"Green" Schools

Schools that are built with environmentally sustainable materials yield a two-fold result: they protect the health of everyone working inside them, and they protect the environment as well. Green schools typically cost 30 percent more than non-green schools, but the return on the construction costs can be made up within a ten-year period on energy conservation alone. The United States Green Building Council has created guidelines for school construction that can enable institutions to receive incentives for "going green."

Keywords Compost; Emissions; Environmental Stewardship; Green School; Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED(r)); Organic; Public School Buildings; Sustainable Design; United States Green Building Council (USGBC)

Overview

About twenty percent of Americans go to school every day. Unfortunately for many of the students, teachers, and administrators who venture into those school buildings, they are taking a substantial health risk by doing so. Substandard ventilation, inferior paint, and insufficient building supplies are just some of the culprits of a wheeze that won't go away or a constant headache or feeling of nausea that can't be explained. More often than not, such illnesses can be avoided if composted drywall or other recycled materials are utilized during the construction or renovation of a school building.

The term "going green" is a shorthand for making environmentally-friendly gestures, like walking to work, eating vegetables grown in one's garden, and, more recently, building environmentally sound structures. Buildings can be erected or renovated according to specific regulations to utilize sunlight, solid waste, water, and composted material in exchange for healthier living and working conditions. In addition to the long-term effects of healthier living, green buildings also reduce operational costs and can unite communities in an effort to conserve resources. Schools in America, Israel, China, the United Kingdom, and France have successfully improved the quality of education for students and the health of employees by embracing simple changes in the way they function.

The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has created a virtual blueprint for constructing schools that reuse, recycle, and restore otherwise expendable materials. The nonprofit agency has established guidelines for the sustainable design of schools that improves the quality of health, education, and community for those affected by them.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building certification program was created by USGBC to ensure the effective building practices in new school construction. According to the LEED guidelines, a sustainable site is defined as one that will:

• Prevent loss of soil during construction by stormwater runoff and/or wind erosion, including protecting topsoil by stockpiling for reuse.

• Prevent sedimentation of storm sewers or receiving streams.

• Prevent pollution of the air with dust and particulate matter. (U.S. Green Building Council, 2013, p. 1)

LEED(r) established four certification levels for building design and construction, and meeting those standards can yield tax breaks and other financial incentives, such as grants for construction. For example, Greenbacks for Green Schools, created by the Green Schools Initiative (GSI), lists a variety of revenue sources for green school construction and renovation in the state of California (Green Schools Initiative, 2006). From technical assistance to grants, educators and students wanting to go green can earn rewards for doing so.

Return on Investment

While it is often said that the creation of a LEED-certified school costs approximately three dollars more per square foot to build than a non LEED-certified school (a difference of about two percent), this is not necessarily the case; a 2007 report by Davis Langdon, an international construction consultancy firm, found "no significant difference in average cost for green buildings as compared to nongreen buildings" (as cited in Hanson, 2010, p. 32). However, even if that estimate of the increased cost per square foot is correct, the immediate savings in energy costs once the school is running would make return on the construction dollar possible within a few years. In addition, by 2027, "school districts [could] expect to recoup 20 times that amount, equal to about $60 a square foot, due to lower energy and water costs, less waste, and fewer students and teacher absences due to illnesses" (Sack-Min, 2007, p. 20).

According to Ashley Katz, communications coordinator for USGBC, the benefits of sustainable construction and green schools are all-encompassing: "Students who attend green schools have higher levels of productivity because they have connection to daylight, better air quality, better acoustics, less likelihood of mold and asthma and breathing problems, and then there are benefits for the school itself—energy savings, reduced operating costs and environmental benefits that go along with it. Some projects have built the school into the curriculum and are educating students on environmental issues by using the building to explain how solar panels work and about stormwater runoff" (as cited in Kadleck, 2007, par. 7).

The LEED certification process is based on a points system, with 80 or more points earning a platinum rating, the highest level possible. The other rating levels are gold (60–79 points), silver (50–59 points), and certified (40–49 points) (U.S. Green Building Council, 2013, p. vii). Each green requirement earns points toward the total. And while the regulations are specific, they are also flexible and offer options for developers with regard to possible building strategies.

They also come with options as well: if A is not possible, do B; if that doesn't work, try C. In addition to having those options, developers are also given suggestions as to how to meet the requirements.

Applications

Examples of Green Schools

Athenian School, California

John Fowler is the chair of the science department and director of environmental stewardship at the Athenian School in California. Years ago, the Athenian school took some steps toward environmental conservation. Students and administrators began recycling but focused more on embracing the school's philosophical aims, like encouraging diversity, democracy, and service learning opportunities. Fowler notes that environmental stewardship within the school community took a backseat because of its cost - both financially and within the school's already set curriculum. However, Fowler took it upon himself to assess the financial requirement of incorporating stewardship into the school's philosophical mission. He observed that, "only when the whole school was involved in defining and creating a 'green' school could our mission of stewardship be seen as a true expression of who we are" (Fowler, 2005, par. 3).

Maintaining the school facilities usually falls on the shoulders of people who are rarely seen by students and staff members. The students took on a leadership role in attempting to make a change in their environment. Students at the school conducted a water use audit during the 2000-2001 school year and found that the school was losing 1,800 gallons of water each day because of inefficient faucets and toilets. Fowler (2005) estimates that amount of water as being enough for six families. After receiving a grant, the students were able to have the school upgraded and were publicly recognized by the district with a conservation in business award.

In addition to these changes, Athenian students have also adopted a trail within the Mt. Diablo State Park. The students maintain the trail and have encouraged similar adoption of other Park trails by other schools. The Athenian community has contributed its hard work as well. The school's parent association raised money to plant an organic garden for use by the school's cafeteria. As the students continue their work - much of which is central to Athenian because of its location - Fowler notes that the collaboration of stewardship experienced at Athenian is one that other schools can achieve as well. To bring that point home, Fowler believes that members of other schools need not be discouraged if these same projects are not available to them.

The inspiration of a universal ethic of stewardship at Athenian -- and not the creation of student projects -- has, therefore, been the most important task of the last five years … The critical difference between a green school and a school that practices green behaviors lies in the "buy in" from all segments of the school community (Fowler, 2005, par. 16).

Sidwell Friends Middle School, Bethesda, Maryland

With a project cost of twenty-eight million dollars, some questioned the construction methods for a school renovation in Maryland. However, the LEED-certified (Platinum) building will earn back the cost of its construction before many of its elementary students graduate from high school. The school's curriculum has an environmental conservation focus, and the building itself is not excluded in student learning.

In addition to a wetland living between two wings of the school, vegetables and herbs grow on its roofs where rainwater run-off is filtered and reused. The school is built close to local bus facilities, and rather than offering a parking lot for cars, autos are stored underground so a landscape of native plants can cover school grounds instead of cars. This allows for the surrounding area to become part of the curriculum just because it exists.

Furthermore, the school utilizes daylight as much as possible and uses shading devices to prevent overheating from glare. Skylights and cooling towers exhaust hot air passively, so an air conditioning system is rarely used. And, the school is well insulated and was created from materials that are renewable, like bamboo for doors and recycled materials for casings ("Sidwell Friends Middle School," 2007).

Clearview Elementary School, Hanover, Pennsylvania

The goal in Clearview Elementary School's design was to establish a healthy environment for its students. This includes protecting both the children and life of the world outside the building. With a project cost of over six million dollars, the forty-three thousand square foot building will yield a complete turn-around on building costs in under ten years simply through energy savings.

Like MES, many of the school's features function as teaching tools. A large sunscreen in front of the building offers shade while acting as a sundial. Daylight is utilized for illumination at Clearview as well, and the air quality is maintained by a floor-mounted diffusing system. The carpeting and solvents used for flooring are also environmentally-friendly in nature, which maintains air quality as well. In addition, forty-percent of the building materials are recycled. Water is conserved through plumbing fixtures, and by landscaping the grounds with native plants, water preservation continues outside because the plants are used to the humidity levels of the area ("Clearview Elementary," 2007).

Fossil Ridge High School, Fort Collins, Colorado

Building Fossil Ridge High School cost the Fort Collins, Colorado school district $179.00 per square foot, which includes the design fees, furnishings, and equipment. That cost may sound high but actually compares to school construction costs in the area that are not LEED certified. And, according to the energy manager for the school district, the energy bills for Fossil Ridge will be about thirty percent less than the newest high school in a similar-sized district.

Fossil Ridge utilized many of the materials and strategies of Athenian and Clearview, and in addition the school concentrates on other tactics as well. "Ice is made and stored during off-peak nighttime hours to cool the building during the day, and energy use is offset by wind power purchases" ("Fossil Ridge High School," 2006).

Water conservation at Fossil Ridge is achieved through the use of a water pond (for irrigation purposes) and through utilization of low-flowing faucets and toilets. Again, as artificial turf saves water from excess run-off, Fossil Ridge installed turf for the school's athletic field. One of the largest ways to conserve energy is to use local manufacturers for building materials. Fossil Ridge did so, and saved almost three-quarters of construction waste from taking up space in a landfill ("Fossil Ridge High School," 2006).

First Mesa Elementary School, Hopi Indian Reservation, Polacca, Arizona

The ethic reflected by Athenian is not unique. In fact, the First Mesa Elementary School (MES), on the Hopi Indian Reservation in Polacca, Arizona is being used as a case study to encourage the construction of green schools around Arizona. MES is the second green school built by The Bureau of Indian Affairs and the first in Arizona to achieve LEED-certification. From the point of its inception, MES had to yield sustainability and efficiency, as its location is so remote that maintenance (utility repair and deliveries) is difficult. Sustainability efforts utilized at MES include the collection of water run-off for landscaping projects in addition to efficient water use fixtures. The school is also utilizing natural light for illumination and light colored finishing materials and a reflective roof to ward against the need for air conditioning (Hopwood, 2007).

Pennsylvania School Projects

Since 2005, Pennsylvania has been awarding districts with Energy Harvest Program grants for the sustainable construction of new schools. In addition, institutions have been given the opportunity to receive incentives from the state and federal government as well as from private organizations for building green structures. As a result, the following institutions are able to reinvest their finances into educating their students.

• The Western Wayne School District, $1 million, for a geothermal heat pump system at a new 120,000-square-foot elementary school.

• Kane Area School District, $355,563, for a wood-biomass-fuel heating system in the district's high school.

• West Chester University of Pennsylvania, $248,458, for a geothermal heat pump heating and cooling system as part of a building renovation.

• Dickinson College, S$50,000, for a system of photovoltaic cells on the roof of the school's facilities management building.

• Manheim Township School District, $225,000, for a ventilation system to complement the geothermal and radiant heating and cooling systems at the district's high school.

• Susquehanna University, $150,000, for a steam/condensate preinsulated piping system (Kennedy, 2007).

Viewpoints

From 2004 to 2007, the Alexandria Public School system in Virginia constructed one of the most expensive school buildings in the state. The new T. C. Williams High School, which opened for business in September 2007—replacing the old T. C. Williams building, first opened in 1965—cost $98.9 million to build and earned its LEED gold rating in 2009. According to the Virginia Department of Education, the $199-per-square-foot price tag comes in at $50 more per square foot than the average building cost of high schools within the state (as cited in Wagner, 2004). While the school saved $369,922 on electricity, water, and natural gas in its first year of operation and is estimated to recoup the extra investment within ten years (Chua, 2007; Moore & Webster, 2008), the initial expense was frightening for community members.

Studies show that while a large investment is made during the construction phase of a new school, the investment will be returned within a few years of the school's operation. However, for poor school districts already faced with inefficient and unhealthy surroundings, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel is not an option available in the near future, even with government incentives. Making those districts compete academically with districts that have gone green predisposes their students to being even further behind in the learning curve.

Public schools do not charge tuition for students residing within the district, so attending schools that sustain the environment doesn't cost anything for students residing in areas that offer such a comfort. In fact, attending a school with bars on the windows, leaking faucets, and peeling lead paint doesn't cost anything, either. In the greater scheme of things, cost to the student should be the main concern facing public school construction, as the battle between the haves and the have nots does not exclude skylights. It makes sense to think that the districts that can afford green construction already have higher test scores than those that cannot afford environmental sustainability.

Something else to consider is the cost of green construction that does fall on students. Private schools and higher education facilities like Harvard (touting its first green building in 2006) can chose to put the cost of green construction onto its students by raising tuition. While attending these schools is an option, a choice parents make with their children, the rise in tuition can become as big a trend as grass roofs.

Conclusion

There a few immediate changes schools can make to improve both the environment and the health of their employees.

• Increase the amount of daylight inside buildings. According to Tom Lent of the Healthy Building Network, "there is solid scientific evidence that windows and daylighting in classrooms promote better learning and increase test scores" (as cited in Karliner, 2005, p. 22). In addition, increasing daylight within a building decreases the need for electric lighting.

• Reduce water consumption. Landscaping strategies can save a great deal of water. Watering timers, soaker hoses, and native planting designs are easily adaptable to existing landscapes. Artificial turf - not so easily adapted - also conserves water. In addition, rainwater collection can be used for plant feeding and toilet flushing.

• Utilize wind and sun energy. Solar panels and wind turbines can help schools create their own energy, reducing electricity costs.

• Plant a native tree species for each tree removed during construction

• Utilize construction companies (developers) who use local resources. Shipping materials is a waste of resources (fuel, time, manpower) if those resources can often be found nearby.

• Remove fast food alternatives. For students and staff to be healthy, schools need to offer food that encourages thinking.

• Remove soda and unhealthy snack machines.

• Construct new schools in areas that allow students and staff to walk, either from home or from public transportation.

While some people argue that going green is cost prohibitive, study after study shows that any increased cost when comparing the construction of a LEED-certified school to a non-LEED-certified school pays for itself within ten years. In addition to the return on the construction costs, the revenue saved in energy costs can find its way into supporting better resources like computers, books, and better-qualified teachers. Add that to the service-learning opportunity of students who work at their school - tending gardens, planting trees, clearing nature trails, etc., - and the result is a community-wide project of sustainability. And, these examples don't take into account the return on environmental conservation.

Terms & Concepts

Compost: Organic matter (decaying leaves, fruit peels, etc.) used to fertilize soil for gardening

Emissions: Energy released by a source (fuel fumes from a car).

Environmental Stewardship: Guarding, protecting the environment.

Green School: Building created out of used and recycled materials, increasing quality of life and maintaining the environment.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED): Established by the U.S. Green Building Council for building energy/resource efficient schools.

Organic: Referring to living organisms or practices that encourage the natural living conditions of materials (ie: using no chemical pesticides or fertilizers).

Sustainable Design: The utilization of natural resources (materials) to maintain structures and nearing communities.

United States Green Building Council (USGBC): A nonprofit organization of people dedicated to the creation of environmentally-friendly buildings.

Bibliography

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Green Schools Initiative. (2006, November). Greenbacks for green schools: A compilation of California funding sources. Retrieved December 11, 2007, from http://www.greenschools.net/downloads/greenbacks.pdf

Hanson, M. E. (2010). Green schools on ordinary budgets. School Administrator, 67 , 32–35. Retrieved November 19, 2014, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=52494251&site=ehost-live

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Karliner, J. (2005, February). The little green schoolhouse: Thinking big about ecological sustainability, children's environmental health and K–12 education in the USA. Retrieved November 6, 2014, from http://greenschools.net/section.php?id=45

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Moore, J., & Webster, C. (2008, November 10). Green buildings make cents. Retrieved November 19, 2014, from http://www.vaco.org/annualconferencefiles/08acfiles/green%20buildings%20mosley%20nov%2010.pdf

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Wagner, A. (2004, November 6). 'Green' school's price tag causes some to see red. The Washington Times. Retrieved November 6, 2014, from http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2004/nov/6/20041106-112310-1812r/

Suggested Reading

Education is fastest-growing market in the 'green' building industry. (2007, January 1). The Enterprise, p. 25. Retrieved December 7, 2007, from EBSCO Online Database Regional Business Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bwh&AN=23655951&site=ehost-live

Johnson, J. (2006). Green schools' promise. Waste News, 12 , 1–23. Retrieved December 7, 2007, from EBSCO Online Database Business Source Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=23461853&site=ehost-live

Kensler, L. A. W. (2012). Ecology, democracy, and green schools: An integrated framework. Journal of School Leadership, 22 , 789–814. Retrieved November 19, 2014, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=82708714&site=ehost-live

Shen, J. (2004). Problems and countermeasures facing 'green school' creation. Chinese Education & Society, 37 , 71–77. Retrieved December 7, 2007, from EBSCO Online Database Academic Search Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=14448582&site=ehost-live

Yu Huijuan. (1999). Learn to implement the spirit of the National Education Workshop to promote quality education in China. Beijing: People's Education Press.