WILLIAMSBURG — By Friday morning, the old schoolhouse had been laid on steel I-beams and jacked 7 feet in the air. The only thing left to do was turn on the Mack truck’s engine and start the journey.
More than two hours later, the building arrived at its new home at the intersection of Francis and Nassau streets, where Colonial Williamsburg will put it on public display.
It’s been 20 years since a professor at the College of William & Mary discovered its historical significance — that it’s likely the oldest building in the country dedicated to the education of Black children.
The university sold the building to Colonial Williamsburg, and in the past two years the two organizations have studied the school’s history.
On Friday, the 263-year-old Bray School started a new chapter.
Around 2003, Terry Meyers, a retired English professor at William & Mary, realized a small, white, two-story building on campus had historical significance.
It was the home of the Williamsburg Bray School, an institution where free and enslaved Black students were taught reading, Christianity and to embrace life as slaves.
The building had been hiding in plain sight. Its roof line had been altered, extensions had been added and it had been moved a few hundred feet down the road. But the original structure was still there.
In 2021, scientific testing confirmed Meyers’ discovery. The building was erected in 1760.
To see it lifted off the ground and transported Friday was “astonishing to me,” Meyers said. “It’s very emotional.”
Workers spent the last two years stripping it down to its original core, removing the pipes, doors and walls that had been added on.
 

Fairfax County School Board unanimously approved an annual update to the capital improvement program (CIP) that includes continuing work on upgrading school facilities across the County, the building of three new elementary schools, and acquiring land to be used for a new high school during the School Board meeting on Thursday evening.

The new elementary schools and acquisition of land for a new high school will address current and projected overcrowding.

Other projects in the FY 2024-28 Capital Improvement Program (CIP)  include three new and/or repurposed school facilities, the renovation of 25 schools in the renovation queue, and the relocation of modular buildings. Timelines for capital projects will be posted on project web pages on the FCPS website.

“The CIP is more than a plan for building and renovating our schools,” said Dr. Michelle C. Reid, Superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools. “It expresses our values and priorities, chief of which is providing equitable access to high-quality public school environments for all students.” 

The Fairfax County School Board adopted amendments to the CIP. One amendment is for staff to do a full scoping to determine if a boundary change, program change, or both are options to reduce capacity issues at Kent Gardens Elementary School. A second is to reallocate funding for the design and planning of an Early Childhood Education Center in the Route 1 area.

The board will consider follow on actions to the CIP at the next meeting on February 23.

Schools play an essential role in every childs’ beginning – a place that should encourage a love of learning, foster personal and educational growth, while providing a safe and healthy environment to do so. Studies show that students even learn better in an environment free from air pollution, yet many schools still use diesel-burning buses and outdated energy systems. Luckily, with new federal funding available through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Investment Infrastructure and Jobs Act (IIJA), there are now more funding opportunities than ever to update school transportation and energy systems, fostering the best learning environment possible for your students. Not only is this beneficial for the environment, but it will protect students from health risks while simultaneously saving your school district money. 

Installing Solar Panels

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provides substantial funding of solar energy projects that can lower utility bills for school districts. Valuable savings that can be redirected to other school priorities. With the largest investment into clean energy and electrification ever seen in the country, the IRA makes going solar easier than ever, and for the first time, tax-exempt entities can directly take advantage of these incentives.  

Prior to the passage of the IRA, schools were unable to directly take advantage of federal tax credits to support installation of solar panels. Now, at least 30% of the cost of a solar project and installation can be covered by direct pay tax credits from the federal government through 2032. 

It is not inevitable that the Idaho Legislature will invite a school funding lawsuit, but legislators appear at the present time to be heading toward provoking legal action. Three factors will play into a decision as to whether or not to sue the State for violating provisions of the Idaho Constitution: (1)  whether the Legislature continues to disregard its constitutional duty to “maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools,” which means adequately funding the instructional side of the public school system; (2) whether the Legislature complies with the Idaho Supreme Court’s 2005 ruling that the State has the primary responsibility for building, equipping and maintaining school facilities; and (3) whether the Legislature violates Idaho’s strong prohibition against using taxpayer money to support religious schooling.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. --- Hands were raised and many questions and concerns were brought up by South Bend Schools’ parents and faculty at Tuesday’s community meeting to discuss the Facilities Long-Term Master Plan.

There are three different proposals to ‘rightsize’ South Bend schools; all three scenarios involve consolidating and even vacating some schools.

This has some South Bend teachers wondering what this means for the future of their jobs.

“My jobs at stake, my kid’s future is at stake, where does that go from here?”’ asks Erica Andis, 5th grade teacher at Swanson Traditional School and parent to Riley High School student.

Although the Master Plan details that all teachers should expect to keep their roles within the district, educators like Andis argue it would still be a big adjustment.

“We signed up for this program, we’ve been teaching this program for 11 years, for me, longer for others, where do we go? Can we stay together?”’ asks Andis.

Parents also weighed in at the meeting, bringing up concerns about magnet programs, and what would happen to those if a school were converted or vacated. Andis worries her sophomore at Riley High School won’t be able to graduate from the Career and Technical Education Program if it’s converted into a middle school.

Faced with millions in budget shortfalls and declining enrollment across the district, Seattle Public Schools is tiptoeing around the idea that it may have to close some schools in a few years. 

At a recent workshop, senior staff discussed the need to “consolidate into a system of well-resourced schools.” Staff layoffs could also be on the table.

The drops in enrollment mean resources for schools have been stretched thin. If SPS were to consolidate, staffers argue, students might get better access to specialized programs, social workers, specialists, school counselors and nurses — resources that students have continuously requested in the last school year.

None of Seattle’s 106 schools are on the chopping block for next year; the earliest closures could happen in 2024-25.

At least some board members think the district should be more clear about its intentions, even at this early stage. Board member Michelle Sarju pointed out not all families understand what school consolidation means, and argued during a recent board meeting that less jargon would create more transparency. 

Fred Podesta, the district’s interim deputy superintendent, said the phrase “was not meant to soft-pedal the fact that it’s likely a strategy [to balance the budget] would be closing some schools.” Podesta said the district believes that “consolidating into larger schools that have the resources they need is a good strategy whether you have money problems or not.”

WASHINGTON — Burroughs Elementary School students are back in the classroom Monday after a gas leak sent them home Thursday and Friday.
Parents said these are persistent problems.
“In one month, we've now lost three days of in-person instruction due to, I guess, poorly maintained infrastructure," Mariana Gomez said.
She has two kids at Burroughs.
Most recently, the school's principal said in a letter to parents that malfunctioning boilers created a gas leak Thursday, causing carbon monoxide to permeate throughout the school.
Because of the leak, students and staff were also forced to learn from home Friday.
"Children have already suffered a great deal of learning loss. We cannot afford to be losing in-person instruction," Gomez said. "So if the building is not going to be safe, then we need to find a new site, and it needs to be local."
One parent shared a letter with WUSA 9 that the school sent Sunday evening. In it, the school's principal said that crews were able to make the necessary repairs over the weekend and that no carbon monoxide was detected any longer.
“I'm extremely frustrated because I feel like they're avoidable," Gomez said.
In the first email about the leak, the school's principal wrote, “While the safety of our students and staff remains paramount for us all, please accept our apologies for the unfortunate disruption to your family’s schedule and your child’s in-person learning experience."
Gomez said she believes the teachers and staff at Burroughs are doing their best, but she is not satisfied with the district's response.
She said this boiler room malfunction isn't the first issue so far this year.
“We had a boiler flood earlier in the year where we got a frantic phone call in the middle of the morning to come pick up our children. They had to leave; the building wasn't safe because there's been a flood," Gomez said.
 

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Some parents at Holtville High School are speaking out over the desperate need for renovations at the aging campus.
The majority of concerns surround the school’s athletic facilities. WSFA received some images from the inside of the school’s field house showing a bathroom without a door and a hole in the floor where a toilet used to be.
Other pictures showed what used to be a shower that coolers have occupied for game day and a small closet-sized room being used to wash all of the clothes in the athletic department.
“I don’t think that it’s asking too much to try to get some help to get those things taken care of,” said Kevin Chavis, President of the Football Booster Club.
Athletic Director Jason Franklin is aware of the concerns, but said there is simply not enough funding right now to make needed repairs.
“The area is just moving faster than funding’s allowing,” Franklin said. “It’s a struggle daily to make sure that we’re providing the best we can for our athletes.”
School Principal Kyle Futral says the 5A school has 550 kids and growing, and students are operating inside a building that’s nearly 100 years old.
 

More solar panels could be coming to newly built public schools throughout New Mexico, after a bill to require the power source was advanced by lawmakers last week and awaits another hearing on its way to becoming law.
Senate Bill 60, sponsored by Sen. William Soules (D-37) would require public schools be outfitted with photovoltaic solar panel systems capable of providing energy needed by the school if constructed and receiving state funds after July 1, 2023.
The bill was passed by the Senate Education Committee Jan. 27 on a 4-2 vote and was sent to the Senate Finance Committee for a subsequent hearing and further action.
If passed, SB 60 would amend New Mexico’s Public School Capital Outlay Act to include solar systems as eligible for state funding and require any school receiving grant assistance from the Public School Capital Outlay Fund include such a system capable of meeting the school’s energy needs.
Soules, who serves as chair of the Senate Education Committee, said during the hearing that the bill would help the state make progress toward its goals to limiting higher-carbon forms of energy like natural gas.
 

ALBANY — Students frequently experience uncomfortable temperature and humidity at school, which could be detrimental to their health and education, according to a recent study by University at Albany School of Public Health researchers.
The study, which focused on the Capital Region, tracked primary school and university students’ exposure to indoor temperature and relative humidity levels using personal air monitors across seasons.
“In the northeastern U.S., cold winters mean we have to turn up the heat — making indoor conditions in many places overly hot and dry,” said Shao Lin, senior co-author on the study and professor of Environmental Health Sciences at UAlbany’s School of Public Health. “For students, hot classrooms can make it difficult to concentrate while low humidity harms airways, making it easier for respiratory viruses to take hold. Dry air can also cause eye irritation and disrupt sleep.
“When we look to the warmer months, few schools in the Capital Region are equipped to adequately cool classrooms, especially as climate change is causing unusually hot days in the fall and spring. Our findings highlight the need to improve thermal conditions in classrooms to facilitate student success.”
 

WAPELLO — A proposed solar project received an informal nod of acceptance by the Wapello School Board during a special meeting on Wednesday.

The informal agreement with Red Lion Renewables, Norwalk, is expected to be formally approved by the school board at its Feb. 8 regular meeting.

According to the proposal presented by Red Lion Renewables CEO Terry Dvorak, a solar panel array system will be installed on a proposed canopy at the elementary school bus entry site.

Roof arrays will also be installed at the bus barn, administration building and the high school building complex.

The equipment will remain the property of Red Lion Renewables, unless the district decides to purchase the arrays after the sixth year of operation.

As state funding for education has changed over the last 20 years, this report will take a deep dive into school facilities and capital funding. While school capital facilities have typically relied on local funding, Arizona has a School Facilities Oversight Board (SFB) to ensure each school district meets minimum building standards. Despite the creation of this board in 1998, local property taxes have continued to provide the majority of district school capital funding. In fact, property taxes have constituted around 75% of total district school capital funding since 2006. This local funding is over and above the primary funding source for maintaining state facility standards.

Over the past two decades, $6.1 billion in General Fund money has gone towards district school facilities through the School Facilities Oversight Board. At the same time, districts have raised and spent at least another $13.6 billion in local funds above the state funding they received to maintain facilities. While public district schools do have the most students out of all school options in Arizona, other public school options do not receive capital funding from SFOB. For example, in 2000, when this funding began, charter school enrollment only made up about 5% of total public-school enrollment in Arizona. In the last 20 years, charter school enrollment increased to almost 20% of total public-school enrollment. The State does not directly provide dedicated capital support to Charter Schools, and Charter operators additionally cannot access a local property tax for bond support.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WKEF) -- Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced on Thursday that the latest round of Ohio's K-12 School Safety Grant Program will provide state funding support for physical safety and security upgrades to over 900 additional Ohio schools.
Governor DeWine made the announcement on Thursday morning while visiting Lakewood High School in Cuyahoga County, which is one of 945 schools receiving grants totaling $68 million as part of the program's fourth round.
In the coming weeks, a fifth round of funding will be announced.
The Ohio General Assembly allocated $112 million for the fourth and fifth rounds of the grant program as part of House Bill 45, which was signed by Governor DeWine last month.
The investment more than doubles the program's initial allotment of $105 million from Ohio's operating budget and the American Rescue Plan Act.
"When we created the K-12 School Safety Grant Program, we expected that the need for funding would far exceed the amount of money available, but I vowed to go back to the legislature and ask for more," said Governor DeWine. "Now, with the generous support of the Ohio General Assembly, I'm proud to announce that every single qualifying school that applied for a grant will receive funding."
So far, $173 million has been awarded to 2,374 Ohio K-12 schools to assist with physical security expenses such as new security cameras, public address systems, automatic door locks, visitor badging systems, and exterior lighting.
Eligible schools may receive up to $100,000 per building.
 

Measuring the effects of extreme weather requires extreme numbers.

Climate change racked up an eye-popping $165 billion damages tab in the U.S. last year, as tallied by a recent federal report. And back in September, around 82 percent of Florida school districts closed for at least one day — keeping roughly 2.5 million students out of school.

With experts predicting more extreme weather in 2023, that undoubtedly means schools will suffer more disruptions in a K-12 education era already defined by pandemic-related learning setbacks. This puts physical classrooms in harm’s way, and also threatens students’ academics and mental health, too.

Climate Change’s Education Cost
Climate change impacts on K-12 education are a problem worldwide. Damage from disasters like flooding, cyclones and wildfires can shutter schools for long periods, a Brookings Institute report says, or cause students to miss school due to illness or damage to their homes. The report authors were particularly concerned about repercussions for girls.

“These risks are particularly acute for adolescent girls, who have a short window of opportunity to get back to school before they are forced to take a different path — including marriage or migration for work,” researchers write.

In the U.S., physical threats to schools from weather vary from region to region. They include hurricanes, wildfires and winter storms.

As Delaware officials retest all water consumption points in K-12 schools for the presence of lead after a botched previous effort, a consensus view has emerged for the best solution to keep kids safe.

That remedy is the installation and maintenance of filtering systems, a fix that’s already in use in many homes, businesses, community centers, and some schools.

Education Secretary Mark Holodick told a Senate Health and Social Service Committee hearing last week that “filter first’’ should be the mantra going forward.

“You really want to think about investing your time and energy into filtration systems and replacing those fixtures rather than just testing over and over and over again,’’ Holodick told lawmakers, echoing the advice he’s received from health experts. “That’s where you want to get to.”

In the U.S., accountability and funding for school curriculum, buildings, and grounds primarily comes from state and local agencies. For this reason, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) has limited authorities in the areas of school infrastructure, sustainability, environmental justice, and climate. Nevertheless, ED continues to think creatively about how it can spur action and build leadership capacity to make all schools healthy, sustainable 21st century environments that offer environmental sustainability learning. One way ED can grow these efforts is by inspiring school partner organizations and developing shared messaging across the nation for what makes a healthy and sustainable school.

Today, we are thrilled to invite national, regional, and local non-profits, foundations, businesses, and community-based organizations to share bold commitment(s) to advance school sustainability, encompassing infrastructure, health, environmental sustainability education, climate, and environmental justice in America. By May 31, we ask organizations and entities to complete an online form to share how they will advance at least one of these infrastructure and sustainability priorities:

GEORGETOWN, Texas — On a bright, sunny day, classroom lessons headed outside for these elementary school students. Teacher Nicole Jones leads them in maintaining the garden at James Mitchell Elementary School in Georgetown, Texas.

"It's just something that we look forward to doing now,” she said. "It's just that excitement of them watching things grow."

Kids tend to their favorites there.

"I like to eat carrots, cucumbers, salad, watermelon," said student Carlos Saldana.

Four-year-old Story McAuliff has her own list.

"Tomatoes and carrots and broccoli," she said.

Camryn Monte, 5, has her favorites as well.

"Carrots, tomatoes and lettuce," she listed off.

Flowers can be found there, too.

"Sometimes, I'll plant bluebonnet,” said student Nila Alvarez, “tomatoes, squash and peas."

Kids also have other reasons they like the garden.

"Well, I like getting dirty, very dirty,” said Nick Wilson. “I sometimes roll around in the mud."

What's happening around the garden may look like fun, but it's also potentially life changing.

El Dorado School District (ESD) School Board and faculty members gathered to celebrate the district’s newly constructed 1.75-MWAC solar array. The project will offset 88% of the district’s energy usage and expenses, saving ESD over $128,000 annually in energy costs.

ESD entered into a Solar Services Agreement (SSA) with Entegrity, an energy efficiency and solar company headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. With an SSA, the district creates savings by purchasing renewable energy from Entegrity at a fixed price lower than their current electricity rate.

GENTRY -- While most parents and students take the wearing of clean clothes for granted, the opportunity to wash clothes for wear to school is not available to all. And now, the Gentry School District is stepping up to help those without access to washroom facilities access by equipping a room with a washer and dryer and making that facility available to homeless students and their families.

On Thursday, the school district opened Pioneer Partnership L, a laundry room equipped with a washer, dryer, detergent, folding tables, and WiFi, just east of the intermediate school. The facility is now available to homeless students and their families by simply speaking to a child's school counselor and obtaining a key. Once card readers, which are back-ordered, are received, access will be granted via the use of student IDs.

The location -- away from the high school and away from the classroom areas -- makes it possible for students to use the facility away from other students and classmates and without any embarrassment that could cause.

The facility was paid for with American Rescue Plan/Elementary Secondary School Emergency Relief funds to meet the needs of students classified as homeless by the school district. The district supplied additional funding and work to prepare the laundry room and install the necessary electrical supply, plumbing and appliances.

Connecticut’s largest teachers union isn’t taking anything for granted. A new survey found that voters overwhelmingly support improving air ventilation in schools. 

In 2022, the state allocated $150 million to help upgrade heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems in Connecticut public schools to improve air filtration, but the Connecticut Education Association said hundreds of school buildings are still in dire need of improvement. 

According to the survey of 800 voters, a whopping 91% say they support establishing temperature and humidity standards to eliminate poor air quality that results in mold and contributes to respiratory health problems for students and staff. Fifty-seven percent strongly support this proposal.

“This isn’t a new problem,” CEA President Kate Dias said. “Too many Connecticut classrooms have heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems that are aging, in disrepair, or in urgent need of replacement. The need for new and updated HVAC systems is about ensuring we have safe, healthy school communities where teachers can teach and students can learn.”

The survey also found that 88% of voters support requiring districts to show they are meeting school indoor air quality standards. More than half, 54%, strongly support this proposal.