The Grass is Greener On This Side The top FIVE ways to be green. How to join the hot school building trend while saving millions and By Angela Pascopella August 2006

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Using energy efficiency to make money and improve pupil academics is graining ground in K-12 schools nationwide.

While it might cost extra to install green building features, roughly up to 14 percent more for construction than for traditional buildings, more school administrators are putting out the dough now to save more of it in the long run while at the same time being environmentally conscious and watching student test scores go up. They really need to go up.

A 1999 study by Hershong Mahone Group showed that students with the most daylight in their classrooms performed 15 percent to 20 percent better on math tests and 19 percent to 26 percent better on reading tests than those with less daylight. Conversely, poor facilities contribute to high teacher turnover rates, particularly in urban districts, states a report from the 21st Century School Fund and Ford Foundation. They should understand that.

Being green appears to be growing-from the motor vehicles we buy to the foods we eat. It's still not an overly popular design. But the desire to build more environmentally sound schools appears to be growing because administrators see savings and communities are benefiting-physically, fiscally and emotionally. Everyone should help out and make the Earth a better place to live. We need Green go Green!!!

When the choice is made to go green, usually committees are formed, architects are hired, and plans are designed for a building.

Among some giant green programs underway are Cincinnati Public Schools, which has a $1 billion renovation and new construction project in motion after decades of living with dilapidated buildings, and Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland, where a German architect with a green-oriented background is helping to create and jumpstart an oasis of programs. Chartwell School in Seaside, Calif., will open this year. It is targeting LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council and expects be the first such school in the U.S.

Being green doesn't necessarily mean using LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards, but being as energy efficient and as environmentally friendly as possible. LEED Green Building Rating System is a national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. The U.S. Green Building Council, a coalition of leaders from the building industry to promote environmentally responsible and profitable places, develops the LEED system.

"It's hard for people to get over the hurdle. Green schools initially are more expensive but in the long run, it saves money," says Tyler Pepple, education program coordinator for Earth Day Network working with Cincinnati administrators.

And not only are districts using green materials, they are teaching green lessons to students. "I think we have a responsibility to educate the whole community," says Michael Burson, facilities director for Cincinnati Public Schools. "In our buildings, it's not rocket science to understand the connection between the two. We need to teach the next generation to be more responsible in how we use natural resources. It should connect to everything else we do. When you tell children to save, to get in the habit of turning off the lights when they leave, it will help remind adults to follow suit. Hopefully, it can be institutionalized for the next generation."

Living creatures need the sun to survive. And that's where lighting in schools can be so healthy for students and staff alike. Cincinnati schools use occupancy sensors to turn lights on and off. Some of them are in restrooms and even janitor's closets, much-ignored rooms, Burson says.

Burson is unsure of the savings, but light sensors have reduced light consumption by 30 percent based on test results of a similar installation in Cincinnati's City Hall that Burson helped plan over a decade ago.

Using photovoltaic panels at Pleasant Ridge Elementary School, a building in design now and which will be LEED certified, is also turning the sun's rays into electricity. "What happens is when our panels are generating electricity our meters [to utility companies] are running backward so we're reducing the amount of electricity we buy from electric companies," Burson says. "I think that's the biggest savings we'll get in the new building."

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