A National Declaration and Call to Action––
High Performance School Buildings for All Children

by Geri Unger and Rosemary Woodruff, The Funders’ Forum on Environment and Education

The Funders' Forum on Environment and Education (F2E2) is a network of grantmakers interested in environment and place-based approaches to education. F2E2's principal activities are directed at increasing funders' awareness and knowledge of developments and opportunities in high performance schools, ecological literacy, and sustainability in higher education. F2E2 is a project of The Tides Center.

In March 2003, F2E2 convened a multidisciplinary array of nonprofit, private, philanthropic and governmental organizations at The Johnson Foundation’s Wingspread Conference Center to consider “healthy, high performance” schools. Their purpose: to identify how healthy, high performance, educationally appropriate and community-based schools could become the dominant paradigm in school construction and renovation. Facilities professionals and school board members from diverse districts (Los Angeles, Chicago, Abbott Districts in NJ, Tacoma, Cleveland) were joined by representatives from varying fields including school reform, construction, green architecture, environmental health, and community engagement. The philanthropic community was represented through the Funders’ Forum on Environment and Education, KnowledgeWorks Foundation and the Illinois Clean Energy Foundation.

At Wingspread the participants concurred that schools must be more than just expedient warehouses for students and teachers (55 million people, or 1 in 5 Americans, inhabit schools daily). Schools need to value their inhabitants and reflect the community investment in their future. Not only do we need to incorporate in our school buildings the elements that make for sound learning, but we need to insure that they are environmentally safe and healthy; energy, resource and cost efficient (sustainable); flexible for changing needs; and central to the larger community. This mandate includes a savings of $1.5 billion in energy costs (as well as a reduction in airborne pollutants––greenhouse gases, nitrous oxides and sulfur dioxide). The Wingspread discussion resulted in an enhanced definition of high performance schools that can be used by health professionals, education reform advocates, high performance architects, and community development workers.

We are at a moment in our history when––if schools are designed, built and maintained using the high performance model––we will have a profound impact on the well-being of our children and communities, as well as on the future of education in America. Currently, there is a tremendous backlog of need for new and renovated schools, estimated at $268 billion, and the level of school construction is $20 billion per year. Many school districts around the nation are poised to make decisions about their school facilities that will affect their students not only now, but throughout the 50-75 year lives of the buildings they erect. We estimate that our window of opportunity for shaping this discussion and making significant policy change towards high performance schools is two or three years. The Call for Action is intended to mobilize the diverse audiences that are involved in school reform and construction, high performance architecture, environmental health, and community development.

Foundations that have environmental interests (including health, energy, education, land use and smart growth, community-based initiatives, economic sustainability, and equity) all have a stake in high-performance schools. A powerful barrier to high performance school construction is that these buildings can cost slightly more to plan and design than do “standard” buildings, and financially strapped school districts do not have the capacity for holistic, front-end planning that includes energy modeling, life-cycle costing, and community involvement.  As local, state, regional and national proponents of change, foundations with highly leveraged planning dollars can influence billions of dollars to be spent on renovated and new school buildings.  The key to achieving high performance schools is a well-executed and adequately funded planning and design process.

The Funders’ Forum on Environment and Education––along with partner organizations including the 21st Century Schools Fund and BEST Partnership, Healthy Schools Network, United States Green Building Council, Public Education Network, and the Environmental Law Institute––offers the Call to Action on School Facilities as a tool to work across the silos of programmatic work both within foundations and communities. To sign on to the Declaration and for additional resources on high-performance schools visit www.f2e2.org. 

Our children’s education is vital to their future and fundamental to our democracy. Like the people and programs within them, The quality of our school buildings matters…

A Declaration and Call to Action:
High Performance School Buildings for All Children
What is at Stake?

EDUCATION: The learning environment impacts student achievement and teaching quality. Studies show that students learn best in an environment that is healthy, comfortable, naturally lit, clean, and in good repair. The quality of school facilities affects the ability of a school to retain teachers and staff, and the curriculum and instructional methods. Student and staff absenteeism are higher in
buildings in poor condition.

HEALTH: One in five Americans—55 million children and adults—spends a large part of each day in public schools. Consequently, the school environment is not just an educational issue, but a public health concern. School buildings and their sites directly affect student and teacher health. Children are especially
vulnerable to environmental hazards such as poor air quality, mold, pesticides, construction impacts, cleaning chemical fumes, heavy metals, asbestos, or excessive noise, heat and cold.

ENVIRONMENT: America’s 115,000 schools––by their use of raw materials, commercial products, energy, land, and water––have considerable impact on the environmental quality of our communities. Reductions in energy use result in lower greenhouse gas, particulates, and ozone emissions. Water conservation and
outdoor learning spaces on school grounds provide stewardship opportunities that contribute to better water quality and urban wildlife habitat, and enhance environmental education.

COMMUNITY: The design, construction, maintenance and renovation of our school buildings affect not only the individuals who study and work there, but the entire neighborhood. All residents have a stake in the quality of our public school buildings, because of their prominence and the public need of facilities for after-school programs, adult education, recreation and other community uses.

PUBLIC INVESTMENT: Schools represent a significant investment of hard-won community resources. We cannot afford to build "good-enough" schools. We owe it to future generations to find and use the building technologies and design methods that will produce schools that are not just the cheapest, but the
most cost effective over time. Maintenance, cleaning and repairs represent major ongoing public expenditures and need to be integrated in the design.

DECLARATION

ALL PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS, WHETHER NEW, RENOVATED OR EXISTING MUST BE:

SUPPORTIVE OF TEACHING AND LEARNING––
These schools accommodate the learning needs of students, support a rich and varied curriculum, and give teachers practical and stimulating teaching space. They also provide for school based programs and essential services that reduce barriers to student achievement.

HEALTHY, CLEAN, AND MAINTAINED IN GOOD REPAIR––These schools provide a clean, safe and secure environment; excellent indoor air quality; high levels of acoustic, thermal, and visual comfort; and large amounts of natural light. All physical systems and components are well maintained.

COMMUNITY CENTERED––A high performance school building is connected to its community. The public is meaningfully involved in designing the school and exploring possibilities for such shared uses as neighborhood health clinics, libraries, or recreation centers. Old and historic schools are renovated and modernized to continue to serve their neighborhoods.

SUSTAINABLE, CONSERVE ENERGY AND PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT––These schools integrate conservation and renewable energy strategies. They use high performance mechanical and lighting systems; socially and environmentally responsible site planning; non-toxic building and teaching materials; and water efficient design.

COST EFFECTIVE TO BUILD, OPERATE AND MAINTAIN––High performance school buildings are built, operated and maintained using tools that optimize energy performance, with a life cycle cost approach that reduces the total costs of ownership; and a commissioning process that ensures the facility will operate in a manner consistent with design intent.

More money is being spent on school construction and renovation in this country than ever before. If we are serious about educating every child, we need to create a favorable environment for learning in every school in every neighborhood in America.

THE CALL TO ACTION

WE CALL ON ALL MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY TO TAKE ACTION:

CITIZENS––Demand a high performance learning environment for every child. Insist on ending the deficiencies and inequities in the conditions of public school buildings. Ensure that our investment in quality, high performance facilities is not just for some, but for all students. Your involvement is vital to securing high performance school buildings.

SCHOOL DISTRICT OFFICIALS––Commit to working with the community to implement high performance school buildings.

STATE AND LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS––Adopt policies that create and support healthy, sustainable, educationally enriching, community-centered, sustainable and cost-effective schools.

GOVERNORS––Adopt high performance standards for all school design, construction and renovation projects and provide a regulatory climate and financial flexibility that foster high performance planning, design, construction and operation.

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT––Set and enforce standards for indoor air quality in schools. Provide technical assistance and funding to support and encourage high performance school facilities as necessary elements of success in leaving no child behind, protecting our environment, and conserving energy.

ARCHITECTS, ENGINEERS, AND THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY––Strengthen capacity for and commitment to designing and building high performance schools and provide local officials with the information and support they need to build such facilities.

ADVOCATES FOR EDUCATION, HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT,AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION––Insist on high performance schools for every child. Integrate this declaration into your message and agenda and build coalitions across issues to ensure that every child attends school in a high performance school building.

FOUNDATIONS: Foster innovation and replication by providing funds for planning, technical assistance, communications and public policy initiatives for high performance school buildings.