School
Comfortable, safe, green educational environments enhance student performance and academic achievement.
School systems are concerned about raising test scores, increasing average daily attendance, boosting teacher productivity and satisfying the educational needs of their communities. Parents want schools that are comfortable, safe and attractive — schools where they want to send their children and where their children can perform better. Communities want schools that not only function well academically but are clean, green and environmentally friendly. In short, people want schools that work. How well a school works depends on many factors such as the quality and effectiveness of the teachers and the resources with which the school has to work with. But the quality of the facilities makes a difference, too. Studies show that school buildings that are comfortable, well-ventilated, well-lit, and safe – and that make use of the latest information and learning technologies — are more conducive to academic achievement. In those kinds of schools, students do better in class and score higher on standardized tests. Students, teachers and staff are healthier, so absenteeism is reduced significantly.
The challenge facing most school districts and boards of education is how to make schools work better when funding is limited. Every year, they are asked to cut budgets or, at least, maintain them. As a result, they have to make tough choices between retaining teachers and educational programs or renovating their facilities. Ideally, this should not be an either/or proposition. The quality of school facilities has so much of an impact on the learning experience, districts must find ways to improve their facilities without sacrificing educational resources. It can be done.
One method is performance contracting, which makes it possible to invest in energy efficiency upgrades and use the energy and operational savings from those upgrades to offset their cost and pay for other improvements. But that’s just one approach. We also work with customers to identify alternative sources of funding such as grants and bonds.
Our goal is to listen closely to every customer, determine needs and deliver a customized, fiscally responsible solution that generates sufficient energy and operational savings to pay for much-needed improvements. Additionally, it is our goal to make sure the solution comes in on time and within budget, supported by ongoing maintenance and support if required.
It’s also important that any solution is environmentally responsible as well as fiscally responsible. Schools can reduce energy consumption, fossil fuel usage and carbon emissions by utilizing onsite renewable energy sources and other green technologies. What’s more, when those technologies are in place, they become a learning lab on the workings and benefits of such technologies, and we offer educational resources to heighten student and faculty awareness on how to make their school and community more sustainable and environmentally friendly.
To learn more about how school systems across the United States are improving their facilities and academic achievement, see our case studies. To find out how you can do so, too, contact us.
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