Describes several schools that have embraced the trend toward smaller schools and shared facilities, resulting in higher student achievement and improved morale for students, faculty, and parents. (EV)

A firm that has designed many preschool and elementary school projects identifies three factors that are vital to successful design for young children: protection, interaction, and scale. Accompanying drawings of three projects illustrate these design principles. (MLF)

Studies show that deteriorating school facilities take their toll on students' and teachers' health and morale. Classrooms should be accessible to the outdoors; clustered around a commons; adaptable and flexible; and aesthetically pleasing. Architects say natural lighting and noise reduction are routine parts of their job. Research studies support…

Each month, "American School & University" provides a mix of thought-provoking features, how-to-articles, industry reports, exclusive surveys, new sections, insightful columns, new product introductions and case histories to assist education officials in better performing their jobs. This October 2004 issue includes the following:…

With energy prices escalating, schools and universities have enormous incentive to control heating and cooling costs. And, as concerns about campus security and student safety continue to be paramount, education administrators have a duty to make sure their facilities are protected from intruders, vandals or other criminals. At the same time,…

Regardless of roles in society, people will be affected by what happens in the field of education in the coming decades. The impact may be personal and direct as a child or grandchild moves through the schooling process. Or, it may well relate to the quality of employees and, thus, chances for business success. Certainly, the impact the…

This article focuses on the future physical layout of the university in view of the profound social and cultural changes of our time that are affecting the structure of higher education in general and universities in particular. We suggest that the basic architectural prototypes of university design should be re-examined in view of these changes.…

As interest in green building grows, much discussion has focused on aligning a project with the principles of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification: (1) cost savings through energy and water conservation; (2) improved worker productivity; (3) health, insurance and risk-management benefits; and (4) enhanced building…

This article examines the argument that "green" schools enhance educational performance. Having set the context of the relationship between environmentalism and the design of schools in the twentieth century, the article explores the performance of a number of green schools built in the UK between 1980 and 1995. The aim is to discover…

In September 2003, Hudson High School in Hudson, Massachusetts launched two new civic development efforts--clustering and schoolwide governance--and moved into a new building designed to facilitate them. Clustering is designed to achieve a sense of community within a large school by creating small communities of 100 to 150 students. To create…

This article details the challenges that UC Merced faced in building up the critical areas of student and residence life. The new institution held great promise for achieving the ideal of a student-centered university, but certain bedrock problems proved difficult to overcome. One was that at the beginning, both administration and faculty saw…

Designing campus environments integrates the efforts of architects, planners, landscape personnel, and administrators. At a symposium on preserving a quality environment, the concepts of planning, building, managing, preserving and questions such as: How can we plan buildings that can be readily adapted to future needs? What is the value of campus…

This handbook examines the relationship between school buildings and educational performance. Following the introductory chapter, chapter 2 presents findings from empirical studies that have examined the building/performance issue. Research has demonstrated that the physical setting has both direct and mediated effects on prosocial and achievement…

This paper focuses on the preparation for and development of a teacher education computer lab at Eastern Nazarene College (Massachusetts). Topics addressed include: (1) events leading up to the identification of the need for such a facility, including the authors' intense technology-based professional development experiences and the passing of the…

In order to provide specific planning assistance, this paper describes three major components of a learning resources program: (1) the library or traditional print materials component; (2) the learning center component, which is an innovative learning environment offering individualized and conventional classroom instruction and/or non-traditional…