Every day in America more than 50 million children go to neighborhood public schools. Parents send them off with every hope they will be safe while there. And yet, as has been the case in too many cities, violence shatters that hope. The Council of Educational Facilities Planners International (CEFPI) seeks to lead in the effort to bolster schools…

The new cafeteria at Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, Minnesota is part restaurant, part study hall, part lounge area and part health-food store. From the beginning, the superintendent and food service leaders planned the facility to ensure that balanced diets with quickly prepared, but healthy, foods are offered to students to help them…

As the current K-12 generation approaches societal maturity they will encounter issues that are changing almost as fast as they are identified. Fast on the heels of the elementary population are the pre-kindergarten children who will be facing an ever-changing global society. Business and educational leaders have called for universal preschool…

This "IssueTrak" discusses an increasing interest in verifying the installation and performance of building systems prior to delivery and final acceptance by the building owner. This interest in quality assurance has spawned a new and distinct professional construction discipline referred to as building commissioning. The principal objective of…

The Harbour School in Baltimore County, Maryland and provides a unique and outstanding setting that was designed to enhance and support the programs and services required for 125 special-needs students between the ages of 6 and 21. The director of the school, Dr. Linda Jacobs, had previous experience with establishing a school in a commercial…

This "IssueTrak" addresses the condition of urban school facilities as a matter of great urgency. Facility planners, are committed to working with urban school districts to develop and implement a systematic approach for modernizing aging urban school facilities. The next generation of school children is far too important and valuable to be forced…

This "IssueTrak" discusses how saving energy and becoming energy efficient may significantly impact a school district's bottom line as well as simply being the right thing to do. There are many opportunities to conserve that can be implemented at little or no cost. To be successful, a school district must allow employees to gather data, analyze…

This "IssueTrak" discusses how facility planners and managers need an assortment of instruments in their toolbox so that they are able to select the best and most appropriate device for each project. A relatively new tool that should be at the disposal of all educational facility managers and planners is the construction delivery system of Job…