Over the last 40 years, researchers and educational facilities professionals have learned more about the ways in which the built environment of the school serves as a place where students construct their identities, where occupants create communities for learning, and where the outside community provides both context and support for the schools they build. The present series of studies seeks to explore the relationship of the physical environment with school climate, achievement and identity development of students. The schools studied included buildings in the upper quartile of facility quality as well as buildings deemed to be substandard and, therefore, slated for significant renovations. In the latter schools, researchers collected data prior to start of renovations. Across the schools studied, students, along with their principals, teachers, parents and custodians were asked to tell their stories of the school environments within which they live and work. Student participants used both traditional and digital cameras to document how their school buildings influenced their learning, for good or bad. (Contains 6 figures.)