Operations

Transitioning to eco-friendly propane school buses may help districts save money and safeguard student health. Nearly every top school bus market now operates propane-fueled vehicles in its fleets, including Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. “The strong proponents say that it is a cost-effective change that along with saving money provides environmental benefits” says Mark […]

The earthquake-susceptible Seaside School District in Oregon—which covers the communities of Gearhart, Cannon Beach and Seaside—faces an estimated $99.7 million bond referendum November 8 to move its schools out of a tsunami zone on the Pacific Ocean. Seaside has three schools with 1,500 students in the tsunami inundation zone, says Douglas C. Dougherty, former schools […]

The fault line running along the Cascade Mountains from British Columbia to northern California is long overdue for an earthquake many scientists believe is all but inevitable. Engineering studies have shown that if a major quake does strike, it could take weeks to repair utilities, six months or more to restore water and years to […]

Historic schools in Boston, built before World War II, are finally receiving a facelift. On the other side of the country, Carmel USD in California found that controlling and maintaining lighting in nine sites spread over 600 square miles can save energy and maintenance hours.And a 10-year deferred maintenance plan in Sycamore Community Schools in […]

Biology students in 13 Howard County public high schools have a new tool to study the Chesapeake Bay watershed. By using the survey tool, students help environmental scientists keep an eye on pollution and other factors that might harm the bay or its creatures, including Maryland’s renowned blue crabs. Howard County sits southwest of Baltimore, […]

Invasive fish species can harm Florida’s waterways. And now students from Miami-Dade County’s BioTECH @ Richmond Heights work with Zoo Miami scientists to monitor the invaders and their effects on local lakes. The conservation-biology-focused STEM high school—which opened in 2014-15 with help from an $11 million federal grant—focuses on zoology, botany, genetics, ecology, chemistry and […]