High Performance Schools

For more information on High Performance Schools, visit:

National Best Practices Manual For Building High Performance Schools
The National Best Practices Manual for Building High Performance Schools is a part of the suite of products developed to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy in schools. The manual is provided in PDF format.

California -- Sustainable Schools
This website provides a diverse collection of sustainable building resources that will help schools create high performance educational facilities that will ensure the optimal health and productivity of students and faculty.

Featured High Performance Schools Resources:

Integrated Pest Management in Schools
The Integrated Pest Management Program in Schools program is encouraging school officials to adopt Integrated Pest Management (Integrated Pest Management) practices to reduce children's exposure to pesticides. The program targets school administrators, janitors, custodians, and food workers, as well as parents, teachers, and kids.
Source: EPA - Office of Pesticide Programs
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/ipm

Smart Growth and Schools
Over the next few decades, thousands of schools around the country will be built and renovated. Where and how schools are built will profoundly affect the communities they serve and the quality of their air and water. While a first-rate education in a safe facility must always be the primary consideration when making school spending decisions, a growing number of communities are using these investments to meet multiple goals -- educational, health, environmental, economic, social, and fiscal.
Source: EPA -- Office of Policy, Economics and Innovation
http://www.epa.gov/dced/schools.htm

Indoor Air Quality Design Tools for Schools
Indoor air quality is a critically important aspect of creating and maintaining healthy school facilities. IAQ Design Tools for Schools will help school districts find the information resources they need to design, construct and renovate school facilities that will support the schools core mission of educating children.
Source: EPA - Office of Air and Radiation - Indoor Environments Division
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/schooldesign/

Healthy School Environments Assessment Tool (HealthySEAT)
HealthySEAT is a new software tool from EPA designed to help school districts conduct voluntary, customized self-assessments of their school facilities for environmental, health, and safety hazards.
Source: EPA - Office of Air and Radiation - Indoor Environments Division
http://www.epa.gov/schools

Pennsylvania Green Building Operations and Maintenance Manual
This manual for environmentally preferable operation and maintenance of government buildings and associated grounds is designed to help carry out the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Executive Order 1998-1 to "incorporate environmentally sustainable practices into [Executive Agencies'] ... operations."
Source: Pennsylvania Department of General Services' Property Management
http://www.dgs.state.pa.us/dgs/cwp/view.asp?Q=118184&A=363

California -- Sustainable Schools
This website provides a diverse collection of sustainable building resources that will help schools create high performance educational facilities that will ensure the optimal health and productivity of students and faculty.
Source: California Division of the State Architect
http://www.sustainableschools.dgs.ca.gov/sustainableschools/

NCEF Resource List: High Performance School Buildings
NCEF offers an annotated list of links and journal articles describing a sustainable approach to school building design, engineering, materials selection, energy-efficiency, lighting, waste management strategies, etc., also called "green design."
Source: National Institute of Building Sciences - National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities
http://www.edfacilities.org/rl/high_performance.cfm

NCEF- Healthy School Environments Resource List
National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities resource list of links, books, and journal articles on environmentally safe and healthy school buildings.
Source: National Institute of Building Sciences - National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities
http://www.edfacilities.org/rl/healthy_schools.cfm

California Portable Classrooms Study
The Air Resources Board (ARB) and Department of Health Services (DHS) completed a comprehensive study of the environmental health conditions in portable (relocatable) classrooms. This study investigated classrooms in kindergarten through 12th grade public schools and included a large representative sample.
Source: California Air Resources Board
http://www.arb.ca.gov/research/indoor/pcs/pcs.htm

Collaborative for High Performance Schools
The Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) aims to increase the energy efficiency of public schools in California by marketing information, service, and incentive programs directly to school districts and designers. The Collaborative's goal is to facilitate the design of high performance schools: environments that are not only energy efficient, but also healthy, comfortable, well lit, and contain the amenities needed for a quality education.
Source: Collaborative for High Performance Schools
http://www.chps.net/

New EPA Study: Travel and Environmental Implications of School Siting
"Travel and Environmental Implications of School Siting," released by the EPA on October 8, 2003, is the first study to empirically examine the relationship between school locations, the built environment around schools, how kids get to school, and the impact on air emissions of those travel choices.
Source: EPA -- Office of Policy, Economics and Innovation
http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/school_travel.htm

Managing Your Environmental Responsibilities: A Planning Guide for Construction and Development
EPA guidance manual that provides the construction industry comprehensive environmental information.
Source: EPA -- Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/publications/assistance/sectors/constructmyer/index.html

LEED for Schools
The LEED for Schools Rating System recognizes the unique nature of the design and construction of K-12 schools. Based on the LEED for New Construction rating system, it addresses issues such as classroom acoustics, master planning, mold prevention and environmental site assessment.
Source: U.S. Green Building Council
http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=1586

Portables Tool Kit: A toolkit for parents and school administrators for successful use of portable classrooms.
The Modular Building Institute (MBI) has created its own toolkit of materials that are available to any school district purchaser or facility administrator to help them secure and maintain facilities that provide an optimum learning environment.
Source: Modular Building Institute
http://mbinet.org/htmlPage.aspx?name=news22

Greening America's Schools: Costs and Benefits
This report is intended to answer this fundamental question: how much more do green schools cost, and is greening schools cost effective?
Source: Capital E
http://www.cap-e.com/ewebeditpro/items/O59F9819.pdf

Radon Prevention in the Design and Construction of Schools and Other Large Buildings
Guidance on the design and construction of radon-resistant school buildings.
Source: EPA - Office of Research and Development
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/schools/

High Performance School Design Online Training
Interactive courses on this site are offered free of charge as a public benefit for design and engineering professionals specializing in sustainable design for K-12 schools. High performance school design integrates daylighting, indoor air quality, and energy efficiency to build a school that runs efficiently, saves money, protects natural resources, and provides superior visual, acoustical, and thermal comfort.
Source: New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
http://www.hpschooldesigntraining.com/nyserda/home.jsp

Leading by Example: How EPA Incorporated Environmental Features into New Buildings
This publication provides two case studies to demonstrate how large building projects can cost-effectively incorporate environmental features while addressing the concerns unique to each site. The case studies describe how EPA balanced function, cost, and environmental impact while designing and constructing two new EPA facilities.
Source: EPA - Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics
http://www.epa.gov/oppt/epp/pubs/grnbldg.pdf

Energy Star for Schools
Through the Energy Star program, EPA partners with K-12 school districts, colleges, and universities across the country, providing technical support, guidance on financing options, and recognition for schools wanting to use energy more efficiently. Energy Star has coordinated with EPA's Indoor Air Quality program to address the overlap between energy efficiency upgrades and indoor environmental quality, and it has launched an energy performance rating tool in schools.
Source: EPA - Energy Star
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=k12_schools.bus_schoolsk12

Energy Star New Building Design Process
The New Building Design Guidance is a series of strategic checklists with related resources for each step in the design process. The strategic checklist is a management tool that outlines the necessary steps for your team to achieve its goals. It will help you understand what and why certain actions should occur in order to reach the desired outcome.
Source: EPA - Energy Star Hotline
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=new_bldg_design.new_bldg_design

National Compliance Assistance Clearinghouse
The National Compliance Assistance Clearinghouse is your guide to compliance information on the Internet. It provides quick access to compliance tools, contacts, and planned activities from across EPA as well as other compliance assistance providers.
Source: EPA - National Compliance Assistance Clearninghouse
http://cfpub1.epa.gov/clearinghouse/index.cfm?Tab=Home

Green Buildings Portal
Green or sustainable building is the practice of creating healthier and more resource-efficient models of construction, renovation, operation, maintenance, and demolition. EPA's Green Building web portal provides links to energy, waste, water, materials, and indoor environment resources.
Source: EPA-Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response - Office of Solid Waste
http://www.epa.gov/greenbuilding/

SunWise School Program
The SunWise School Program is an environmental and health education program that teaches children and their caregivers how to protect themselves from overexposure to the sun. SunWise partner schools sponsor classroom, school, and community activities that raise children's awareness of stratospheric ozone depletion, Ultraviolet radiation, and simple sun safety practices. The ultimate goal of this education is to encourage sustained sun-safe behaviors.
Source: EPA - SunWise School Program
http://www.epa.gov/sunwise/about.html

Energy Star Assesment of Building Performance
The assesment of a school's building peformance is a rating system that is used by EPA's national energy performance rating system to see if a school (K-12) may be eligible for ENERGY STAR.
Source: EPA - Energy Star
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=evaluate_performance.bus_portfoliomanager

National Best Practices Manual for Building High Performance Schools
Written specifically for architects and engineers, this manual is designed to help design or retrofit schools. This is a large document (8.2MB) and may take a few moments to download.
Source: Department of Energy - Office of Building Technology, State and Community Programs
http://www.eren.doe.gov/energysmartschools/pdfs/31545.pdf

Massachusetts - Green Schools Initiative
The goal of the Green Schools Initiative is to encourage school districts to construct or renovate school buildings that will cost less to operate and will provide healthier learning environments for students. This pilot program is an extraordinary opportunity for school districts planning new schools or major renovations to create more efficient facilities. The program will also help influence how future schools will be designed and built in Massachusetts.
Source: Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC)
http://www.mtpc.org/RenewableEnergy/green_schools.htm

Energy Star School Challenge
This Web site is aimed at helping you to use the Energy Star Program to begin evaluating your building's energy use through "benchmarking". It provides links to funding opportunities and technical expertise to help you upgrade your building and access to resources and tools for you to uncover and implement energy saving solutions. Also included are lesson suggestions for teachers that support Washington State Essential Learning Requirements.
Source: EPA Region 10 - Office for Innovation
http://yosemite1.epa.gov/r10/oi.nsf/webpage/energystarschools

Washington State School Health and Safety Program
The program provides consultation, technical assistance, and training to local health jurisdictions, schools, and parent groups on school health and safety issues.
Source: Washington State Department of Health - Office of Environmental Health & Safety
http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/ts/school.htm

Indiana - IDEM E-Newsletter for Indiana Educators
This newletter provides information on a range of environmental topics which schools must address.
Source: Indiana Department of Environmental Management
http://www.in.gov/idem/schoolnews

Energy Smart Schools
Energy smart schools provide more money for the classroom, a better learning environment, and increased energy awareness.
Source: Department of Energy - Office of Building Technology, State and Community Programs
http://www.eren.doe.gov/energysmartschools/

Removing PCBs from Light Fixtures: Protecting Students from Hidden Dangers
This site describes the hazards associated with aging pcb-containing light ballasts and proper replacement techniques.
Source: EPA Region 9 - Pollution Prevention Program
http://www.epa.gov/Region9/cross_pr/p2/projects/pcbs.html

The Green Rider
The purpose of the Green Rider is to provide information on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) programs that promote environmentally and economically sound building practices and energy efficiency. The Green Rider requires the offeror to document the evaluations of green practices and product selections to determine why specific concepts were or were not chosen.
Source: EPA Region 7 - Solid Waste & Pollution Prevention Branch
http://www.epa.gov/region7/p2/greenrider.pdf

Inventory of Federal School Environmental Health Activities
This inventory was prepared by the Schools Workgroup of the President's Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children and includes descriptions of major school related programs and activities of EPA and other Federal departments and Agencies.
Source: EPA -- President's Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children
http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/Inventory.htm/$file/Inventory.pdf

Kentucky Green and Healthy Schools
The Kentucky Green and Healthy Schools (KGHS) Program is a new, voluntary effort to empower students and staff with the tools needed to take action and make their school operate at peak efficiency.
Source: Kentucky Green and Healthy Schools
http://greenschools.ky.gov/

EPA New England's K-12 Schools Website
This site discusses efforts to improve coordination and integration amongst EPA's many schools related programs, and provides links to Regional topic specific web sites, such as: asbestos, diesel school buses, drinking water, environmental management systems, energy, indoor air quality, lead, mercury and teacher and student resources. Links to national websites are provided as well.
Source: EPA Region 1
http://www.epa.gov/ne/schools

The Sustainable Building Technical Manual: Green Building Design, Construction, and Operations
The Sustainable Building Technical Manual: Green Building Design, Construction, and Operations is one of the most comprehensive publications now available to help architects, developers, building owners, government officials, and others implement sustainable development practices.
Source: Department of Energy
http://www.sustainable.doe.gov/freshstart/articles/ptipub.htm

Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development
This Web site provides general information on the Department of Energy's Sustainable Development program and includes information on Green Buildings.
Source: Department of Energy
http://www.sustainable.doe.gov/

Federal Energy Management Program
FEMP's Financing Team provides policy guidance and technical and contracting assistance related to private sector funding for Federal energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water conservation projects. This section contains guidance on how agencies can fund these projects.
Source: Department of Energy - Federal Energy Management Program
http://www.eren.doe.gov/femp/financealt.html

NCEF Resource List: Build New or Renovate?
NCEF offers an annotated list of links, books, and journal articles on how education agencies decide whether to renovate existing school buildings in need of repair or construct new facilities.
Source: National Institute of Building Sciences - National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities
http://www.edfacilities.org/rl/build_or_renovate.cfm

NCEF Resource List: Classroom Design
NCEF offers an annotated list of links, books, and journal articles addressing indoor air quality issues in K-12 school buildings, including building materials, maintenance practices, renovation procedures and ventilation systems. This specific site highlights various resources on classroom design.
Source: National Institute of Building Sciences - National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities
http://www.edfacilities.org/rl/classroom_design.cfm

Rebuild America K-12 Schools
Rebuild America, a Department of Energy program, provides business and technical tools, customized assistance, and information on alternative financing mechanisms to enable building owners and community leaders to successfully plan and carry out building energy projects that improve building performance, reduce energy use and costs, and promote local economic development.
Source: Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Clearinghouse
http://www.eren.doe.gov/buildings/rebuild/

Illinois -- Greening Schools
Greening Schools offers FREE technical assistance, workshops for teachers, administrators and facility managers, and on-line resources related to pollution prevention for all Illinois schools.
Source: Illinois Waste Management and Research Center
http://www.greeningschools.org

California Evaluating and Cleaning Up School Sites
DTSC's Schools Property Evaluation and Cleanup Division is responsible for assessing, investigating and cleaning-up proposed school property sites. The Division ensures that selected properties are free of contamination or, if the properties were previously contaminated, that they have been cleaned-up to a level that protects the students and faculty who will occupy the new school.
Source: California - Department of Toxic Substances Control
http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/Schools/

Washington - Seattle Partnership for Resource-Efficient Schools
Seattle Public Schools has organized the Building Excellence program to head this ambitious capital works campaign. A major focus of Building Excellence is to ensure decisions made during the design and construction of these buildings strike a balance between the values of fiscal prudence and providing optimal learning environments for students.
Source: Washington - Seattle Public Utilities
http://www.seattleschools.org/area/facilities/SchoolProjects/BEXIIschools.xml

Massachusetts Healthy Schools Web site
The Massachusetts Healthy Schools Web site is a resource for promoting healthy indoor air environments and environmentally sustainable school buildings in Massachusetts.
Source: Massachusetts Public Health Association - Massachusetts Healthy Schools Network
http://www.mphaweb.org/pol_schools.html

Pennsylvania Model Green Buildings
The Council provides information on green building, including: architecture, interior design, and planning. Links to other sustainable design resources are also provided.
Source: Pennsylvania Governor's Green Government Council
http://www.gggc.state.pa.us/gggc/cwp/view.asp?a=3&q=151742

Tennessee Green Schools Resource Guide
Provides a list of national resources pertaining to Schools organized by various topics: General Pollution Prevention, Energy Conservation, Land & Water Conservation, Clean Air, Hazardous Materials Management, Waste Reduction, Green Activities, and Environmental Education K-12.
Source: Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation's Division of Community Assistance - Tennessee Pollution Prevention Partnership
http://www.state.tn.us/environment/ea/tp3/tp3grschools.php

Indiana's 5-Star Environmental Recognition for Day Care Facilities
Program to identify and recognize "green" day care facilities. Includes a multi media self assessment that includes air, water, safety, hygiene, etc.
Source: Indiana Department of Environmental Management
http://www.IN.gov/idem/kids/5star/index.html

Indoor Health and Productivity Project
The IHP aims to develop a better understanding of the relationship between the physical attributes of schools and other indoor environments.
Source: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
http://www.dc.lbl.gov/IHP/

ebuild
On-line resource that provides builders, architects, remodelers, subcontractors, dealers, and homeowners with access to nearly all types of building products.
Source: ebuild
http://www.ebuild.com/

Building Materials for the Environmentally Hypersensitive
This practical sourcebook is for persons with environmental hypersensitivities, serious asthma or allergies, and for those who build housing for them.
Source: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/cgi-bin/webc.exe/boutique/en/st_prod.html?p_prodid=3&p_catid=1);

BuildingGreen.com
Buildings have a tremendous impact on the environment--both during construction and through their operation. "Green building" is a loosely defined collection of land-use, building design, and construction strategies that reduces these environmental impacts.
Source: Environmental Building News - BuildingGreen, Inc.
http://www.buildinggreen.com/

Meeting the Challenge: How Energy Performance Contracting Can Help Schools Provide Comfortable, Healthy, and Productive Learning Environments
A book available for purchase that explains how energy performance contracts can help schools meet the challenge of providing comfortable, healthy, and productive learning environments without a negative impact on the school's budget. Sample forms are also included to further simplify the process.
Source: National Association of Energy Service Companies
http://www.naesco.org/bookstore/default.htm

School Construction News Online
An online magazine for design, construction, management, and operations.
Source: School Construction News Online
http://schoolconstructionnews.com/

Green Building Source
The Oikos Web site provides links to information on sustainable design, green building, renewable energy, and more.
Source: Oikos - Iris Communications, Inc.
http://oikos.com/

Green Seal
Green Seal is the independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the environment by promoting the manufacture and sale of environmentally responsible consumer products. It sets environmental standards and awards a "Green Seal of Approval" to products that cause less harm to the environment than other similar products.
Source: Green Seal
http://www.greenseal.org/

High Performance School Buildings
The Sustainable Buildings Industry Council has developed a High Performance School Buildings (HPSB) campaign to generate interest among school building owners and designers in building a new generation of high performance, sustainable school facilities. Working in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and key schools organizations. The campaign includes workshops, a Resource Guide, and policy analysis.
Source: Sustainable Buildings Industry Council
http://www.sbicouncil.org/workshops_hpsb.htm

New York High Performance Building Guidelines
These guidelines outline a range of 'best practices' for planning, designing, constructing and operating healthier, more energy and resource-efficient facilities.
Source: NYC Department of Design and Construction
http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/ddc/html/highperf.html

Minnesota Sustainable Design Guide
The Minnesota Sustainable Design Guide is a tool to learn about sustainability, manage design decisions, and integrate sustainable design into the building design and operation processes for new and renovated facilities.
Source: University of Minnesota College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture - CALA Building Research
http://www.msdg.umn.edu/

California's Coalition for Adequate School Housing
California's Coalition for Adequate School Housing (C.A.S.H.) since 1978 has promoted, developed and supported the enactment of new statewide and local funding alternatives for public K-12 school construction, maintenance, and modernization.
Source: California's Coalition for Adequate School Housing
http://www.cashnet.org/

Green Schools Project
The Green Schools program helps schools use energy efficiently through building retrofits, changes in operational and maintenance routines, and changes in the behavior of building users.
Source: Alliance to Save Energy - Green Schools
http://www.ase.org/greenschools/index.htm

U.S. Green Building Council Resources
The U.S. Green Building Council is the nation's foremost coalition of leaders from across the building industry working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy places to live and work. Provided here are resources available to the general public. Some are free and some for purchase.
Source: U.S. Green Building Council
http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=20

Council for Educational Facility Planners
Council for Educational Facility Planners is a membership organization that fosters, promotes and disseminates best practices in school planning, maintenance and operations.
Source: Council for Educational Facility Planners
http://www.cefpi.org/