covered the Winifred Pifer, Kermit King, Glen Speck, Virginia Peterson, Pat Butler elementary, and Daniel Lewis and Flamson middle school campuses. A plan for the high school campus will be provided by early April.

PRJUSD Director of Maintenance Operations and Transportation Kelly Stainbrook created an extensive spreadsheet detailing life expectancy and replacement costs of major components along with budget considerations. It is a live document that is actively updated. Her report showed that many of the carpets at the campuses have never been replaced and, while in decent condition, are past their life expectancy.

ROCHESTER — Although it won't necessarily include a lot of changes that just anyone can see, Kellogg Middle School is getting ready to undergo a large-scale renovation project to the tune of more than $40 million.

The project is set to span two years, beginning in the summer of 2024 and continuing in the summer of 2025. A January 2023 report from a contractor for Rochester Public Schools outlined various needs in the building.

"We would recommend moving forward with a project that includes replacement of the main mechanical and electrical systems and equipment along with any general work that would be required to support these improvements, as well as addressing some of the more critical interior and exterior deteriorated conditions," the report reads.

In other words, even though the upgrades may be needed, they're far from glamorous. But they are expensive. The same report estimated the cost of the needed upgrades to Kellogg Middle School at $40.4 million.

NEW BERN, N.C. — In a surprise announcement on Tuesday, State Superintendent Catherine Truitt presented Craven County Schools with a generous grant of over $15 million to fund the proposed project of adding 20 classrooms to Tucker Creek Middle School.

The funding for this project is a result of a partnership between the North Carolina General Assembly, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Craven County Schools, and the Craven County Commissioners. The commissioners have been partners further demonstrating their commitment to enhancing educational facilities in the county.

Craven County is fortunate to benefit from the prudent management of lottery funds by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The interest earned from these funds, presented to Craven County Schools Board of Education, will now be utilized to create an enhanced learning environment for the students of Havelock.

Morgan County Schools is still counting their savings from a countywide guaranteed energy management project with CMTA Energy Solutions.

The project was implemented from  June 2017 through October 2018 under former School Superintendent David Banks.

At the February 20 school board meeting, CMTA project manager and engineer Tom Nicolas reviewed the energy management work that was done throughout Morgan County Schools facilities in his annual measurement and verification services review.

His presentation included the year-five savings results, along with the total cost savings for the school system over the past five years which was more than $1 million.

BALTIMORE —
From broken doors to collapsed ceilings and buildings with no heat, 11 News Investigates learned there are more than 11,000 requests for repairs to Baltimore City Public School buildings waiting to be addressed — more than 2,300 of which are over a year old.
The data obtained by 11 News Investigates provides certain information on more than 1,000 reports of plumbing issues, 95 work orders for security and 77 for fire systems.
To get at what's causing this backlog of work orders, 11 News Investigates went inside one of the district's oldest schools and talked to the district official who oversees it all.
Problems persist amid open repair work orders
No single camera lens can capture the more than 15 million square feet that comprise the Baltimore City Public School System's buildings — that's roughly the size of 270 football fields.
Maurice Gaskins, City Schools' director of construction, listed problems at Baltimore City College that include plaster failure, a broken dehumidification system and antiquated pool filters.
"It's been out of commission for so long that we probably have a group of students that probably never experienced this," Gaskins told 11 News Investigates.
The pool lane lines hang suspended in mid-air, a reminder of the championship teams that swam there until 2019.
 

Construction of DoDEA 21st Century School taking shape at Fort Campbell
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A new 167,000 square-foot Department of Defense Education Activity middle school at Fort Campbell, Kentucky., is more than 70 percent complete with a majority of the 35 learning neighborhoods having drywall in place.

"Constructing the new Fort Campbell Middle School is not just building walls and classrooms,” said Charles King, Facilities Engineer and DoDEA Project Manager. “We're creating a student-centered 21st Century learning environment where future generations will thrive.”

Lt. Gen. Scott A. Spellmon, 55th Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer toured the middle school and spoke with USACE personnel and contractors to get an overview of how DoDEA’s 21st century learning concepts are designed into the school.

The project includes 69,000 square feet of building demolition and 41,000 square feet of renovation to the old middle school.

In a best-case scenario, the Concord School District would receive no more than $32 million – less than half of what it asked for – in state money for the middle school project due to changes to the school building aid program taking effect this year.

“The problem is, it changes,” Superintendent Kathleen Murphy said at a meeting Friday morning attended by district leaders, city councilors and area lawmakers. “It’s a moving target.”

District leaders have sought to allay taxpayer sticker shock at the $176 million estimate put forward for the new middle school by emphasizing that the cost will only drop in the coming months and, they hope, be buoyed by a building aid package from the state. But the size of the aid won’t be known for more than a year, and is currently projected to fall far short of what the district is eligible to receive, according to state officials.

The Richardson Independent School District plans to close four elementary schools and a Pre-K campus as part of its “Project RightSize” plan to respond to declining enrollment and lack of state funding.

The district said four elementary schools – Greenwood Hills, Springridge, Spring Valley, and Thurgood Marshall – will be consolidated into other elementary schools in the district starting in the 2024-2025 school year. The newly proposed attendance zones can be found here.

The Dobie Pre-Kindergarten campus will be closed completely beginning in 2025-2026.

Project RightSize is the result of months of planning, according to Superintendent Dr. Tabitha Branum.

“When I think about the role of a superintendent and the things that weigh on your heart, and on your mind, tonight‘s conversation is probably one of the hardest conversations that I’ve had to lead to this point, and may in a long time, in my career,” Branum said at the outset of the announcement Thursday.

Two main factors brought this major change about – declining enrollment and a lack of funding from Texas legislators.

On any given day, there are more than 9,000 empty seats in Richardson ISD classrooms, according to figures released by the district. The elementary schools in question are each at less than 60% capacity.

A public-interest law firm threatened Wednesday to sue Gov. Gavin Newsom and state officials unless they create a fairer system of subsidizing the costs of school facilities. That system must be as equitable as the Local Control Funding Formula, the decade-old formula for funding schools’ operating budgets, Public Advocates demanded in a lengthy letter.  

At a news conference announcing their demand, Public Advocates and school board members, superintendents and parents with decrepit, inadequate and unhealthy school buildings charged that the state’s school facilities program discriminates against districts with low property values. Districts with high property values gobble up most of the state’s matching subsidies to modernize schools, while property-poor districts serving low-income families can’t afford local school bonds to qualify for state subsidies to build comparable facilities, they said.

State Rep. Landon Brown, R-Cheyenne, likened the approach the Senate took Thursday in cutting $111.8 million in proposed major Wyoming school construction projects to performing surgery with a bludgeon instead of a scalpel.
“They could have gone in with a scalpel instead of a bludgeon, and they went in with a bludgeon hammer,” Brown said.
The Wyoming Senate voted 16-15 twice to cut funding for the design and construction of seven school projects around the state in the next biennium. The cuts were primarily in response to concern about the way two high schools were selected for the state money, one in Jackson and another in Rock Springs.
“The problem I have with that is, go after those two if you don’t like those particular two,” Brown said. “The rest of the process was followed with complete fidelity.”
Sen. Larry Hicks, R-Baggs, proposed both amendments, arguing the Legislature should follow its own rules no matter the circumstance. He said the Legislature was “putting the cart in front of the horse” by approving the construction projects.
“I want to be prospective and say from this point going forward, we in the Legislature, to the maximum extent possible, should follow our own laws,” he said. “Follow the rules of the agency and have a high degree of fidelity to the process.”
 

The Iowa City Community School District is transitioning its junior high model to a middle school model by adding sixth graders to South East, Northwest, and North Central schools for the 2024-25 school year.

The decision to initiate this transition was made in the spring of 2022 after receiving approval from the school board. Since then, a committee of district representatives, administrators, and teachers looked at the best way to transition students from elementary schools to a new building, as well as what would most benefit students in middle school.

Construction has been underway on all three existing buildings to accommodate the new students and staff. Just over $56 million from the facilities master plan budget was allocated for the project of building new classrooms and common spaces for the 300-400 plus new students entering each building in the fall.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Jefferson County Public Schools plans to build 20 new schools in the next decade.
That includes a new $56 million facility for W.E.B. DuBois Academy, which will be home to a middle and high school.
"I can't say enough what a new school means to kids and families," Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio said during his State of the District Tuesday afternoon. "Especially if they were in their old school and you see them walking into their new school and get to see the looks on their face." 
JCPS originally introduced a four-year plan with the goal of building new schools for Grace James Academy, W.E.B. DuBois, and a new west end middle school, which was later named Hudson Middle.
W.E.B. DuBois' plan calls for a 178,000-square-foot facility with a three-story academic wing and a gymnasium wing off Poplar Level Road.
Grace James and Hudson are currently housed in old school buildings, known as "swing spaces." 
Wednesday, a JCPS spokesperson said locations for the two schools are to be determined, but hopes to finalize in the next few months. 
 

A new state plan to spend $2 billion on school facilities is a step toward alleviating districts’ reliance on local property taxes, but it won’t solve the problem, school leaders told lawmakers Tuesday. 
School trustees and administrators packed the House Revenue and Taxation Committee’s meeting as the panel nearly unanimously endorsed House Bill 521. The bill would direct $200 million annually to public schools and cut income taxes. 
It’s the “first real attempt” the state has made to address the fact that “facilities cost a lot of money,” said Andy Grover, executive director of the Idaho Association of School Administrators and a former Melba School District superintendent.
“While this will help reduce bonds, levies and plant facilities, it doesn’t get rid of them.”
Gov. Brad Little’s office and House Republican leadership crafted the plan, which House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star, called a “compromise bill.” House Majority Leader Jason Monks emphasized Tuesday that HB 521 is, “first and foremost,” a tax cut. It will trim income tax rates for individuals and corporations from 5.8% to 5.695%. And the ultimate goal in helping schools fund facilities is to eliminate the need for bonds and levies, said Monks, R-Meridian. 
 

Last week was a nailbiter for the Eastmont School District. For most of the week after last Tuesday’s special election, the $117 million school bond for this district in East Wenatchee hovered around 59% approval – just short of passage, according to state law.
In Washington, school bonds, often used for construction projects, require a 60% supermajority of voters. That is a higher threshold than that of school levies, most often used for programs and people, which require only a simple majority of 50% plus one vote.
For some districts, that supermajority can be a heavy lift. Last week, seven of the 21 school bonds statewide on the Feb. 13 special election ballots – 33% – hit the supermajority and passed. As of Friday, 11 of the 21 bond measures – 52% – got more than 50% support, yet failed.
In contrast, 172 out of 192 local school district levies – or 89% – passed statewide, according to figures supplied by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Looking just at operations levies that pay for instruction, that percentage is higher – with 91% of them passing.
In the Eastmont district, in Douglas County, it was the second time the district put this construction proposal on the ballot, after a November 2022 failure.
“We have really dramatically reduced the ask,” said Eastmont Superintendent Becky Berg. “From $185 million to $117 million, after interacting with about 900 community members.”
 

MARION COUNTY, Fla. – The superintendent of Marion County Public Schools confirmed her district is in a crisis as it deals with aging schools and record growth.
“It’s not to be overly dramatic. When you look at the data, the growth and our facilities. When you have about half our facilities are over 50 years old, the cost of maintenance continues to climb,” said Dr. Diane Gullet, superintendent of Marion County Schools.
News 6 went inside some of the schools in need of repairs and upgrades.
At East Marion Elementary School in Ocala, none of its classrooms have doors. Instead, a large room is broken up into four pods. Each pod contains a different class.
“The students are adaptable. They are resilient, but there are times when you know we’re doing fun and exciting things and maybe the class next door is needing to be testing,” said Sarah Dobbs, principal of East Marion Elementary School.
East Marion Elementary was built in the early 1970s, and not much has changed.
“Thinking safety wise, these doors we walked through are the original doors for this pod, so they’re on a magnet system. When we release the magnet they lock us in. This is between us and 80 students,” Dobbs said. “Student safety is the first thing that goes through my mind when talking about this concept, this layout.”
Fort King Middle School was built in 1963. The school’s gymnasium still has its original bleachers and is now just getting air conditioning.
 

Just as the state has been trumpeting its opening 13 public preschool classrooms well in advance of its Ready Keiki plan to open 50 to 80 by August, a bill is advancing to repeal the relatively new state School Facilities Authority and move all school construction back again to the state Department of Education, and the authority’s founding executive director has abruptly resigned.

Supporters of state Senate Bill 3328, introduced by a dozen senators led by Senate Vice President and Education Chair Michelle Kidani (D, Mililani Town-Waipio Gentry-Royal Kunia), say moving construction back into the DOE’s purview is best for efficiency, and the School Facilities Authority has run out of political will.

But some observers are asking whether the DOE is fit to take back new-facilities construction when it is already struggling with a backlog of more than $2 billion in construction projects. DOE has about $876 million obligated in contracts for ongoing projects, while another $893 million is set to lapse June 30 and another $331 million lapses in June 2026, according to a DOE Even one of the bill’s introducers, state Sen. Donna Mercado Kim (D, Kalihi-Fort Shafter-Red Hill), expressed some skepticism about its proposed changes during a Feb. 7 hearing of the Senate Education Committee, of which Kim is vice chair.

At a meeting with Chicago Public Schools officials last week, local parents said area schools are in need of infrastructural repairs and program improvements, and pushed back on schools being characterized as “underutilized.”

The Feb. 8 meeting was a roundtable discussion to gather input on the state of local school facilities for CPS’ upcoming five-year Educational Facilities Master Plan, which will inform how CPS spends its money on building repairs and improvements over the next five years. Held at Ray Elementary School, 5631 S. Kimbark Ave., the meeting was the latest of 16 planned across the city.

As part of the master plan process, CPS conducts a neighborhood-by-neighborhood analysis of the current state of its facilities, as well as enrollment trends, program offerings, demographics, and unique community needs, per the plan’s description.

WASHINGTON (February 15, 2024)—Nearly one-third of public schools (31 percent) have one or more non-permanent (portable) buildings in use on campus, according to data released today by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the statistical center within the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES). Additionally, major repair, renovation, or modernization work was being performed in 21 percent of all public schools as of December of this academic year, when the survey was administered. The average age of the main instructional building among reporting U.S. public schools is 49 years, with 38 percent constructed before 1970.1

“The condition of our school facilities plays a critical role in the education of more than 49 million U.S public school students,” said NCES Commissioner Peggy G. Carr. “School facilities provide a setting for learning and affect health and comfort of the school’s students and staff. As such, these data provide insight into the current condition of our schools as the nation continues down the road to learning recovery.”

The average school building in America is nearly half a century old, and almost a third of the nation’s public schools have at least one portable or non-permanent structure on their campus, new federal data show.

A growing body of research shows students perform better on tests when their school buildings are well-maintained and modern. The health consequences of prolonged exposure to toxins like mold and asbestos in school buildings can last long into adulthood. And the emergence of COVID put renewed pressure on schools to ensure students and staff are breathing clean air.

But a large share of the nation’s 100,000 schools have buildings in major disrepair. Close to half of educators surveyed by the EdWeek Research Center in 2023 gave their buildings a “C” grade or worse. Advocates estimate the nation would need to collectively spend $85 billion a year on top of its current school facilities investments in order to ensure every school building gets adequately renovated.