When the Bosnian Serb army besieged and occupied Grbavica, carving the dividing line right through the tissue of cohesive inner city communities, the teachers and students of Sarajevo schools were first among those who crossed the line of danger, going out of their shelters and back to work and study. Treca Gimnazija, a high school in central…

Asserting that as Georgia moves into the 21st century, its public education sector must examine alternative means of utilizing and sharing buildings and facilities, this paper explores the alternatives to relying on taxes alone to meet the ever-increasing needs for additional and improved school buildings, as well as ways to reduce the need for…

This issue paper discusses principles of good management of construction and some options Georgia may use in the future to manage school construction and control costs. The paper begins by providing some background on common forms of construction management and delivery. Then the paper discusses principles of good contracts. The background section…

Schools in North Carolina are governed by numerous laws pertaining to construction and repair. A selection of these laws is presented. Financial concerns constitute the bulk of these statutes, covering areas such as bids (financial outlay, advertisement, rejecting bids, and withdrawing bids); sources of state funds; the selling or buying of school…

In 1997, the Congressional subcommittee responsible for oversight of schools in the District of Columbia asked for information regarding school roof repairs in the District. The subsequent report to that committee is presented. It focuses on the availability of funds to repair roofs, and it offers plans for roof repair in 1998. Although sufficient…

The purpose of this study was to examine the current Arizona Construction practices and costs in order to provide quantitative and qualitative information to the Arizona Department of Education that will assist in making recommendations and projections for school facilities statewide. The data were taken from an in-depth study of new schools under…

This document presents the results of a review of the District of Columbia Public Schools' (DCPS) efforts to repair school roofs during the summer of 1997. The statement details when funds were made available to pay for roof repairs, the costs of the roof repairs, and additional roofs to be fixed in fiscal year 1998 and beyond. Sufficient funding…

For this study, a survey instrument was developed to obtain data on several phases of school facilities in Virginia. The instrument contained 26 separate items to which local school personnel were asked to respond. Survey items were grouped around three main parts of the study: capital improvement projects, maintenance projects, and inventory…

This document contains the four issues of Northwest Education published from fall 2000 through summer 2001. Issue themes are: (1) "New Moves: PE Reinvents Itself" (Fall 2000); (2) "Think Small: Making Education More Personal" (Winter 2000); (3) "The Wild Blue Yonder: Charter Schools Fly into the Unknown" (Spring…

This discussion draft reviews trends in Canada's apprenticeship system over the last 20 years and then examines prospects for labor market conditions for Canada's total economy and for the construction sector to the year 2005. The apprenticeship system has a number of serious weaknesses, including the following: (1) the stagnation in new…

Asserting that the air quality inside schools is often worse than outdoor pollution, leading to various health complaints and loss of productivity, this paper details factors contributing to schools' indoor air quality. These include the design, operation, and maintenance of heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems; building…

Rural schools face significant challenges in upgrading their technology infrastructures. Rural school districts tend to have older school buildings that have multiple problems and lack climate control, adequate space, and necessary wiring. In rural districts, it may be difficult to find the leadership and expertise needed to provide professional…

This speech discusses computer lab/classrooms and the issue of properly combining space, pedagogy, and technology when facility planning to better enhance student learning and support the teaching process. Several case studies illustrate classroom computer workstation configurations and how these may help or impede student learning and…

With little or relatively modest investment, schools being refurbished or undergoing maintenance can make disproportionately large gains in energy efficiency that can also result in large financial savings. This document offers guidance on the selection of appropriate measures that can improve a facility's energy efficiency, depending on the type…

This paper is a preliminary examination of homologous shifts in U.S. discourses of school architecture and "planning" as they relate to curricular reforms and inventions of new pedagogical techniques. The strategy of discursive analysis uses Michel Foucault's conceptualization of "governmentality" to examine discourses on the…