In Perspective - High performance Schools

Since Spencer-Van Etten are considering building and remodeling schools in the area, the thought of sustainable building environments and high performance schools came to mind. Over the last decades we have built and renovated schools as if they were factories or prisons. And as the subject of student scores and global competition has come to the forefront of the educational discussion, high performance schools should be a primary subject in the discussion.

So what is a high performance school? High performance school design consolidate daylighting, indoor air quality, and energy efficiency to build a school that runs efficiently, saves money, protects natural resources, and provides superior visual, acoustical, and thermal comfort. After a school has been designed and built to be healthy and sustainable, it should be maintained and operated for continued high performance.

Eleven states have guidelines for high performance schools, including New York. There have been hundreds of school that have been built or being built across the country using high performance guidelines. So what makes the high performance school different from a regular school? Decades of research has demonstrated that students in high performance schools have higher test scores and increased average daily attendance, while the school sees reduced operation costs, increased teacher satisfaction and retention, reduced liability, and reduced environmental impacts. High performance schools have proven to have a positive impact on the student, the school and the local areas.

A high performance school is healthy, comfortable, energy efficient, material efficient, easy to maintain and operate, environmentally responsive, safe and secure, adaptable to changing needs as well as a community resource.

There are some great resources for learning about high performance schools. Here in New York, anyone can sign up for free high performance training through New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) at http://www.nyserda.org/hps/default.asp . Another great resource is the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) http://www.chps.net/dev/Drupal/node/137 .

There are also Best Practices Manuals to help schools, districts and practitioners to achieve high performance design, construction and operation. These titles are available: Planning for High Performance Schools, Design for High Performance Schools, Maintenance and Operations of High Performance Schools, Commissioning of High Performance Schools and High Performance Relocatable Classrooms. These can be found and downloaded for free at http://www.chps.net/dev/Drupal/node/288 .