Provides local government managers with an understanding of the connections between school facility planning and local government management issues, with particular attention to avoiding the creation of large schools remotely sited from the community they serve. It offers multiple strategies for local governments and schools to bring their respective planning efforts together to take a more community-oriented approach to schools and reach multiple community goals--educational, environmental, economic, social, and fiscal. Eight case studies illustrate how communities across the U.S. have already succeeded in collaborating to create more community-oriented schools. Includes 95 references and an extensive list of additional online resources. 40p.

Examines the Manassas Park, Virginia, City Schools' 10-year turnaround from a low- performing district to one in which every school was accredited by 2005. The turnaround is largely credited to superintendent Tom DeBolt, who was hired in 1995. The author considers the district's turnaround from four organizational perspectives and addresses the critical role of professional and political leadership in overcoming the challenges of low morale, scarce resources, changing demographics, and dysfunctional school-community relations. The book offers lessons for any school system facing the challenges of low performance, underfunding, political turmoil, and a culture of low expectations, with special attention to school size and the impact of improved facilities. 182p.

Profiles this award-winning hand-built school that showcases sustainable design practices and locally sensitive architecture. The school fuses local knowledge, readily available renewable materials, and new construction techniques to maintain a traditional identity while embracing modernity in both its form and purpose.

Reviews the record of Great Britain's Building Schools for the Future program, with regard to the creation of positive, sustainable learning environments. The conclusions, supported with extensive oral and written evidence, are that the visioning process for the creation of a new school should be lengthened to enable the inclusion of school staff and students; that greater design flexibility should be allowed at the local level; that individual institutions' technology integration experience should be made widely available, to the benefit of subsequent projects; that post-occupancy evaluations be conducted to determine what works and what doesn't; and that schools be as carbon neutral as possible. [There are two volumes, both available in PDF format. Scroll down the page to Reports, August 9, 2007.] 432p.

Reports on the decrease in schools named after presidents or people in general, and increase of schools named after natural features. This shift from naming schools after people worthy of emulation to naming schools after hills, trees, or animals raises questions about the civic mission of public education and the role that school names may play in that civic mission. Statistics from seven states, representing 20 percent of all public school students, illustrate the decline. The causes for the shift in school names may include broad cultural changes as well as changes in the political control of school systems. Includes 8 references. 9p.

Discusses how various institutions of higher education across the United States have adopted smart growth strategies to help ensure that new growth and development meet the institutions' mission and serve the community in which they live. The publication begins with an overview of smart growth strategies and then makes a four-part argument for adopting such strategies: 1) Creating thriving, vibrant places helps to attract and keep the best students, faculty, and staff. 2) Smart growth development patterns are a more efficient use of scarce resources and are better investments. 3) Colleges and universities and the surrounding communities can work together across the traditional boundary of the campus to solve challenges in mutually beneficial ways. 4) Better development patterns allow colleges and universities to improve their environmental performance. 48p.

This British guide introduces some of the key issues around school design, and then proceeds through school building project stages: 1) creating a vision for the school and appraising the options: new build, refurbishment or a mixture; 2) developing the brief 3) selecting the team that will design and build your school; 4) developing the designs and constructing them; 5) the finished building. The guide explains what happens at each of these stages, how the school will be involved, and what help is available to enable informed decisions. The intent is to explain when the key decisions are made that influence the design quality of your school and the implications of those decisions. The guide features 13 case studies illustrating the secondary school design process. It also includes a glossary of terms, guidance and information on useful organizations and websites. 165p.

Presents the results of a colloquium concerning how school buildings look, how they work, and how they are used by pupils and teachers in contexts where usually the priority is simply to be able to offer basic school training for youngsters. Strongly contrasting views are expressed, all backed by data and coherent arguments: 1) School buildings are of secondary importance. The headmaster, teachers and their relation to pupils are the essential factors of a successful school and learning programme. 2) Culturally and climatically well thought school buildings and schoolyards do greatly improve the possibilities for a successful school and learning programme. 3) Experiences involving the concerned actors (teachers, parents, pupils) in planning and construction of schools and schoolyards improve the possibilities for successful school and learning programmes. Includes reports from Yemen, Jordan, Egypt, and Gaza and the West Bank in the Palestinian territories. 144p.

Summarizes the May 3, 2006 Summit on Intergovernmental Collaboration and School Siting, addressing communication and collaboration between school boards and local governments in selecting sites for schools. The goal of the summit was to create an open dialogue between school boards and local governments while building a model of collaboration that key stakeholders can use to coordinate local land use, school funding, and school planning. The report details the participants' plans for advancing their collaboration, organized along five themes: institutionalizing collaborative processes, creating a common goal and vision, establishing a culture of trust, improving communication and information, and changing policy. 31p.

Presents a summary of this workshop, which brought together design professionals and school and community officials, with the goal of bringing innovative thinking to the improvement of Akron's schools. The major issues of design, community engagement, and partnerships were addressed and a number of design, grade configuration, alternative school, renovation, and partnering ideas are presented. 18p.

Presents the results of the 2005 National Summit on School Design, convened by the American Architectural Foundation and KnowledgeWorks Foundation. The report details eight overall recommendations made by Summit participants on a range of school design topics: 1) Design schools to support a variety of learning styles. 2) Enhance learning by integrating technology. 3) Foster a "small school" culture. 4) Support neighborhood schools. 5) Create schools as centers of community. 6) Engage the public in the planning process. 7) Make healthy, comfortable, and flexible learning spaces. 8) Consider non-traditional options for school facilities and classrooms. Each recommendation is accompanied by brief case studies and a list of additional resources. Plans for advancing a national school design agenda are highlighted, and the results of a team exercise in solving the problems of five hypothetical school districts are included. The Summit’s 200-plus participants are listed, including teachers, parents, students, school administrators, education experts, architects, community groups, mayors, and other elected officials. (This is a large PDF file and may take awhile to open.) 72p.

Presents case studies of ten British early childhood facilities that involved the community in the design process, where decisions were being made as to what services the facilities would provide. For each school, the varying goals and issues of the participants are presented, along with a description of the consultations that occurred and key design features of the completed facility. 42p.

Presents a reader-friendly account of the school design process, with guidance on defining a community's "dream school," building support for its funding, converting dreams into an actual design, managing construction, and celebrating the building opening. Includes tips on guiding participants' efforts, selecting consultants, and making key design decisions. 40p.

Suggests techniques for meaningful community involvement in school planning. Inclusion of today's increasingly informed parents is essential and should offer a personal approach that includes teachers and successful alumni. Access the business skills that parents bring to the process, use objective facilitators, and include seniors who no longer have children in school. 3p.

Provides policy guidance and recommendations to officials and administrators at the state, local, and school district level to improve facilities planning in order to support and enhance the delivery of educational programs and services. The document proposes policy reform as one tool for affecting the planning, design, construction, maintenance, and funding practices and processes at the state and local school district levels. However, state level standards and control must be carefully developed and applied, so that creativity, public participation, and local priorities can drive the facility planning and design outcomes. Best practices examples and a list of resources are also provided. 14p.

This looks at how parents, students, local residents, and community organizations are involved in the planning and development of school facilities, and identifies ways their participation can be expanded. Includes sections on the following: limited community engagement; transparency and participation in the capital planning process; typology of community engagement; and creating an open and innovative school facilities planning and development process. Provides eight case studies of community engagement in the New York area. 86p.

Outlines the Foundation's position on the value of community-use schools designed with community participation. Guiding principles for creating schools as centers of communities are offered, and the three action areas of community engagement, research on effective learning environments and smart growth, and promotion of schools as centers of community are described in detail. 13p.

Introduces the membership and work of the BEST collaborative, 21st Century School Fund, Knowledgeworks Foundation, and briefly discusses recent findings on the effect of school facilities on academic performance. 3p.

This online video describes St. Paul's award-winning John A. Johnson Achievement Plus Elementary School, a state-of-the-art K-6 community school and neighborhood hub created in an abandoned high school that was restored, with a YMCA incorporated into the complex. The school was created with significant and complex community input, and is pivotal in the effort to revitalize this depressed neighborhood. The available discussion guide helps users replicate the process that created this school, outlining group discussion formats and questions, and steps for assessing the results of these discussions.

This penetrating new edited collection examines risk, power and identity in contests over the siting of infrastructure and industrial facilities. Examines the social, political and environmental issues at stake and the acute conflicts over conflicting data, politics, perception and controversy for industry, planners and authorities and citizens. Authors from a a variety of fields bring a multi-perspective analysis to case studies from the UK, US and Europe and expose the political and cultural dimensions of siting conflicts. In the process they show how place attachment and notions of landscape and local identity play a prominent role in resistance to 'development'. 256p.

Describes the motivations, methods, and benefits associated to author's concept called "Educational Commissioning," where teachers, students, parents, and community partners are educated as to the design intent of a new school. The concept follows the building industry's process of commissioning, which finds its model in the U.S. Navy's practice of commissioning ships. 3p.

Examines how school districts and communities can work together to address facility and academic achievement inequalities affecting African-American and Latino students, as part of their school construction programs. This study explores the hypothesis that when school districts engage community stakeholders in a clear, consistent and meaningful way in the long-range planning and site selection of new public schools, they can build schools more effectively and achieve better academic outcomes and overall benefits for impacted communities, as well as increased support. A case study of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) sheds light on the numerous challenges school districts face in engaging communities as key partners in the long-range planning and site selection process for new urban schools while trying to address educational and facility inequalities and community development needs. From 1999 2001 quantitative and qualitative data on LAUSD was collected through first-hand observation and from primary and secondary sources. Qualitative research on the community engagement practices and policies of thirteen other school districts from nine different states was collected through the use of surveys and phone interviews. Promising practices were identified from these school districts, chosen for their high rates of growth and active school construction programs and key guiding principles were developed. The research provided invaluable insight on how school districts can more effectively engage communities in the long-range planning, prioritization, and site selection process for new urban schools while working to reduce facility and educational inequalities and support community revitalization and development needs. 235p.

This is a guide for school communities, local authorities, funders, and design and construction teams. The booklet includes ten case studies, useful information, and a glossary. The first five case studies illustrate school building through traditional procurement routes. The other five case studies discuss school building through the Private Finance Initiative. 66p.

Describes two projects seeded by New Jersey's Communities of Learners campaign: a national design competition for a new high school in Perth Amboy, and an effort to create large scale public engagement in a community school master planning process in Plainfield. The successes, failures, and impediments realized through this experimental collaboration are chronicled, and recommendations on how to create schools as centers of communities are offered. 58p.

A plan for the renovation of and improvements to the Nichols Avenue School building and site in the District of Columbia, for the future home of Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter School. This "how-to" manual is designed for individuals interested in modernizing or building new public school facilities in their neighborhoods. Modeled after an innovative public-private development partnership, this tool details the importance of school facilities and community involvement, then explains the five basic steps to planning a new school or renovating an existing building: assessment, envisioning, planning, development and implementation. [Author's abstract] 46p.

Guides new and experienced school planners from the conception of educational needs through occupancy and use of the completed facilities. Chapters follow the planning, design, and occupancy processes in sequence as follows: forming the educational plan, creating community partnerships, establishing a master plan, writing educational specifications, addressing design guidelines, evaluating and selecting the site, infusing technology, integrating sustainable design, working with a design team, evaluating project delivery options, identifying cost and funding options, monitoring construction, integrating maintenance and operations, and assessing the completed project. Numerous references, photographs, drawings, figures, and a glossary are included. 386p.

This guide provides a framework for community involvement in modernizing or building new public school buildings. The process is broken down into the five steps of assessment, envisioning, planning, development and implementation of the project. The chapters for each step are preceded by an overview of how facilities affect the quality of education and community, and how to initiate the process of improving a school building. 60p.

Presents the fourth year of this poll which surveys Ohioans' opinions on educational adequacy in order to help form public policy. The survey revealed that Ohioans give the schools only an average (C+) rating, and want to be more involved in decision-making. They also favor multipurpose schools available for community use. 15p.

Provides a workbook to assist community groups in engaging the public concerning school facilities. Meeting guidelines help organize the phases of the discussion, provide questions, and assist the facilitating of open, inclusive, and fair dialogue. Worksheets help organize the results of the meetings. Steps for organizing the meeting are detailed, including recruitment of leaders and participants, troublehooting problematic situations, siting the meeting, and setting up the room. 28p.

This is a list of resources providing information about increasing participation on green school ground projects. Many schools successfully involve students, teachers, school administrators, community members, design professionals, and other interested individuals and organizations. Case studies includes examples of projects around the world that include significant participatory elements. 2p.

This digest describes seven strategies for effectively involving students in school design. These methods include using student artwork, using disposable cameras, hosting student forums, involving students in planning committees, organizing a student design competition, providing design programs during out-of-school hours, and integrating design activities into class work. A sidebar quotes architects and planners who found working with students a rewarding and meaningful professional experience. Includes a list of online student design resources. 9p.

Describes the inception and realization of this revered community school created within a restored 1911 St. Paul, Minnesota, high school building, and combined with an adjoining new YMCA facility. The community collaboration required for the condemnation of four homes and relocation of several businesses is described, along with the results of these moves. Restoration and renovation of the deteriorated high school, the design of the YMCA, and the naming process for the new facility are discussed. 42p.

Reviews the process that converted two high school classrooms into a graphic arts studio to be shared by the three small schools housed within the building. The process brought together students, teachers, designers, administrators, and other professionals representing the three schools. They worked together to program and design a flexible space that retained territorial preferences for the three schools. 24p.

What rural communities can learn from the hermit crab is that finding and reusing cost-effective accommodations can be a brilliant survival tactic. This book offers educators and community members a range of such strategies to help keep their small schools in their communities. Four chapters cover the following themes: 1) the case for keeping rural schools local; 2) the condition of rural school facilities and obstacles to their improvement; 3) creative solutions to rural facilities challenges; and 4) lessons learned and strategies to consider for planning with the community, identifying assets and liabilities, working with policy, and funding the project. 128p.

This provides a detailed review of how school construction decisions — whether to renovate existing buildings or build new, greenfield facilities — are made in Michigan and their effect on development patterns. The report aims to help school officials, community leaders, homeowners, and parents evaluate the full cost of new school construction or renovation. It recommends changes in state policy that, if implemented, will capture the economic and cultural benefits of renovating older schools or building new ones in town. 20p.

Reviews thirty years of built results from the Community Design Group, an option within the North Carolina State University's Master of Architecture that sent students into communities to design needed facilities. Included are designs for 19 schools and 22 early childhood centers. 269p.

Using the experience of Kentucky's Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, this book provides guidance for citizens of all states who are interested in implementing school reform. It covers the topics of initial organizing, building credibility, working with business and the media, understanding school reform politics, organizing parents and the public, and community strategies. 131p.

This guide outlines key components of a voter-approved $521 million school construction program in Columbus, Ohio. The program will modernize 38 school buildings which house over 17,000 students. The guide is intended to assist the community in becoming an active participant in the program. 4p

This publication outlines a process for planning schools that more adequately addresses the needs of the whole learning community. It explores six design principles for creating effective learning environments, provides 13 case studies that illustrate various aspects of the six design principles, and examines the facilities master planning process for getting started and organized, including developing and implementing a master plan. It provides references, sources for additional information, photographs and plans. 76p.

This report reaffirms the contribution made by historic neighborhood schools to their communities. It offers guidance to officials and local preservationists for creating state policies that help preserve and maintain historic community schools, and for building new schools that serve as community centers. The report describes state requirements for community involvement in school planning, the overly generous site standards that contradict the creation of community schools and preservation, and funding mechanisms that help preserve historic schools. Information for the report was gathered from telephone interviews, correspondence with state school facility officials,and online reviews of printed school facility standards. Includes 13 references. 32p.

This study examined how community organizations can use research to identify community education interests and influence school systems to serve those interests. A case study of the Southeast Education Task Force in Baltimore, Maryland, analyzed the organization's efforts to develop a school facility plan and persuade the school system to adopt and implement it. The community organization combined the formal research on school facilities, political research on allies and decisions makers, and an informal collection of local knowledge. It used this research to develop short-term and long-range facility and capital improvement plans, and then persuaded the school system to repair school facilities and state decision makers to approve a new neighborhood school. (Contains 56 references.) 19p.

This paper asserts that one part of a comprehensive control system for school construction projects is a citizen oversight committee. It suggests that citizen oversight committees are a cost-effective and politically important method for supplementing a school board in its monitoring and oversight functions. In addition, the committee acts as a means of engaging the public to increase accountability, meeting the public's desire to ensure taxpayer dollars are used effectively, efficiently, and equitably. The paper provides information on the advantages associated with having a citizen oversight committee as well as lessons and promising practices on how to develop and implement a committee. Ten districts with citizen oversight committees in place were interviewed to determine promising practices that are most effective in fulfilling the responsibilities and achieving the advantages of an oversight committee. 20p.

Presents ten principles for engaging a community in the process of creating schools that embody community values and become central to the life and learning of that community. Describes how a community can ideally engage in the planning of such schools. The principles presented evolved from experiences by the KnowledgeWorks Foundation with school districts in Ohio and from discussions with consultants who have advised KnowledgeWorks in its efforts to create greater community involvement in schools. 2p.

This survey of Ohio adults was intended to gauge attitudes on a range of educational issues. Key findings include: (1) Ohioans are optimistic about the future; (2) they favor limiting school enrollment to 400 or less; (3) respondents believe that in addition to rebuilding the physical structure of Ohio's schools, there is a need to rebuild the social structure surrounding schools and children; (4) Ohioans continue to greatly overestimate the cost of 1 year's tuition at a public 4-year college or university by almost 2 times the actual cost; (5) respondents believe the top priority for Ohio's education spending is grades K-12; and (6) urban residents particularly favor smaller school size. Detailed findings are presented in the areas of the state of the schools, school improvement, school facilities, college and career access, funding education in Ohio, and urban district comparisons. 50p.

Discusses forms of parent involvement and democratic empowerment partially restored in the state of Kentucky, and now engendered as a result of the Kentucky Educational Reform Act (KERA). The creation of citizens facilities planning committees and a process for school facilities review restores at least one new democratic process in the battle over local school control and helps preserve smaller and historic schools. The pre- and post-KERA environment is detailed, with case studies and advice about persisting difficulties included. Includes 17 references. 16p.

This book looks at planning from a “lessons learned” perspective, using examples and narrative to relate the Cuningham Group's process and philosophy while demonstrating how to apply educational research in real world settings. The second edition includes updated graphics, additional case studies, and a new chapter that examines a sustainable approach to school design. Following an introduction, the discussion is broken down into the following chapters: (1) “Schools That Fit;” (2) “Toward Better Schools;” (3) “Schools That Fit Communities;” (4) “Schools That Fit Education Leaders;” (5) “Schools That Fit Teachers;" (6) “Schools That Fit Learners;" (7) “Schools That Fit Children;” and (8) “Schools That Fit The World.” The book is intended to be a resource for communities, schools, and districts as they explore how education impacts the learning environment. 72p.

In 2001 the British newspaper The Guardian launched a competition called "The School I'd Like" in which young people were asked to imagine their ideal school. This book presents material drawn from the competition and is illustrated by children's essays, stories, poems, designs, pictures, photographs, and plans. It expresses children's own ways of seeing and naming issues of concern to all involved in education and illuminates ways in which the built environment is understood and experienced by school-age children. 162p.

This describes essential characteristics required to successfully develop and implement an educational facility planning processs. The intent of these essential characteristics is to outline an approach for addressing the facility challenges confronting urban school districts that is cost effective and realistic. Discusses such characteristics as shared vision, agreed upon process, consultant leadership, internal capacity, adequate funding, and broad based involvement. 8p.

This volume documents the work that resulted from the Chicago Public Schools Design Competition, explaining research and policies underlying the competition's criteria. The volume has three parts. Book 1, "The Chicago Experience," written by the competition's organizers, describes the competition's process and explains how it allowed community members, educational experts, and architects to collaborate in the design of schools that will foster the education of students, support quality teaching, and increase community involvement. It also chronicles the changing trends in public school architecture in Chicago. Book 2, "New School Designs," offers plans and ideas for schools designed for the 21st century. The competition's two winning designs and those of the finalists are extensively documented in drawings and renderings. Book 3, "Policies and Principles," explores policies that provided the impetus for the Chicago competition. It discusses the advantages of smaller learning environments; the benefits to students, teachers, and communities of universal design; application of sustainable design to the creation of public schools; and the importance of cost feasibility when building on a public budget. The section ends with a complete list of the winning, finalist, and notable architectural firms involved in the competition and a list of professional resources for creating new schools. 136p.

Presents a descriptive case study of the politics surrounding Portland Public Schools' facilities policy reform from 2000 through 2003. Portland is a revelatory case because of its history of urban growth management, neighborhood organizing, and its culture of civic innovation and intergovernmental cooperation. The research analyzes the recent and future implementation of several innovations currently being pursued by the school district as a foundation for connecting school and regional development planning. Applying theoretical models to local experience, the study predicts likely outcomes and suggests necessary actions to make ongoing cooperation successful. 398p.

Examining the trend toward an older U.S. population, this publication discusses why educators and school facility planners should consider designing multipurpose schools that specifically contribute to stronger intergenerational links. Reasons include: ending age segregation, enriching the lives of children and seniors, creating support for public education, and keeping seniors healthy and learning. The twelve-page publication also discusses the challenges and opportunities of such efforts, including the diversity of retirees, issues of joint venture, funding, cost savings, accessibility, finding space, using space wisely, giving new life to historic school buildings, security, and staffing. The publication includes numerous case studies and fifteen references. 12p.

This publication was developed to assist concerned citizens faced with the loss of their neighborhood schools. It recounts a brief history of school reform in Ohio, leading to the current crisis, and suggests strategies advocates for the preservation of their neighborhood schools can use to save their neighborhood assets. Broad issues addressed include understanding the process of school construction, understanding the perspective of the educator and community, organizing stakeholders, confronting challenges, and designing a communications campaign. (Contains a list of organizational resources.) 14p.

This publication presents case studies of school buildings to demonstrate the application of a post occupancy evaluation (POE) during various stages of the design and planning process. It explains that because POE is a process for gathering information about a building in use, it can be applied effectively both to renovation and expansion projects and to new construction. The case studies were selected because each addresses community and user participation as an integral part of the school planning process. In Jamestown, North Carolina, a POE incorporating a school building assessment survey was used for the Millis Road Elementary School addition to help architects learn about existing conditions and improvements expected in the new classroom addition. The Davidson Elementary School project in Davidson, North Carolina, linked all stages of the school building process, from user participation in the development of the program to the evolving design solution, and a building evaluation after completion. The Centennial Campus Middle School in Raleigh, North Carolina, began with a vision shared by university educators and county school officials about the creation of schools within a school. The Rosa Parks Elementary School in Berkeley, California, (formerly the Columbus School) demonstrated a participatory process that included parents, teachers, children, and community members who initiated and passed a bond measure to rebuild the earthquake-damaged school. The case studies include building plans and photographs. Appendices contain a six-factor school building checklist, a school building rating scale, an inclusive school building assessment checklist, and a classroom arrangement rating scale. 67p.

This manual is intended to be used by parents, teachers, school administrators, students, community organizations and residents as a guide to identifying, planning, implementing, and maintaining large- and small-scale school improvement projects. Its sections address: (1) key terms and concepts; (2) types of school improvement projects; (3) creating the school improvement partnership; (4) planning a school improvement project--getting started; (5) planning a school improvement project--design; (6) school improvement project implementation; (7) marketing and promoting a school improvement project; (8) findings funds and volunteers; (9) school improvement project tools (preliminary school assessment tool, consensus tool, site selection tool, implementation planning tool, fundraising plan tool); and (10) case studies of a small project (Bladensburg High School sign) and a large project (Shadyside Elementary School master plan). 24p.

This publication, from a non-profit organization in Britain concerned with educational facilities design, aims to stimulate a debate about the building environment of secondary schools in relation to other dimensions--people, the learning process, and the institutional framework. Its chapters are: (1) "School Buildings in Britain Today"; (2) "Institutions Out of Place," addressing how changes in society and education should influence changes in schools' physical facilities; (3) "Buildings as Frames for Life," addressing the symbolic and relationship-building aspects of schools; (4) "Design Examples," including illustrations from Britain, the Netherlands, and the United States; (5) "Partnership and Participation," describing the current "stifling" process for designing school buildings in Britain and offering a new approach to school architecture; and (6) "School Works Recommendations.” 56p.

This essay describes effective ways to manage school facility programs to create the broad base of support and consensus required to pass referenda and fund school construction projcts. Advice includes: 1) link facility investment to learning results; 2) engage the public; 3)assure performance; 4)prepare a frugal, bulletproof plan; 5) get the most value for the investment 7p.

This guide introduces the community to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools budget and explains how it works. The guide is for parents, voters, taxpayers, residents, and students. The guide describes the two main types of school funding, operating and capital. It looks at where the money comes from; explains the various ways operations money is spent on staff, transportation, maintenance, food service, and special programs; tells how bond money is being used for new construction, renovation, upkeep, technology, and other projects; looks at what the budget buys; and enumerates ways to take action. Includes resources for more information. 32p.

This survey of Ohio adults was intended to gauge attitudes on a range of educational issues. Key findings included: (1) public schools get a grade of C+; (2) Ohioans underestimate the extent of the challenge facing urban school districts; (3) they favor testing in math and reading every year in grades 3-8; (4) Ohioans believe in more school-community cooperation; (5) they overestimate the cost of a public college or university by about $6,000 per year; (6) respondents recognize the importance of literacy in early childhood; (7) more than half think school funding has stayed the same or decreased, although it has increased; and (8) only about half knew the state supreme court was deciding a case that could find Ohio's system of school funding to be unconstitutional. Detailed findings are presented in the areas of the state of schools, schools as centers of community, college access and higher education, early childhood education, funding education in Ohio, and DeRolph versus the State of Ohio.

School Building Day celebrates learning environments and raises community awareness across the country about the places where children learn. This booklet suggests activities and community resources, provides development tools, and describes how other districts have celebrated. Also included are materials that help educators become more attuned to their school's surroundings: There is a teacher's inventory of physical learning environments, a playground safety checklist, a school safety checklist, a section describing ways to build local partnerships, a listing of facts about school facilities, summaries of design principles, legislation, statistics, research findings on education facilities, and useful websites. 100p

The case studies in this booklet highlight how five communities, in big cities and small towns, overcame the obstacles inherent in creating good new schools in existing neighborhoods. There is mounting evidence that small schools provide a better quality education than large ones. Among the obstacles faced in establishing new schools in old areas are: (1) school building standards, codes, and regulations; (2) difficulty in acquiring land; (3) districts have lost the skill to build schools; and (4) building “greenfield” schools is more familiar. The Oyster School in Washington, D.C., is an example of a school modernized through parent efforts when the school system was not able to find the funds for improvement of the facility. Sharing the existing space with an apartment building, at the cost of some space, resulted in a renovated school. In Pomona, California, a school was built at the site of a mall and vacant supermarket. A magnet-type school was built in Dallas, Texas, on the last piece of undeveloped land near a multifamily apartment complex. Two public academies were established in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee, to attract children whose parents work in town and ensure that both the academies were filled to capacity. Rebuilding on the site of an old school was the solution for Manitowoc, Wisconsin, as it worked to meet the needs of a neighborhood. Some other examples of noteworthy approaches to new schools for old communities are briefly outlined. 20p.

Presents the results of an assessment of this campus, a reused college campus considered inadequate for the climate and current use as an arts high school. Students and faculty interviews were conducted in a walk-through evaluation of the campus during its coldest season. Assessments of each space were recorded to determine the adequacy of space, lighting, acoustics, temperature, flexibility, aesthetics, functionality, and floor area. Campus space requirements were developed from the data, and three proposals were developed by student/faculty teams, one of which received unanimous support from students and faculty. 6p.

Reports on a study to determine if involving teachers in the design process for school facilities would result in a commitment to change by the whole faculty. In one rural Minnesota school district a majority of the facility planning committee was made up of teachers. This committee was charged with articulating the educational activities that would take place in any new or renovated buildings by outlining seven critical attributes that would set the direction for the physical design and educational programs that would take place in the future. It was found that in this district, which attempted several reform efforts during the past 10 years, teachers agreed to change their teaching to conform to the committee's vision. 71p.

This paper discusses New Jersey's unprecedented $12.3 billion school construction and reconstruction project, launched in 2000, as an opportunity to reconstruct the state's communities, enhancing quality of life and reducing sprawl. It aims to stimulate a statewide conversation about the opportunity to integrate the design of the next generation of public school facilities with the state's blueprint for smart growth--the "State Development and Redevelopment Plan," or the State Plan. The paper discusses the historical background, schools as centers of community for cities and towns, state agencies' roles, and the relevance of national design policy. It then provides design guidelines for creating schools that serve as centers of New Jersey communities: (1) enhance teaching and learning and accommodate the needs of all learners; (2) serve as centers of community; (3) result from a planning/design process involving all stakeholders; (4) provide for health, safety, and security; (5) make effective use of all available resources; and (6) allow for flexibility and adaptability to changing needs. The paper also includes sections discussing the example of Paterson, New Jersey, and key components of sustainable school design. (Contains a list of resources.) 27p.

This publication describes the creation of a new school building for James F. Oyster Bilingual Elementary School in Washington, DC. Despite the success of its academic program, the school's 70-year-old building had become unsafe and unsuitable for teaching and learning and was threatened with closure in 1993 because of the district's fiscal crisis. This publication discusses how the 21st Century School Fund, working with the Oyster Community Council (the school's PTA), the local school restructuring team, the principal, and neighborhood residents, formed a public-private partnership that saved the school and increased city revenue. The District of Columbia agreed to divide the school property in half to make room for a new school and a new residential development. They also agreed to dedicate property taxes and revenue from the sale of the land to repay a revenue bond. In exchange, LCOR, the private developer of the new 211-unit apartment building, agreed to design and build a new school and repay the Oyster revenue bond. 8p.

The Albany, New York, Board of Education has developed a facilities improvement plan for the Albany City Schools. This document provides detailed information about the plan, its process, vision, funding, timing, voting information, and frequently asked questions.

This telephone survey of Ohio adults was intended to gauge attitudes on a range of educational issues. Main findings were: (1) education is important, but its true value is not fully understood; (2) Ohioans appreciate the benefits of early childhood education and preparation for school; (3) individualized attention in the formative years is important; (4) the public perceives an educational crisis in Ohio; (5) some populations at risk may go unnoticed; and (6) Ohioans overestimate the number of adults who have completed a college degree. Detailed findings are presented in the areas of the value of education, special populations, early childhood education, the formative years, school facilities, higher education and access to college, and demographics. 38p.

This manual presents guidance for creating a constructive dialogue between school officials and the surrounding community on the design of schools that contribute to enhancing educational quality. The benefits of community participation are addressed as are descriptions of the principle parts of the participation process, including strategic planning, goal setting, and long term planning. Finally, the manual presents the Charrette process as a method for generating design ideas. 18p.

This manual addresses whether schools and classroom spaces enhance or detract from the learning process and provides school assessment guidelines for communities anticipating the expansion of existing schools or the construction of new ones. It is a collection of survey and discussion tools that encourage stakeholders to discover and reflect upon the physical features of school buildings. The manual identifies what works and what does not work in K-12 school buildings. Each assessment tool presented is for a particular purpose. Building surveys focus on the assessment of existing school facilities, while photo questionnaires present alternative spatial arrangements for group discussions. Small group discussions are suggested as an effective method for creating a productive dialogue allowing people to consider many different viewpoints. 41p.

The United Kingdom's non-profit School Works project was initiated to respond to the challenges of updating school infrastructure by showing the links between design and education, producing beautiful schools which further learning, and working in new ways with new partnerships. The first part of this "toolkit" guide explains the thinking behind the School Works approach and what it has to offer. The second part discusses how to set up a participatory process step by step from the questions that need to be considered and the focus a school's project might take to the techniques schools can use to get everyone involved. It also refers to the School Works' experience at Kingsdale School in London. The third part explains how to select an architect and gives a broad outline of the processes involved in implementing a building project. 116p.

Examines the areas of local jurisdictional cooperation required for successful new school planning that also benefits community development. Reviews responsibilities shared by local municipal governments and school districts. Explains the areas of mandated responsibility for each jurisdiction and the relationship between the two major players on the local level of government. Addresses the difficulties of collaborative planning, including technical difficulties such as budget cycle differences, fiscal dependency, lack of coordination and planning impetus, and social and political difficulties. Also discusses planning issues involving a new school's impact on land use within the community. Several examples of successful new school planning collaborations are described, followed by descriptions of three collaboration models, which cover an area of rapid growth and a higly-populated but settled area. 50p.

This paper translates the best of educational practice into school design criteria for architects and communities wishing to build innovative schools that reflect community excellence. First discusses the school zone model, an integrated system for addressing school design and curriculum. This educational system is then linked to the built, natural, and cultural environment so that the resultant architecture can act as a three-dimensional textbook. The paper then discusses 16 case studies that reveal basic patterns for reform in school curriculum and facilities design that illustrate the philosophical framework behind the school zone model. Four key issues or patterns extrapolated from the studies are examined that show how involving children in the design process has implications for the role schools play in the community. Patterns for reform using design criteria from multiple sources are outlined so that communities may take action to build and evaluate programs that synthesize community and educational needs. 60p

Documents the community involvement process undertaken to establish designs for a community garden adjacent to a school and community center in Seattle. Design alternatives are provided, as well as a project budget.

Examines use of geographic information systems (GIS) by the Blue Valley School District in Overland Park, Kansas, to help manage and plan for rapid growth and development. The GIS program helps school districts realize several planning related benefits: increased cooperative planning activities among stakeholders in the school planning process; achievement of a greater democratization level; and improvement in the planning process for school district residents, the planning and facilities committee, and the school district's administration. 30p.