School Facilities & Design

Explainer

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What to Know About PCBs in Schools: A Visual Primer
Key facts about a toxic chemical that continues to contaminate older schools.
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Collage of school construction, blueprints and money images. School funding, bonds and construction.
Collage by Vanessa Solis/Education Week + Getty
Budget & Finance Voter Support Dips as Schools Seek to Borrow More Money
Voters will decide on 373 school district bond issues this November. What's behind the requests?
Grace Jiang, September 21, 2026
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5 min read
HOUSTON, TEXAS - JUNE 26: Broken water fountains are shown at Key Middle School on Wednesday, June 26, 2024 in Houston. School leaders showed some of the infrastructure problems in their buildings that would be addressed in a likely vote on the Houston ISD school bond in November.
Broken water fountains are shown at Key Middle School on June 26, 2024, in Houston. A fifth of school districts had to call off classes during the 2024-25 school year due to facility problems, including plumbing emergencies and excessive heat and cold.
Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images
School & District Management Building Problems Forced Students to Lose 3.5 Million Days of Learning in 2024-25
Schools called off class for 2 million students that year due to plumbing emergencies and other problems.
Arianna Prothero, September 14, 2026
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5 min read
Education Funding Video Tornado Threats Are a Constant. But Funding for a Safe Room Is Lagging
A school district has waited four years and counting to begin work on a tornado shelter funded with federal dollars.
Mark Lieberman & Yi-Jo Shen, June 11, 2026
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1 min read
Wed., May 20, 2026, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET
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A new gym under construction in Wisconsin's Cuba City school district, pictured April 16, 2026, would have also served as a tornado shelter, thanks to an $8.8 million FEMA grant. But nearly four years after it was awarded the grant, the district still doesn't have the money.
Arthur Maiorella for Education Week
Education Funding A School Wants a Tornado Shelter. A Federal Grant Keeps Getting in the Way
The district still can't spend a FEMA grant it was originally awarded in 2022.
Mark Lieberman, May 1, 2026
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9 min read
Cassatt mural on February 2026.
The reimagined “Modern Woman” mural, inspired by artist Mary Cassatt, is seen in February 2026 at Aveson’s temporary campus in Pasadena, Calif. Created by students displaced by the Eaton fire, the mural incorporates imagery from their former Altadena campus and serves as a symbol of healing, memory, and community after the wildfire.
Studio Tutto
Families & the Community Their School Burned Down. Then They Picked Up Their Paintbrushes
A group of 15 students in California used art to celebrate and grieve the school they lost to fire.
Olina Banerji, April 20, 2026
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4 min read
Fifth-grader Willow Miller raises the U.S. and Nevada flags in a daily flag-raising ceremony to start the school day in Good Springs, Nev., on March 30, 2022. Teacher Abbey Crouse assists at right. The school, along with an elementary, middle and high school in neighboring Sandy Valley, are the only schools in the mostly urban Clark County School District to meet just four days a week.
A student raises the U.S. and Nevada flags to start the school day on March 30, 2022, in Goodsprings, Nev., where the elementary school meets four days week. A growing number of schools have turned to four-day weeks over the past two decades, sometimes for budget reasons, other times for teacher recruitment and retention. But the payoff isn't always clear-cut.
Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP
School & District Management Explainer The 4-Day School Week: What Research Shows About the Alternative Schedule
More schools have shifted to the four-day week. How common is it? Does it save money and attract teachers?
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, April 9, 2026
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7 min read
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, center, arrives for a tree planting ceremony at the Department of Education to announce plans to create the Green Ribbon Schools competition which will "raise environmental literacy," inside and outside the classroom and reduce a school's environmental footprint, on April 26, 2011. A Texas oak tree was planted at the ceremony.
Then-Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, center, arrives for a tree-planting ceremony on April 26, 2011, at the U.S. Department of Education to announce plans to create the Green Ribbon Schools competition. The Trump administration ended the recognition—which honored schools for reducing their environmental impact and offering hands-on environmental education—last year.
Tom Williams/Roll Call via Getty Images
Federal Ed. Dept. Quietly Ends an Honor for Schools’ Environmental Work
Applicants found out when the online portal for award submissions never opened.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, March 13, 2026
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5 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week
Teaching Letter to the Editor Learning Spaces Should Meet the Needs of All Students
Better classroom design can help neurodivergent learners thrive, says this letter to the editor.
January 30, 2026
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1 min read
20260122 AMX US NEWS CPS CANCELS CLASS FRIDAY DUE 1 TB
A crossing guard assists students as they arrive for classes at Chalmers STEAM Elementary school on Jan. 22, 2026, in Chicago. Extreme cold hitting much of the United States in the coming days could test schools' aging infrastructure and force school closures. Chicago Public Schools called off classes for Friday, Jan. 23.
Antonio Perez/ Chicago Tribune
School & District Management A Cold Front Is Sweeping the Country. Can Schools' Heating Keep Up?
A spate of frigid temperatures across much of the country will present a test for schools' aging heating systems.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, January 22, 2026
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5 min read
Principal Andrew Zanghi carries a table down a hallway at Woodmore Elementary @ Meadowbrook on August 15, 2025 in Bowie, Maryland. In a so-called ‘swing move,’ Woodmore Elementary has relocated to Meadowbrook Elementary school until Summer 2027.
Principal Andrew Zanghi carries a table down a hallway at Woodmore Elementary @ Meadowbrook on August 15, 2025, in Bowie, Maryland. In a so-called ‘swing move,’ Woodmore Elementary has relocated to Meadowbrook Elementary school until Summer 2027.
Pete Kiehart for Education Week
School & District Management How Schools Make 'Swing Spaces' Feel Like Home
School leaders share tips for managing temporary “swing spaces” during renovations, from early planning to making spaces feel like home.
Ciara Meyer, August 15, 2025
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4 min read
A Midland ISD employee walks past the front of Legacy High School on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, in Midland.
A Midland ISD employee walks past the front of Legacy High School on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, in Midland, Texas. The district's board voted to restore a Confederate general's name to two of its schools.
Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune
Equity & Diversity Another District Restores a Confederate Name to Its Schools
The district dropped Robert E. Lee's name from two buildings in 2020. The Lee name will be back for the 2026-27 year.
Brooke Schultz, August 13, 2025
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5 min read
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In this Aug. 30, 2005 file photo, people walk through floodwaters on Canal Street in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts. On seeing this scene one day after the storm hit land, photographer Bill Haber recalls, "Thats when we really realized how bad it was, and we had no idea how bad it would get."
Bill Haber/AP
Special Report Katrina at 20: Voices of Two Career Educators
Katrina at 20: Voices of Two Career Educators
July 25, 2025
An elementary school damaged by the Eaton Fire is seen in Altadena, Calif., on Jan. 19, 2025.
An elementary school damaged by the Eaton Fire is seen in Altadena, Calif., on Jan. 19, 2025.
Ringo Chiu via AP
School & District Management Opinion Schools Are Vulnerable to Climate Disasters. Principals Aren’t Ready
When an emergency forces schools to close, school leaders need more than just moral courage.
Casey Cirullo Upson, July 25, 2025
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4 min read