High Performance School Buildings Resource & Strategy Guide

The High Performance School Buildings Resource & Strategy Guide is a simple, easy-to-use roadmap for use in creating schools that:

• Provide better learning environments for students and teachers;
• Cost less to operate; and
• Help protect the environment.

Background 

According to a recent General Accounting Office report, an estimated 6,000 new schools will be built nationwide by the year 2007. The sheer scope of this undertaking makes it clear that the U.S. is faced with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shape the built environment in ways that will influence the lives of K-12 students for generations to come. High performance school buildings – those which incorporate the very best in today’s design strategies and building technologies – can help make the most of this remarkable opportunity. 

Designing and procuring energy- and resource-efficient schools is possible right now. All that’s needed is the vision, determination, and knowledge to make high performance the standard of performance in school facility design and construction. This Resource & Strategy Guide provides the requisite knowledge, and is intended for those with the vision and determination to put this knowledge to work in building new schools.

Audience

The Resource & Strategy Guide has been developed specifically for those who control the process by which new schools are designed and built: school superintendents, business officials, board members, and other key decision-makers. It is not intended as the sole reference for architects and other design professionals, who have their own, more technical guidance for creating high performance buildings. It is structured to meet the needs of those who hire and manage the services of these professionals, and as a guide for further research by A/Es and others engaged in school facility design. 

High Performance School Buildings Resource and Strategy Guide