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Illinois School Board Journal
September/October 2005

Green ' blossoms' in Illinois classrooms

by James McDonough and Vuk Vujovic

James McDonough is an educational planning/programming specialist and Vuk Vujovic is a sustainable design specialist at Legat Architects, Inc. Both also provide services for America's Schoolhouse Council, a national consortium of educational facilities planners and designers.

Twenty years from now, students will still spend the majority of their school time in classrooms. Classrooms create a sense of organization and connection, both essential for a child's intellectual and social growth.

However, the classroom in which our grandchildren and their children learn will be much more than a room with desks, chairs and a teacher. It will be an environment-friendly and cost-effective promoter of student health … a technology-rich springboard to optimal student performance and staff fulfillment. It will be a "high performance" classroom.

Sustainable — "green" — design is now the hottest topic in the architectural community. Recently, the phenomenon began blossoming among Illinois school districts. When it ripens, no distinction between "good" and "green" design will exist; they will be one and the same.

When applied to the classroom, terms like "sustainable" and "green" suggest environmental benefits like saving energy, but they overlook other critical benefits, such as:

A $100,000 investment for a high performance feature on a $5 million building will save the owner $1 million in energy costs over 20 years, according to Gregory H. Kats in The Costs and Financial Benefits of Green Buildings, one of the most authoritative analyses on sustainable building costs to date. High performance systems save 25 to 30 percent annually on utility costs for new schools and 20 percent for renovated schools.

* Enhanced student performance

The high performance classroom "harvests" natural light (i.e., daylight). Daylight increases student awareness, attendance, mood and, ultimately, performance. A recent study analyzed test results of more than 21,000 students in more than 2,000 classrooms in California, Washington and Colorado districts. The study by the Heschong Mahone Group "found a uniformly positive and statistically significant correlation between the presence of day lighting and better student test scores."

High performance ventilation systems yield air that is free of mold and airborne infections. That means fewer sick days for students and teachers.

Through its energy savings, the high performance classroom offers increased funds for educational programs. It also functions as a "hands-on" learning tool to support classroom topics. For instance, teachers can bring science classes up to a "green roof"… a field trip without leaving the campus. This is referred to as "project-based learning."

The light, energetic classroom in which attentive students learn and grow persuades teachers that they're in the right place.

Clearly, the "high performance classroom" is so much more than "green" — it respects the environment, but it also nourishes bodies, minds and budgets. Even today, the cost is well worth it: a "smart" school costs only about 2 percent more than a traditional "dumb" building. And with the cost savings, the systems will pay for themselves in a very short time. Now that is a "smart" school.

An evolution in teaching and learning methodology will also drive tomorrow's high performance classroom. Teachers will spend still less time standing before a class in the traditional lecture format. They will empower students … teach them how to teach themselves the things they need to know so they can do whatever they need to do. This change in the classroom habitat will lead to enhanced technology, individualization and flexibility.

Intel reports that, since 1971, the number of transistors per square inch on integrated circuits has doubled nearly every year. Most experts expect that trend to hold for at least two more decades. You don't have to be a tech guru to recognize the rocket speed at which technology will continue to develop.

Undoubtedly, technology will play a more active role in tomorrow's classroom. Having worked on and played with computers all their lives, members of Generation Y will lead the classroom. They will use the tools at their disposal: digital simulation, holographic presentation, instant global research and communication.

In 20 years, schools will adopt a more individualized approach to student learning; Individualized Educational Programs (IEPs) will extend beyond "students with special needs." Rather, every student will have his or her own IEP developed through assessments and team meetings including parents, counselors, school psychologists and, hopefully, the students themselves.

In the classroom, this individualization will shift so that students advance based on demonstrated knowledge, rather than passing a class. Group and individual projects will develop and demonstrate mastery of subject material — although students will still take tests!

Instructors will transform classrooms based on the day's activities. Two faculty members may team-teach a larger class. One teacher instructs 22 students. In another part of the room, the other teacher engages six students on a team project. In still another part of the classroom, eight students research a topic on the "network" to prepare for a presentation.

Recently, the Illinois Healthy Schools Campaign and the Capital Development Board of Illinois formed the Healthy, High-performance School Building Task Force. The committee, which includes specialists in educational architecture, will set guidelines for achieving high performance classrooms and facilities. Eventually, the state will save millions of dollars in energy costs every year.

Soon, the classroom will be a symbol that shows how much communities care about their children and their future; its systems and technologies will be "high performance" … so will its students.

Heschong Mahone Group, "Daylighting in schools: An investigation into the relationship between daylighting and human performance," submitted to The Pacific Gas and Electric Company on behalf of the California Board for Energy Efficiency Third Party Program, August 1999

Intel, "Moore's law," www.intel.com/research/silicon/mooreslaw.htm, 2004

Gregory H. Kats, The Costs and Financial Benefits of Green Buildings, report presented to the Sustainable Building Task Force, a group of more than 40 California state government agencies, October 2003

Sustainable Buildings Industry Council, "High performance school buildings resource and strategy guide," 2001