School Facilities & Design

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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.
Concept of counting down days. Hand is marking out dates on monthly calendar.
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School & District Management It's Not Just Snow Days: How Can Districts Work Extreme Weather Into Their Calendars?
Extreme weather that's becoming more frequent is challenging districts with novel choices about when it's safe to stay open.
Caitlynn Peetz, March 7, 2024
5 min read
School Renovation in Washington Heights, Chicago
E+ / Getty
School & District Management The Average U.S. School Building Dates Back to the End of the Vietnam War
New federal data highlight widely varying ages and offerings in school buildings nationwide.
Mark Lieberman, February 15, 2024
4 min read
LeeAnn Kittle, executive director of sustainability at Denver Public Schools, helped develop projects such as the solar canopy in the parking lot of Northeast Early College in Denver.
LeeAnn Kittle, the executive director of sustainability for the Denver school district, stands by a solar canopy in the parking lot of Northeast Early College, one of the district's high schools.
Rachel Woolf for Education Week
School & District Management Q&A This Leader Channeled Students' Climate Anxiety Into Action. See How
LeeAnn Kittle partnered with student advocates to champion environmental sustainability in Denver's public schools.
Arianna Prothero, February 5, 2024
3 min read
LeeAnn Kittle, executive director of sustainability at Denver Public Schools, right, talks to Amelia Fernández Rodríguez, 16, a junior at DSST: Conservatory Green High School on Jan. 12, 2024. Rodríguez and her peers lead “DPS Students for Climate Action,” and were filming a video at Denver East High School on creating a sustainability club.
LeeAnn Kittle, the executive director of sustainability at Denver Public Schools, right, talks to Amelia Fernández Rodríguez, 16, a junior at DSST: Conservatory Green High School. Kittle partners with Rodríguez and other students on efforts to make the district's schools more sustainable.
Rachel Woolf for Education Week
School & District Management Leader To Learn From This Leader Partners With Students to Build a More Sustainable Future for Her District
Under LeeAnn Kittle's leadership, the Denver district has implemented an ambitious climate action plan.
Arianna Prothero, February 5, 2024
10 min read
The solar panel array at Sheridan Elementary School in Sheridan, Ind., pictured on Aug. 24, 2017. School districts installing solar are trying to complete their project's before Dec. 31, ahead of changes in Indiana's net metering law.
The solar panel array at Sheridan Elementary School in Sheridan, Ind., pictured on Aug. 24, 2017. FEMA will now reimburse schools rebuilding from disasters for the cost of solar panels and other energy-efficient upgrades.
Don Knight/The Herald-Bulletin via AP
School & District Management FEMA Will Pay Schools Affected By Disasters for Energy-Efficient Upgrades
Schools can now get funds to cover the costs of solar panels and other energy-efficient systems as they recover from natural disasters.
Mark Lieberman, January 31, 2024
3 min read
Gov. Brad Little provides his vision for the 2024 Idaho Legislative session during his State of the State address on Jan. 8, 2024, at the Statehouse in Boise.
Idaho Gov. Brad Little outlines his priorities during his State of the State address before lawmakers on Jan. 8, 2024, at the capitol in Boise.
Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman via AP
States What's on the K-12 Agenda for States This Year? 4 Takeaways
Reading instruction, private school choice, and teacher pay are among the issues leading governors' K-12 education agendas.
Mark Lieberman, January 30, 2024
6 min read
Composite of worn chain link fence with lock, caution school crossing sign and dilapidated school in background.
Illustration by Liz Yap/Education Week (Images: iStock/Getty)
School & District Management Pressure to Close Schools Is Ramping Up. What Districts Need to Know
Falling enrollments and tight budgets are prompting communities to consider school closures. But doing so is never simple.
Mark Lieberman, January 24, 2024
8 min read
Conceptual of kids running at school, infrared thermal treatment.
Liz Yap/Education Week and JackF/iStock/Getty
School & District Management It's Not Too Early to Plan for Summer: How Schools Can Prepare for Extreme Heat
Take steps now to prepare schools for what could be another stifling summer.
Madeline Will, January 3, 2024
5 min read
Ash covers the desks at Cardinal Newman High School where the Tubbs fire destroyed part of the school in Santa Rosa, Calif., on Oct. 9, 2017.
Ash covers the desks at Cardinal Newman High School where the Tubbs fire destroyed part of the school in Santa Rosa, Calif., on Oct. 9, 2017. Forty percent of principals in a recent EdWeek Research Center survey said the buildings where they most often work lack fire sprinkler systems.
Gabrielle Lurie/San Francisco Chronicle via AP
School & District Management From Our Research Center Thousands of Schools Don't Have Working Fire Sprinklers
School buildings constructed before sprinkler mandates now face prohibitively steep costs to install crucial fire-prevention systems.
Mark Lieberman, January 2, 2024
4 min read
Conceptual illustration of business people, a roll of paper, and the people using computers, a magnifying glass and telescope with the year 2023 as a shadow below them.
Liz Yap/Education Week and iStock/ Getty.
Budget & Finance 2023 in School Finance: Legal Fights, School Choice Debates, Persistent Inequities
Highlights of the year in school finance coverage include school funding lawsuits, private school choice legislation, and the looming financial storms brewing.
Mark Lieberman, December 22, 2023
6 min read
In this Jan. 4, 2019 photo, workers and other officials gather outside the Sky Valley Education Center school in Monroe, Wash., before going inside to collect samples for testing. The samples were tested for PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, as well as dioxins and furans. A lawsuit filed on behalf of several families and teachers claims that officials failed to adequately respond to PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, in the school.
In this Jan. 4, 2019 photo, workers and other officials gather outside the Sky Valley Education Center school in Monroe, Wash., before going inside to collect samples for testing. The samples were tested for PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, as well as dioxins and furans. A jury this week ordered Bayer, the company that owns the manufacturer of PCBs, to pay $857 million to families affected by PCB exposure at Sky Valley.
Ted S. Warren/AP
Law & Courts Producers of Toxic Chemicals in Schools Owe Hundreds of Millions in Damages, Jury Says
Bayer, the company that owns Monsanto, owes more than $850 million to parents and children who suffered prolonged PCB exposure.
Mark Lieberman, December 19, 2023
3 min read
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Designing Effective K-12 Spaces: Expanding the Potential for Learning
Learning is no longer limited to conventional layouts, and modern classrooms look nothing like those of just a generation ago. Supporting a 21st century approach to education means encouraging more collaboration and meaningful connections for students.
Content provided by The HON Company
Image of a blueprint and a dollar symbol.
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School Choice & Charters Charter Schools' Building Struggles Highlight Lingering Tensions With Local Districts
Charter leaders say they spend an outsized portion of their budgets on fixing buildings.
Mark Lieberman, October 26, 2023
7 min read
Vintage metal water fountain in a public school changing room.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
School & District Management A New (and Cheaper) Approach to Lead-Free Drinking Water in Schools
Schools in Michigan will be required to install filters on heavily used water fountains, then test to make sure they're working.
Mark Lieberman, October 16, 2023
6 min read