HVAC & IAQ
Policy
K-12 instruction is being delivered in many different permutations right now, and so families are making various choices for the education of their students. By mid-March 2021 more than three-quarters of fourth- and eighth-grade students (76%) were being offered the chance to attend public schools open at least some of the time for face-to-face lessons. But just a fraction of those students attended in-person instruction. The remaining 24% of grade 4 and grade 8 students were in schools that were only online.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 04/13/21
Campus Facilities
In the Spirit Lake Community School District in Spirit Lake, Iowa, the school board has awarded a construction bid for a project that Superintendent Dr. David Smith says has been in the pipeline for quite some time—a “bus barn” to house the district’s school buses.
Campus Operations
Becker College, a small private college with campuses in Worcester and Leicester, Mass., announced on Monday that it will shut down at the end of the academic year. The college’s permanent closure is due to financial difficulties exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Transportation
Two Illinois public school districts recently purchased electric school buses from Georgia-based bus manufacturer Blue Bird Corporation. These buses are both the first operational electric school buses in the state, as well as the first commercial application of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology in the country.
Winter Storm
Austin Independent School District (AISD) officials in Austin, Texas, spent last week walking through schools and surveying the aftermath of the recent wave of winter storms. The verdict: Ninety of the district’s 130 schools were affected, and the total damage is estimated at about $15 million.
Transportation
Remote learning has had a dramatic impact on the number of miles school buses drove in the past year. According to Synovia Solutions, school buses reduced their miles by 40% in 2020, a total of two billion fewer school bus miles during the year.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 02/19/21
Podcast
- By Ralph C. Jensen
- 02/08/21
Podcast
- By Yvonne Marquez
- 01/15/21
Healthy Schools
MeTEOR Education, a company that offers turn-key services for space design, announced it is making medical and industrial-grade Continuous Air & Surface Pathogen Reduction (CASPR) technology available for schools. The technology has been used in hospitals and medical centers for some time but it is now available to schools.
Energy
Georgetown University has taken the next step in its commitment to sustainability by committing to obtaining two-thirds of its total electricity consumption directly from "local" solar farms in Maryland and New Jersey.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 12/09/20
Cleaning & Maintenance
Although you set your initial school maintenance plan during the late summer months, now is a good time to evaluate its effectiveness, find opportunities to refine your processes, and make sure you and your teams are doing all you can to safeguard students and staff if and when they enter your doors in person.
Cleaning
3M’s Commercial Solutions Division launched a new line of products that reduces the labor and product costs associated with routine floor maintenance, according to the company.
- By Yvonne Marquez
- 12/01/20
Cleaning/Maintenance
This year, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, reducing the spread of respiratory illnesses like the flu is more important than ever.
Building Solutions, a real estate and facility assessment advisor, announced their “Building Solutions for Brighter Futures” campaign, an initiative that helps make improvements in underserved Dallas-Fort Worth area schools with the hope it will help achieve better outcomes for K-12 students.
- By Yvonne Marquez
- 11/17/20
Cleaning
The Cleaning Industry Research Institute (CIRI) will host a three-part webinar series called “COVID-19: The Second Wave,” beginning Thursday, Nov. 12.
- By Yvonne Marquez
- 11/04/20
Cleaning
How do you create a hygienic and safe environment equipped to handle everyday usage and increased handwashing activity by students, faculty, administration and staff? And, how do you improve the restroom experience to make it more appealing to its users?
Cleaning
Floors are too often overlooked when it comes to fighting the spread of infection. For many years, many hospital administrators did not even believe it was necessary to disinfect floors. Now we know better. Floors, as well as the tools used to clean floors, deserve close attention when it comes to minimizing the spread of coronavirus.
- By Robert Kravitz
- 10/06/20
Cleaning
Imagine a Roomba with a plastic pillar on top, roaming through a room dispensing disinfectant onto chairs, table-tops and other surfaces.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 09/28/20
HVAC
A building’s HVAC technology can help decrease the transmission rate or mitigate the risk of exposure. Thus, schools must consider their HVAC system as part of their overall COVID-19 mitigation strategy, in addition to social distancing, cleaning, screening, signage and operational practices.
Contest
The eight-month campaign recognizes the work of K-12 custodians across the country and honors them and their school with a $15,000 prize package.
- By Yvonne Marquez
- 09/22/20
Podcast
In this episode of Schools In Focus podcast, I speak to Belinda Oakley, CEO of Chartwells K12 and Seth Ferriell, CEO of SSC Services for Education, about school food service during a pandemic.
- By Yvonne Marquez
- 09/08/20
Cleaning & Sanitizing
Will a more methodical, well-thought-out approach be implemented for disinfectant use or, will they be once again randomly applied, essentially using a “hope for the best” mentality? Let’s hope application is not random, and here is why. In the U.S., disinfectants are considered “pesticides” by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and rightly so.
Maintenance and Operations
As universities begin to welcome students back, directors of college recreational centers will need to develop plans, policies and protocols to maintain a safe and healthy environment. The many “moving parts” that make up college recreational center operations present some unique challenges for maintaining a safe and clean facility.
Contest
The inaugural “Custodians Are Key” contest launched in September and recognizes the work of K-12 custodians around the country. Kris Kantor of Hayes Elementary in Lakewood, Ohio is the grand prize winner and will receive a prize valued $5,000, while his school receives $10,000.
- By Yvonne Marquez
- 07/06/20
Reopening
The Department of Public Instruction recommends smaller class sizes, alternating school-day schedules, and providing mental health support for students and staff.
- By Yvonne Marquez
- 06/22/20
Reopening
As colleges and universities make plans to reopen facilities in the fall, higher ed decision makers must consider a variety of issues while COVID-19 continues to spread in communities across the country. A facility services expert shares strategies and protocols used to ensure a healthy environment for students, faculty and staff.
- By Yvonne Marquez
- 06/17/20
Reopening Schools
We asked designers and architects from across the country what they anticipate classrooms will look like in the fall if they were to reopen, how the coronavirus will impact school design in the long-term, and suggestions on design concepts schools can implement right away to help with social distancing in facilities. Their answers offer insight to available design options and possibilities that can help school leaders plan and make the best decisions for their students and staff.
- By Yvonne Marquez
- 05/18/20
Reopening Schools
While the attention so far has been focused mainly on ensuring that all students continue to receive a high-quality learning experience from home, leaders are now shifting their focus to how they can safely and responsibly reopen schools. Here are eight key suggestions for keeping students and staff safe when schools reopen.
Cleaning and COVID-19
This cleaning process provides more thorough coverage, essentially leaving no place for germs and pathogens, including those that cause COVID-19, to hide.
- By Robert Kravitz
- 04/20/20