For most of us, a conversation about school brings back memories of our earliest and oldest friends, a childhood crush, going to lunch and recess, learning about government, having “fun” with algebra, or pretending to play this week’s gym class game in front of huge crowds on television. The thought that may not surface while taking this stroll down memory lane is the vital role schools play in the health of our cities and communities. They bring together parents, teachers and students in a conducive learning environment and provide facilities for community meetings, youth athletics and voting places for the greater community around the school. Most of us will personally visit or pass through a school this month, but we fail to recognize the potential that the facility itself has to produce better graduates and enhance our communities. In fact, many of the approximately 133,000 schools in this country are old, dirty and literally falling down. But just like the opportunity in buildings in general, this special building type offers more than just a better resource today. When we get schools right, we are assured a better future for all.

A high performance or green school is one that optimizes the learning environment while minimizing various impacts, including life-cycle costs. We expect our schools to provide a healthy and safe environment that promotes learning and enhances the future opportunities for graduates. But all too often these facilities are falling way short of that objective. A guide to policy on the Center for Green Schools website states that we should be “developing policy solutions that improve the health, productivity, efficiency, and fiscal responsibility of schools in (every) state.”

As a new dad, I am keenly aware of how much schools will influence and affect my family’s life. From where we live to the after-school activities we will participate in, my life as an adult will be shaped by the school that my daughter attends. As a facility consultant, I am very interested in the condition of the school: Are harmful chemicals used to clean the halls and restrooms? Are the HVAC units delivering fresh air to the classrooms? Are the energy-consuming systems operating at their peak or unnecessarily wasting our community’s tax dollars by operating inefficiently?

According to the study “Greening America’s Schools”¹:

"Green schools provide a range of additional benefits… …including reduced teacher sick days, reduced operations and maintenance costs, reduced insured and uninsured risks, improved power quality and reliability, increased state competitiveness, reduced social inequity, and educational enrichment."

Study after study confirms that better lighting (specifically natural lighting and views to the outside) and better indoor air quality make us more productive. A dark, dingy, smelly classroom only makes us want to leave, not pay attention to our biology teacher.

President Obama’s newly released budget includes $30 billion to modernize 35,000 schools. That’s a good start, and I hope it’s not too little, too late to help improve the futures of so many in this country. Why wouldn’t we want the best possible facilities for our children to learn and grow in? It’s clearer to me now than ever before that the future of all of us very literally depends on it.

¹Greening America’s Schools Costs and Benefits, October 2006, Greg Kats: Capital E, www.cap-e.com