The Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning (TELL) AISD Survey gathers information about school conditions from the educators working in schools. TELL obtains perceptions on a variety of issues related to student achievement and staff retention. In 2016, 5,309 AISD teachers (91%) and 3,092 other campus employees completed the survey. This full…

In the morning when a child walks into a classroom, he should feel a sense of belonging. In simple terms, this defines the world of "us-ness," a concept that noted educator and new media expert, Professor Stephen Heppell says plays the most important part in designing a new learning facility. Heppell advocates a critical assessment of the needs of…

Learning spaces are mission-critical for colleges and universities. Yet institutions lack a commonly accepted set of standards for learning spaces, lack a way to measure how well they work through a third-party certification, and lack a substantive way to compare their spaces to peer and aspirant institutions. Inspired by the success of…

The passage of the Equal Access Act (1984) brought to light the legal conflict that had been building over the previous four decades over who should or should not have access to public school facilities. Following the passage of the Act, many student and community groups began to request use of school facilities. School leaders were called on to…

This study was conducted at the early stages of integrating LEED into the design process in which a clearer understanding of what sustainable and ecological design was about became evident through the duration of designing and building of two academic buildings on a university campus. In this case study, due to utilizing a grounded theory…

This report, and accompanying tables present the findings of the 16th Annual Survey of College Construction prepared for "College Planning & Management" magazine. Representatives of Market Data Retrieval sent survey forms and made follow-up telephone calls to every college in the U.S. seeking information on their construction…

Like professional photographers, early childhood teachers can reframe their perspectives to create innovative and inspiring spaces for young children by concentrating on reframing two design elements: color and texture. When thinking about designing spaces for young children, one of the first considerations is the equipment and its arrangement.…

Providing safe and healthy learning environments for our children is a fundamental way to advance sustainability in our K-12 schools. However, according to reports by the Government Accountability Office, the U.S. Department of Education, the American Federation of Teachers and other organizations, many schools are in poor condition, and many have…

The one facility at school and university campuses guaranteed to be used by most everyone every day is the public restroom--a hub for germs and dirt. Applicants and their parents; visiting faculty and speakers; teachers and students--the variety of people who pass through a restroom and pass judgment is considerable. The impact is considerable…

Early federal court decisions in school desegregation placed little emphasis on public school facilities. Those early decisions focused primarily on requiring black and white students to attend the same schools and requiring the integration of teachers. What does the literature say about the relationship between student achievement and educational…

Three of nine school buildings that have won the latest Educational Facility Design Awards from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on Architecture for Education stand out from the crowd of other school buildings because they are sustainable and are connected to the nature that surrounds them. They are: (1) Thurston Elementary…

The lighting of learning environments is an important focus in designing new schools and renovating older schools. Studies long have shown that appropriate lighting levels and daylighting improve learning; now, climbing energy budgets have spurred school administrators to seek more efficient use of lighting. Electricity rates are expected to rise…

As Scotland moves ahead with both an ambitious school building programme and forward-thinking educational reforms, the author explores the background to "Making Space 2010", an exciting design programme which aims to focus international vision on the importance of space. Run by Children in Scotland, in partnership with the Scottish…

After a 35-year building hiatus, the nine colleges in the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) needed a major facelift. Facilities on LACCD campuses were antiquated and had fallen into disrepair. For years, students voiced dismay, saying their campuses resembled high schools rather than colleges. Inadequate infrastructure drove many…

This paper uses an innovative building-less Canadian public elementary school and its accompanying large-scale research project to consider the characteristics that might be required of a teacher interested in working in an emergent, environmental, place- and community-based experiential public school setting. The six characteristics considered…