SMART thinking!

I’ve seen this fan at several trade shows …thought you might be interested too.

How They Work

Big Ass Fans are the highest quality, most meticulously engineered HVLS fans on the planet. HVLS stands for High Volume / Low Speed, meaning Big Ass Fans move a lot of air with their size (which is up to 24-ft. in diameter), not speed. Moving at a low speed means less energy used for operation, translating into more energy savings for you. And Big Ass Fans aren’t just for the warmer months. Big Ass Fans can save you money and keep you comfortable year-round.

SMART thinking! What do YOU think? Comment above left.

SMART thinking! The draft version of the EPA’s new School Site Guidelines are now out for review at

http://www.epa.gov/schools/siting/criteria.html.

According to the website:

State and local policies should support school sites that facilitate physical activity, healthy behaviors, and healthy communities.  School siting decisions both influence growth and development patterns and are influenced by these patterns.  Many communities across the country are increasingly interested in ensuring that growth and development meet multiple community goals, including revitalization efforts, fiscal responsibility, increasing transportation choices, providing opportunities to live, work, play, and attend school in convenient locations, and, importantly, limiting greenhouse gas emissions, criteria air pollutants (nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, carbon monoxide), and air toxics. Locating schools in the neighborhoods of the students they serve encourages students to walk and bicycle between home, school, and centers of community activity. In addition, the family’s access to school playgrounds and facilities encourages physical activity outside of school time. The location of schools in neighborhoods may allow more children to participate in after school activities sponsored by the school such as clubs, intramural sports, or interscholastic athletics, or activities sponsored by the community by local libraries, parks, and community centers.  These are important factors for the community.  Schools located within neighborhoods will also increase the likelihood of access using public transportation for students, faculty, and staff located both in the neighborhood as well as in surrounding communities.

Finally – we are seeing some great advice about school siting that involves the health and well-being of the WHOLE community.  Thanks EPA!

Related SMART thinking! Articles

Why Kids Don’t Walk to School

Urban High School in a Median Strip

Target of Vandalism Turned Playful

K12 Green Existing Schools Toolkit

Creating Successful Playspaces

What do YOU think?  Comment above left.

Thanks to Peter Lippman, Assoc AIA, REFP of JCJ Architecture, author of Evidence-Based Design of Elementary and Secondary Schools: A Responsive Approach to Creating Learning Environments for pointing out this lovely school in his recent article The Responsive Designer in the Spring Issue of Learning by Design.

The Gateway School Program Strengthens Individual Learning Styles

The Gateway School, New York, NY – designed by Andrew Bartle Architects Studio is a wonderful example of a school built around the problem-based style of instruction.  The Gateway School is a leader in  the education of children with learning disabilities.  The following is an excerpt from the program’s description statement.

The Gateway Lower School Program is a unique setting in which the academic, social, and emotional growth of students with learning disabilities is carefully fostered. Enrollment is limited to allow small classrooms of eight to ten students where learning is highly individualized as well as opportunities for the student body to meet together for large group learning experiences. These larger learning contexts facilitate a strong sense of school community and help prepare students for transitions to mainstream educational programs.

Instruction in reading and math is conducted in smaller group settings in order to teach to the specific needs and skill levels of each child. …These multi-sensory approaches to learning ensure that students develop a strong structural basis for future academic success.

…Gateway’s atmosphere is structured, warm, and nurturing. Emphasis is placed on the development of each child’s strengths and talents as well as the foundational instruction necessary to address his or her specific learning challenges. Gateway is committed to helping each child develop a strong sense of self-worth and independence, a concomitant respect for others and an ability to function well as a member of a group.

Because the program calls for small group, individual, and group activities, the school is designed to be highly flexible and agile – allowing students independence within the learning setting.  The reception provides a sense of lightness and color with intimacy and texture, providing a kid-scale, welcoming entry.

Welcoming Entry at the Gateway School

The classroom area is small but flexible with integral small group breakout.  Individual attention can be provided to students by teachers or peers in a way that is subtle and non-threatening.

Gatway Classroom is highly flexible with integrated small group rooms.

Hallway alcoves cleverly provide an area for one-on-one interaction that is fun and “cave-like”; they are located adjacent to classrooms so as to provide maximum visibility with auditory privacy.  The alcoves make great places for students that prefer a higher level of privacy and quiet for reading or study.

Alcoves off the Hallway provide areas for Study and One-on-One Learning

The Gateway School is SMART thinking!  What do YOU think?  Leave your comments on the upper left.

Related SMART thinking! Articles

To See or Not to See

Emotions in Working and Learning

Creativity Crisis in American Schools

Jump Up and Learn

15 Things to Consider in 21st Century Learning Environments

Modern One Room Schoolhouse

School of One Turns Educational Models Inside Out

SMART thinking! from SIS-USA

One desk and chair for all grades - even adults. No kidding.

SIS-USA has launched a unique new line of classroom workstations designed to accommodate ALL grades, with NO special tools. The product line, called up.grade was the result of collaboration between educators, educational facility planners, architects, interior designers and industrial designers.

Multiple chair and desks heights - from one desk and one chair.

The criteria for design was simple – create student workstations that can fit every student, any time, anywhere, any grade – that the teacher can adjust with one simple tool and not have to call maintenance. No more “special desks” for the bigger kids. No more furniture graveyards of broken, mismatched furniture parts.

Desktops can be cut in many shapes - scale shape shown.

Now add the criteria that the furniture line must be easily reconfigured, be able to be moved around in the classroom simply and easily by students, and accommodate the bouncing and movement of students in the chair. Voila! Up.grade.

Read more from Facility Management News…..

Tell us what YOU think! Would you use up.grade in your classroom?

From PCMag:

The following are nine of the top blogs or websites (we think) to share with students and colleagues:

Bubbl.us

www.bubbl.us
By Corinne Iozzio
This free Web application helps you organize your thoughts into easily readable and colorful mind maps to print or post online. Bubbl.us lets you interact with your team to pool and sort out your thoughts in a clean, crisp way that leaves the usual conference-room mishmash and endless e-mail threads behind.

Evil Mad Scientist

evilmadscientist.com
By Lance Ulanoff
Learn about wacky, interesting, and unusual inventions and devices from technology, food, mechanics, industry, and so forth on this incredibly entertaining blog. There are neat invention dissections, and projects that help you re-create great “mad scientist” inventions from years gone by.

Footnote

www.footnote.com
By Lisa Ruefenacht
For genealogists, history buffs, and even the average passerby, Footnote is the quintessential Web-2.0 example of how to use your Web-browsing time wisely. This site has a deal with the National Archives to digitize and upload every document housed in the archives. You can find anything from handwritten notes from the Continental Congress to Project Blue Book UFO sightings. Users can even upload their own content, so you may be able to find your own high-school yearbook plastered on one of Footnote’s pages.

Futurismic

futurismic.com
By Carol Mangis
This forward-thinking blog divides its focus among news and opinions on current cutting-edge science andtechnology, its impact on culture and people, and extrapolations on how all this will affect our future. Futurismic also features enjoyable “speculative fiction”—sci-fi stories. It’s a feast for those who love to think about the future in all its manifestations.

Librivox

www.librivox.org
By Sean Carroll
Audiobooks are ridiculously expensive: The latest “Harry Potter” title lists at $80 on CD. Librivox, however, provides pod fodder for free. The site features a collection of public-domain books read by volunteers—and anyone can volunteer. The audio quality is good (MP3s at 64 or 128 Kbps, as well as OGG Vorbis files). Some narrators are better than others—some may have listened to a little too much NPR—but almost everything is at least decent, and some performances are quite good. The collection (a bit more than 800 Project Gutenberg works so far) is a bit of a hodgepodge, with everything from Walt Whitman to Edgar Rice Burroughs. You’ll have to wait about a hundred years for The Deathly Hallows, though.

MAKE: Blog

makezine.com/blog
By Carol Mangis
Are you a hands-on type who can’t resist taking gadgets apart, figuring them out, and trying to make them better? An offshoot of the quarterly print magazine of the same name, MAKE: blog features tech-focused content from the mag and lots more in the way of projects, contests, and fun reading in general-enough to keep any DIYer busy for years.

ScienceHack

www.sciencehack.com
By Jennifer L. DeLeo
ScienceHack is a video search engine dedicated to the world of science, including physics, green energy, and space. What sets it apart from the rest is that every indexed video is screened and approved by real scientists. Search for a video by keyword or by selecting a tag. Clicking on “Chemistry” led us to over 20 videos on the topic, such as “Jay Leno and Josh Duhamel Sniff Sulfur Hexafluoride.”

Ugallery.com

www.ugallery.com
By Christopher Ewen
Ugallery.com helps college artists find recognition; it includes artists from more than 60 universities nationwide. They’re not all Picassos, but the site vets artists’ work before letting them in and claims to accept only 25 percent of applicants. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or a complete newbie when it comes to buying art, Ugallery is worth a look. It’s a pleasure to browse and anaffordable way to get your hands on a beautiful piece of original art.

Wikisky.org

www.wikisky.org
By Kyle Monson
Much as Google has figured out how to harness user-submitted content to improve Google Earth, Wikisky.org turns the collective wiki-eye on the vast reaches of space. Check out the draggable space model with constellations highlighted, learn more about distant stars (or submit your own info) or you can even see a model of the stars that are above you right now.

SMART thinking!

Transparency has been a much debated topic in schools lately.  At odds are several issues:  student security, visibility, natural daylighting, and distractions.

Numerous studies show that students’ test scores as well as teacher retention are directly related to daylighting in schools.  Teacher retention is also related to the quality of the work environment (Buckley and Schneider, Teachers College Record.)

With the increase in project-based learning, teachers are using areas such as circulation corridors and patio areas to extend classroom work areas.  This is possible through visibility: more windows, transparency in doors, sliding glass doors, glass roll up doors and semi-transparent panels.  The transparency allows for the extension of the classroom and simultaneous supervision of all of the students.  Some have worried about the distractability of students in such spaces yet many schools say that – with consistent expectations of classroom behavior – this is an issue that can be overcome within a short period of time.

Security experts who subscribe to the principles of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design tout the value of “watching” – or the process by which the collective help to passively supervise the few who may seek to make trouble.  Informal and engaged watching help keep schools safe by keeping many eyes on the action.

Here are some examples of how schools today are using transparency to enhance the learning environment. SMART thinking!!

SMART thinking! This from Nourishlife.org

The Nourish Middle School Curriculum Guide offers a rich set of resources to open a meaningful conversation about food and sustainability

Nourish is a multi-year media and education initiative. The purpose of Nourish is to open a broad public conversation about our food system that encourages citizen engagement, particularly among young people and families. To inform and inspire, Nourish combines television programming, short films, web content, and learning tools. With a distinctly positive vision, Nourish celebrates both food and community.

The Nourish Middle School Curriculum Guide offers a rich set of resources to open a meaningful conversation about food and sustainability. Beautifully designed and brimming with big ideas, the materials contain a viewing guide, six learning activities, action projects, student handouts, suggested resources, and a glossary.

Download the Guide

Nourish is a project of WorldLink, an Emmy Award-winning media group with twenty years experience in designing education and outreach programs. To maximize the effectiveness of Nourish, WorldLink is collaborating with more than 40 organizations dedicated to creating a sustainable food future.

Wow. These are some powerful statements about the condition of our schools – as viewed by students. Please take time to visit the “Through Your Lens” exhibit by clicking HERE.

Linda, New Orleans

This From the 21st Century School Fund:

Through Your Lens is a collaboration of The 21st Century School Fund, Critical Exposure, and Healthy Schools Campaign to raise awareness of the need to fund school buildings that support learning and provide a safe, healthy environment for students and teachers.

By sharing photos and stories of what they see every day at school, students and teachers will provide us all with an honest window into today’s school buildings.

Background

This year, Congress met to discuss the future of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), known most recently as No Child Left Behind. ESEA is the major federal vehicle for providing funds and support to K-12 education in low-income communities. It also sets the criteria and standards by which the federal government measures school improvement. However, through numerous Congressional hearings and the issuance of a White House Blueprint for Reform, school buildings have largely been absent from the conversation.

Participating Students from McKees Rocks, PA

School buildings must be part of nation’s conversation about education. Quality education requires quality spaces, something that millions of students lack.

We know that millions of children, especially those living in low-wealth school districts, spend their school days in poor quality, unhealthy, and overcrowded buildings that cause health problems and limit educational opportunities. All students and teachers have the right to adequate, appropriate learning conditions that will allow them to strive for and achieve the goals being set for them. No single level of government can accomplish this alone. We must create a new federal, state, and local partnership to ensure that each and every single community has sufficient resources to provide high-quality school buildings to their students.

We need to show our elected leaders what our nation’s school buildings really look like and how important they are to student learning. That’s why we’re gathering and exhibiting photos from students and teachers across the country showing the reality of their school building conditions.

Help make sure that decision-makers at all levels of the conversation have a clear view of our nation’s public schools: invite your legislators to view the exhibit today!

SMART thinking! kudos to 21st Century School Fund.

Counter Productive

We could do with more SMART thinking!!

spotted on “Rising Tide” at http://risingtide.org.uk/resources/cartoons/5

Here on SMART thinking! we write alot about creativity and it’s place in education.  We came across this orchestra and just HAD to post their video. Talk about creative!!

Worldwide one of a kind, the Vegetable Orchestra performs on instruments made of fresh vegetables. The utilization of various ever refined vegetable instruments creates a musically and aesthetically unique sound universe.

This first video is of the Vegetable Orchestra making their instruments and in concert and the second is of the group making their new album Onionoise . You can see more about them on their website http://www.vegetableorchestra.org or at PRI’s The World Website

Got this invite from the EPA and thought I’d share it…

Discover the Link Between IAQ and Student Productivity!

Improving Indoor Air Quality and Academic Performance -
Facility Maintenance is the Cornerstone

EPA Tools for Schools Program

Wednesday, August 18, 2010, 12:00 PM ET.

Register today for this free webinar!

Speakers:

• Yasmin Bowers, American Association of School Administrators (AASA)
• Michele Curreri, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Program
• Frank Di Nella, Keller Independent School District

Facilitator:

• Roger Young, Roger Young and Associates

Attend this webinar to:

• Learn about the impact of indoor air quality on student health and academic productivity.
• Hear current academic performance results from a school district leading the way in incorporating and sustaining an IAQ management program.
• Gain insight on ways to identify, address and prevent IAQ problems in school environments.
• Develop guidelines and proven methodologies that you can start using immediately, including training, reporting and leveraging technology.
• Discover the importance of using a maintenance management system.

This webinar is offered at no cost to participants. Don’t miss your chance! Register today at https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/schedule/display.do?udc=s3yrb36cocfe.

Please note: This webinar will be approximately 90 minutes. You will need a high-speed Internet connection and a telephone line to interact with speakers and other participants.

India Unveils $35 Tablet PC

From the Statesman:

The Indian government is set to revolutionize the way education is delivered in India.  The government has launched an innovative program to create an open source tablet computer that “can be used for functions such as word processing, web browsing and videoconferencing. It can also be powered by solar energy — important for India’s electricity-starved hinterlands — though that add-on costs extra.”

Apparently inspired by Nicholas Negraponte— co-founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab- who introduced a $100 laptop for children in developing worlds, India wanted to find a way to create a much more affordable replacement to textbooks.

The government has already invested in “an ambitious education technology initiative … which also aims to bring broadband connectivity to India’s 25,000 colleges and 504 universities and make study materials available online.” Read the whole article here…

The article cites low interest from private industry because of the low profit margin.  I would ponder how much a company like Apple or Microsoft would be willing to “invest” to have technology literally “in the hands” of every child – starting in kindergarten.  I would also ask how much we could save per child by  reducing expenditures some districts have estimated at $175 per student spent on textbooks. I would also ask how much educators might value the opportunity to have choices in instructional material that is fresh and easily updated.  Hoping for some SMART thinking! and investment here in the US.

History (from wikipedia)

The Ron Clark Academy, housed in a renovated red brick warehouse, is located in southwest Atlanta, Georgia, and accommodates fifth through eighth grade students. Students are from low wealth to high wealth families. Clark had planned to build the school for ten years before construction began. Along with the proceeds of his two books The Essential 55 and The Excellent 11, Clark raised additional funding for the project which eventually cost over $3.5 million. The academy was established on June 25, 2007. Classes began for students on September 4, 2007.

Technology and facilities

Each classroom provides students with technology such as notebook computers, interactive whiteboards, digital cameras, projectors, and audio video equipment. In addition to the technologically-equipped classrooms, the school provides students with accessible amenities such as a recording studio, a darkroom, a two-story vaulted ceiling library, a gymnasium, and a dance studio.

The Ron Clark Academy uses donated computers in all classrooms and offices. As a result, students will be able to study photography, music production, and business leadership.

Library/ Cafe

Student population

The students that attend The Ron Clark Academy come from a range of backgrounds, including students from high wealth families. Students must go through an application process in order to be accepted into the school. Only 50 students were accepted out of 350 applications the first school year. Students must be nominated for the school and then must apply. Students’ applications are then reviewed by Ron Clark and other teachers and students are selected to be interviewed by the school. If accepted, students’ parents must sign a Contract of Obligation in which parents agree to volunteer 10 hours of their time each quarter. They also will have to allow their child to go on mandatory field trips essential to the curriculum.

Check out this video about the school from CNN. SMART thinking Ron Clark!

This submitted by Jim Brady of Americas Schoolhouse Council:

In a recent survey taken at an ASCD (formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) conference, educators say they believe textbooks will soon be obsolete but few districts are prepared for the digital revolution.

Educators cite a lack of hardware and access to technology as the main roadblock to change.  In a recent article on www.mysanantonio.com, fifth grade teacher Debbie Dixon is quoted as saying

“The school would have to make it something so that all the kids have equal access,” …“When you have a textbook, it’s something that all kids have and can take home. When you have e-books, you run into the problem that you still have kids who don’t have computers and you can’t deny them.”

To read more click here…

We need some SMART thinking right now… pockets of school districts are incorporating ereaders and other digital tools..we need good examples!

Systems thinking is a way of teaching dynamic problem solving and applies to a broad range of global, technical and societal issues.  The Waters Foundation has great resources for teaching and understanding the Systems thinking model.

…”(S)ystems thinking considers the relationship between the parts of a system, and the “dynamics those relationships produce.” A system can be anything – a novel, a historical event, a culture, a scientific formula. All are made up of different pieces that form the “system.” In systems thinking, you look at the whole of something, the individual parts of that whole, how those parts make the “whole” what it is, and how one action to a piece of the system can affect the entire thing.” (from ASIA society).

Exploration of dynamic complexity is a highly motivating learning experience for students. Their learning is enhanced by the “real” nature of the problems that they explore and the sense that they are developing skills that will prove useful throughout their lives. The merging of system dynamics and the characteristics of effective instruction creates tremendous potential for engaging students in powerful learning experiences.

Research shows that instructional settings that optimize learning should be student-centered, experiential, holistic, and authentic. In addition, students should be provided opportunities to utilize many forms of expression, to reflect, to interact with other students, and to collaborate. Learning should be developmental and should involve the construction of ideas and systems. Effective applications of systems thinking/dynamic modeling include all of these characteristics. What appears to be most successful is an essential combination of the powerful concepts and tools of system dynamics with best practice in instructional strategies.

(Mary Scheetz, Panel Presentation – International Conference of the System dynamics Society, Bergen, Norway, 8/00)
Research Source: Best Practice – New Standards for Teaching and Learning in America’s Schools Steven Zemelman, Harvey Daniels, Arthur Hyde (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1998)

Learn more about Systems Thinking at www.watersfoundation.org. SMART thinking!

This from The Centre for School Design:

A great short poem from students at Hamble College in Southampton.  I this this poem speaks for itself!

Click Title Slide to See the Presentation (hint log in to google docs for full access!)

Obviously, “form follows function” when designing highly-responsive school environments and understanding the key survival skills 21st century learners will need is one way to identify “function.” The 15 considerations that follow are key “survival skills … for careers, college, and citizenship in the 21st century” (Wagner), skills for a participatory culture, and key characteristics for the environments needed to support communities of learners, local and global (Jenkins.) 15 Skills to consider are:

1. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
2. Collaboration and Leading by Influence
3. Agility and Adaptability
4. Initiative and Entrepreneurial-ism
5. Effective Oral & Written Communication
6. Accessing & Analyzing Information
7. Curiosity & Imagination
8. Engagement
9. Personalization
10. Global Competencies
11. Social Equity/ Responsibility
12. Community Focus
13. Arts Integration
14. Maintainability, Safety and Security
15. Sustainability

Read the whole article here….

Just visited New Orleans and toured the schools that are being rebuilt, modernized and replaced after the storm.  What a big job these folks are facing!  Our tour guide, Kenneth J Ducote, PhD, AICP, has been working with the Orleans Parrish School system for years and was a wealth of information.  I salute his passion and perserverence on behalf of the children – especially children of poverty and color.

Our tour took us by the Phyllis Wheatley School, built in 1954 for one of the oldest black neighborhoods in New Orleans as an attempt to build quality facilities for minority children of the area.

Today, the school is being considered for replacement by the Orleans Parrish School Board. Preservation architects have fought hard to have the school remodeled. Below is an excerpt from docomomo US.

“The Phillis Wheatley Elementary School is in danger of demolition by the School Facilities Master Plan for Orleans Parish. The elevated school was designed by the architect Charles R. Colbert (1921-2007) in 1954. The cantilevered steel truss structure is solid and clearly did not flood after Hurricane Katrina. The building suffers only from neglect. It is one of the most innovative monuments of mid-century Modern architecture in New Orleans. The design was recognized by Progressive Architecture in 1955. Mr. Colbert received the Louisiana AIA Medal of Honor in 2006.”

While I am personally in support of saving historically and architecturally significant buildings, I believe that no building of historic significance should be placed above student learning or a community’s best interests.  After touring the site, it is clear that the Wheatley school has a number of issues that will significantly interfere with every student’s right to 21st Century learning.  Most notably:

• The site, at just 1/6th of the size recommended for a school of 800 is too small for play areas and fields needed for a quality physical education program;
• The elevated structure – built to keep the school from flooding – doesn’t work for Kindergarteners and 1st graders who can’t be located on the 2nd floor due to fire code regulations – so they are relegated to a ground floor portable building; which defeats the concept in the first place.
• The elevated structure was designed to provide playgrounds underneath but creates a wind tunnel effect in practice; further, the completely open ground floor means a fence must surround the site – adding to the prison-yard aesthetic.
• The original structure was completely transparent – great idea for natural light and views but a bad idea for glare on the the whiteboards and heat gain.  Sound daylighting principles are more appropriate for a learning environment.
• The small site precludes having a gymnasium, music rooms, performance spaces, science labs and a host of other spaces needed for a quality instructional program.

The resources that will need to be expended to remodel this facility are significant and the essential drawbacks of small site and elevation are not solved.  The OPSB must consider how to get the highest and best use of funds for student instruction…students are the history that must be most important to this great community.

The Treme/Lafitte neighborhood has not been supportive of  remodeling the school (click here for a NPR story), even though the building has been placed on the World Monuments Fund Watch List.

Definitely, this is a building worth preserving – as a community center or other community resource, but it doesn’t meet the needs of a quality 21st Century Learning Environment.

Children's School in Stamford, CT photo credit: MaryAnn Thompson Architects

Spotted this project at SchoolDesigner.com…

From MaryAnn Thompson Architects:

“The program for the Children’s School, a school for 60 children 2-8, was given to us as a “one room schoolhouse”. The two age groups of the school are housed in two classroom “wings,” both joined and separated by the entry area in which quiet activities are located to calm the child upon arrival.

Roof planes subtly tilt against one another to let in light from above between their skewed forms, and they define the classroom spaces below them without the use of walls. The younger children occupy the east-facing wing as they are only in school in the morning; the older children occupy the west wing to take advantage of western light. The scheme has multiple relationships to the exterior play areas with doors out from every classroom.

The shifting plan allows for a fragmented reading of the building that reduces the scale of the mass to be more in keeping with the scale of the child. It also prioritizes the subjective. In order to fully understand it, the building must be occupied and its spaces engaged. The spatial sequence is one of hide and reveal. The building offers a sense of journey and moments of epiphany for the child in its unfolding layers.”

The school has won numerous design awards and is a champion for student’s individual learning styles.  For more pictures and the full story CLICK HERE.

SMART thinking!!

From Schooldesigner.com:

“Chartwell is the 1st LEED platinum K-12 campus. It also has a goal of achieving net-zero electrical usage (grid neutral). This school has inspired the EPA to start a design for deconstruction competition and is a role model for the State of California´s ambitious initiative to mandate grid neutral schools by 2010. This school campus includes the best-known practices for energy efficiency and creating an optimal learning environment.”

EHDD Architects; Photos Michael David Rose.

Click here for the full story on SchoolDesigner.com.

SMARTthinking!

From Huffington Post: Residents look on as rescue workers search for victims at the 'La Promesse' school after it collapsed in Petionville, Haiti, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2008. The school, where roughly 500 students crowded into several floors, collapsed Friday during classes killing at least 75 people and injuring many more. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

The Council of Educational Facility Planners International and Schools for Children of the World are creating a task force to assess and eventually help repair Haiti Schools. The following is a description of volunteer services needed from the SCW website:

Initial Assessment:

o Structural engineers  with seismic expertise to assess the safety of remaining school facilities

o Volunteers to assist with the clean-up efforts

· Schools that can be repaired will need:

o Project Managers to manage project funds and provide project oversight

o Architects and Engineers to provide design solutions

o Contractors to make the needed repairs

o Fund raisers to identify and secure resources

· Facilities that cannot be repaired will need:

o Project Managers to manage the project funds and provide project oversight

o Contractors to help with the demolition and cleanup

o Educational Facility Planners, Architects, and Engineers with seismic experience to plan and design replacement facilities

o Fund raisers to identify and secure resources

Click here to find out how to donate or sign up to travel to Haiti and help out.

From District Administration:  “ARAMARK recently  launched Cool*Caf a new elementary school dining environment that incorporates the company’s newly designed wellness menus that exceed U.S. Department of Agriculture and state-level nutrition guidelines. Cool*Caf uses animation and student-inspired themes and messages on walls that promote good health.”

According to a USA Today article about Cool*Caf, the concepts include:

•Hefty selections. Fresh fruit and veggie “bars” are being installed with five or more fresh selections in each. Kids can take as many fruits and veggies as they want as part of their meal.

•Splashy décor. Cafeteria serving areas are being redecorated in bright colors with kid-friendly characters and signage.

•Shorter lines. Express lanes are being added so kids who bring lunch don’t wait in long lines for fruit, veggies or milk.

Another healthy trend in schools is the use of local farms and even school grown gardens.  According to District Administration,”many districts have also begun sourcing some of their produce from local farmers—a win-win for both parties. The national Farm to School programs connect schools with local farms to improve student nutrition, provide health and nutrition education opportunities, and support local small farmers.”  School districts such as LA Unified have encouraged schools to plant their own gardens and create a composting program. Very SMART thinking!

There seems to be a lot of interest out there around this topic with our facilities friends in schools so I thought I’d post another story from NPR about the Urinal Fly.   It seems that reducing “spillage” can be fun.  Click here to see the full story at NPR….

Photo from Architectural Record/ by Tim Griffith

This from Architectural Record:  Camino Nueva High School, a Camino Nueva Charter School,  (designed by Daly Genik Architects) is an urban high school designed on a site that is essentially a traffic island in a gritty section of Los Angeles called Filipinotown. The site is bounded by the 101 and four busy streets.

The architects fit over 30,000 SF in under an acre of land.  The building’s exterior is skinned in metal perforated panels to allow light in and block sound from the busy streets.  Interior courtyards are sheltered from noise and blowing wind.  Click here to see the whole story.

Okay this blog is all about SMART thinking…but Diesel has a point! Most brilliant ideas started out sounding stupid!  As visionaries, we need to go out on a limb sometimes.  So go out and think stupid folks….dreaming is what moves us forward.

Be Stupid

This from PopTech – If this doesn’t encourage us to build STEM labs for youngsters, I don’t know what will…Dan Nocera’s video on personalized energy is very SMART thinking!

Dan Nocera: Personalized Energy from PopTech on Vimeo.

Arizona State University and Scottsdale Unified School District are leading the way for other schools in the field of energy sustainability.  Bonny Bentzin, Director of University Sustainability Practice at the ASU Global Institute of Sustainability and Dr. David Peterson, Asst. Superintendent for Facilities at SUSD are taking advantage of some new Solar Initiatives that are adding up to big savings and a lower carbon footprint for the schools.

The ASU projects are the largest solar installation at a US University and the power generated is the equivalent of that needed to power 275 homes or taking 420 cars off the road! The project cost NO UPFRONT $$ for the University through a Photovoltaic System Services Management Agreement between ASU and Sun Devil Solar, LLC. The systems were supplied by SolEquity under a lease purchase agreement.

At SUSD, Dr. Peterson worked hard to change legislation in AZ to allow school districts to enter into long-term lease purchase agreements in order to fund the installation of solar panels on K-12 Campuses.  With the passage of ARS 15-213.01, “a school district may contract for the procurement of a guaranteed energy cost savings contract with a qualified provider through a competitive sealed proposal process as provided by the procurement practices adopted by the state board of education.”  By making use of third party owner-operator agreements, the schools are able to take advantage of up to 70% savings on the initial equipment installation through local and federal grant programs, thereby lowering payback time dramatically .

The polyurethane skin of this utility bldg is described as "a public square wrapped around a box"

This project spotted on the Playscapes Blog…. The new city Leidsche Rijn in the Netherlands built this utility bldg to house machinery that will recapture previously discarded waste heat in the form of hot water. The heat transfer station is a zero emmission building and is intended to supply all new buildings with heat and warm water.

The city challenged the architects  (NL Architects) to design a skin for the building: the architects took them seriously.  The skin is molded to follow the interal machinery, higher on one side than another…giving the building an attractive sculptural quality.

Climbing grips incorporated into the building skin

Then the architects proceeded to add playful features to encourage youth interaction with the building instead of vandalism:  climbing grips inserted into the polyurethene skin, a “doorscope” which is a backward peephole inserted into the door allowing a view into the inner workings of the building rather than the traditional view outward…allowing the curious a view of the machinery,

…a sloped “hole” through the skin of the building and other strategically placed holes that create a playful water cistern and downspout action in the wet climate as well as allowing roosts for bats and other birds.  Very SMART thinking!!

This submitted from Amy Yurko, SCW’s Board Secretary – “Schools for Children of the World is dedicated to developing school facilities for children who otherwise have little or no access to education. We establish partnerships with the communities in which we build schools. Our goal is to help local community members design and build a school, empowering them to use the experience to make further improvements to their community and the surrounding region. The community generally provides the land, volunteer labor, local materials, etc. We provide planning and design assistance, as well as materials and financial support to employ an experienced contractor to lead the project so that the resulting school facilities are well-built and safe for current and future generations of students.”

Tax-deductable donatations can be made at https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=30067, or the organization sponsors volunteer trips several times per year.  Check out www.schoolsforchildren.org for more information.  This is a truly worthy organization!

www.urinalfly.com

Urinal with Sticker

This story comes from NPR…The goal at UrinalFly.com is “to make the world cleaner one bathroom at a time. This simple product works with a man’s basic instincts to produce a cleaner bathroom and perhaps some laughs along the way. Give them something to aim for and you will be amazed by the results.”

According to the product developers at UrinalFly, urinals with the “fly” have a whopping 85% less umm “spillage”…other stickers such as targets are available. The stickers last about a year.

Fly Sticker adds Ummm…a target to the Urinal

This is totally SMART thinking for our boys restrooms!!!