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The Proliferation of Green Schools: A Very Good Thing

Designers get on board! Green K-12's are popping up all over supported by irrefutable financial and performance data.

Penny Bonda -- Interior Design, 8/27/2007 12:00:00 AM

The first time I heard the statistic—students learning in green schools can improve their test scores by up to 20 percent—I was skeptical. Surely this was some tree-huggers' propaganda ruse. A 20 percent increase means moving from a low C average to one solidly in the B range or a more impressive SAT score and possible admission to a better college. Could it be true and, if so, why wouldn't every school district sign on?

It looks as though they may be. According to architect Bob Kobet, president of Sustainaissance International and past chair of the LEED For Schools committee, "We collectively realize what positive change the green school movement can potentially mean to our society, culture and economy. 55 million kids a day go to the 120,000 schools in this country and they constitute a very special demographic." Kobet has worked with school districts and shown them how their priorities are taxpayer oriented, not children or teacher oriented. "This is the one investment that resonates with parents, community leaders and planning boards," he states. "We finally get what it means. Boards are knocking themselves out to do it."

It's hard not to notice the amazing proliferation of green schools. Newspapers around the country are running articles about local efforts and my hometown, Washington, DC, is home to the new Sidwell Friends Middle School building, the nation's first LEED Platinum school. In fact, as a project type, K–12 schools have become the shining star of the green building family of rating systems with over 54 certified and hundreds more registered.

I became a believer based on still-valid evidence and research and wrote a column about green schools on this page two years ago highlighting two organizations, The Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) and the Healthy Schools Network. Both are still doing good work and continue to contribute to better buildings and facilitate quality education.

They've been joined by other important resources that further quantify the achievements of green schools. The first, of course, is LEED for Schools, officially launched by USGBC this past April. Based on LEED-NC, Schools addresses the unique nature and needs of K–12 educational facilities and introduces credits not found in the older rating system such as classroom acoustics and mold prevention. LEED also provides measurable results, a recognized third-party standard by which school administrators, parents, teachers and communities can judge that their schools are being built to be effective learning environments and healthy buildings that also benefit the planet. Equally important, green schools are teaching kids about environmental values and priorities.

Perhaps because of the vital role of schools in our culture, quite a bit of research is available. USGBC has published a summary of the key reports and findings including Greening America’s Schools, a comprehensive study by Capital E of costs and benefits of green schools. This document provides the metrics that green designers and their clients are always clamoring for that most building types don't have. Using conservative accounting methods, the study refutes the arguments that green schools cost too much and makes the case that investing in green schools pays financial rewards and enhances student learning.

The study is based on data drawn from 30 green schools built in 10 states during the period 2001 to 2006 and demonstrates that green schools cost less than 2% more than conventional schools—or about $3 per square foot—but provide financial benefits that are 20 times as large. Despite this, as the report concludes, "over a quarter of all students attend schools considered below standard or dangerous and almost two-thirds of schools have building features such as air conditioning that are in need of extensive repair or replacement. Furthermore, the large majority of schools are built not to optimize health and comfort, but rather to achieve a minimum required level of design performance at lowest cost."

Those disturbing conclusions are countered by plenty of statistics extolling the positive benefits of high performance schools. For example as quoted in the report:

Green schools use, on average, 30–50% less energy.
Green schools use, on average, 30% less water.
17 separate studies all found positive health impacts from improved indoor air-quality, ranging from 13.5% up to 87% improvement.
Studies show an average of 38.5% reduction in asthma in schools with improved indoor air quality.
75% of senior executives believe that being green improves a school’s ability to attract and retain teachers.
A typical green school involves a modest two percent increase in cost, but would save $100,000 per year in energy costs alone—enough to hire two new teachers, buy 500 new computers, or purchase 5,000 new textbooks.

Selling green design of any sort can be a hard sell but it seems to be less so with schools. Last month the US Conference of Mayors, which represents more than 1,100 mayors, unanimously supported a green schools resolution. An Associated Press article reports "the Council of Educational Facility Planners International estimate that schools will spend $53 billion this year on construction alone and that green building will comprise as much as 10 percent of the school construction market by 2010, a rapid growth from almost nonexistence a few years ago."

Once the green bandwagon starts rolling, it quickly picks up speed. Hop on—green K–12 schools are moving right along—and that's a very good thing!