When Arthur Stellar came to Massachusetts' Taunton Public Schools in 2005, he knew that part of his job as superintendent would be cost cutting. That's no easy task without sacrificing the quality of education the district provided. How to decrease what you spend without eliminating vital resources? One way, Stellar says, is to assess what you're…

In 2009, a replication of the Pool study was conducted. This study, however, focused on the school systems classified as Class III districts. Nebraska has 252 Class III districts. Compared with Class II (21), Class IV (1), and Class V(1) districts, the Class III districts offer a wide array of school settings, from urban to extremely rural, and…

In February 2007, an international panel of 1,000 scientists concluded unequivocally that humans are responsible for the greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the earth's climate and could eventually trigger catastrophic global weather changes. Since the problem is global, environmentalists say finding a solution must also be a worldwide…

Understanding the importance of good indoor air quality (IAQ) in schools is the backbone of developing an effective Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) program. Poor IAQ can lead to a large variety of health problems and potentially affect comfort, concentration, and staff/student performance. In recognition of tight school budgets, this guidance is designed…

Ground-coupled heating-cooling systems (GCHCSs) exchange heat between the built environment and the subsurface using pipework buried in trenches or boreholes. If heat pumps in GCHCSs are powered by "green electricity," they offer genuine carbon-free heating-cooling; for this reason, there has been a surge in the technology in recent…

This article discusses why building commissioning for education institutions is needed. School facilities owners and operators should confirm whether their building systems are performing as expected. The more comprehensive the confirmation process, the greater opportunity there is for reducing operations and maintenance costs, and improving…

Employees in technical firms, like garages, need more and more formations. Due to the very fast innovation in technology, lifelong learning is a real need for these labour forces. On the other hand, there are the needed formations very specialized and expensive. Another problem employers faced in these economical sectors in Western Europe is the…

This proceedings volume of InCoTEPD 2018 covers many ideas for handling a wide variety of challenging issues in the field of education. The outstanding ideas dealing with these issues result in innovation of the system. There are many innovation strategies resulting from recent research that are discussed in this book. These strategies will become…

Educators and administrators are looking for new ways to boost student performance and eliminate barriers to learning. When working to improve the classroom environment, facility managers typically target the physical structure, temperature controls, humidity levels and ventilation. Many heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) consultants…

Secondary vocational-technical education programs in Mississippi are faced with many challenges resulting from sweeping educational reforms at the national and state levels. Schools and teachers are increasingly being held accountable for providing true learning activities to every student in the classroom. This accountability is measured through…

In this article, the author discusses the role of window films in enhancing indoor air quality in schools. Historically, window film has been used to reduce temperatures in buildings prone to overheating. Too much solar energy entering through windows makes occupants uncomfortable and air conditioning more costly. Film has been a simple solution…

In recent years, scores of educators and designers have been won over to the view that natural light--provided by the sun instead of bulbs or tubes--is desirable and beneficial for education facilities. Studies that show students performing better in classrooms that have the right kinds of daylighting bear out the intuitive beliefs of many…

The Department of Education has undertaken an ambitious effort to develop statewide career and technical education skill standards. The standards in this document are for Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (HVAC&R) programs and are designed to clearly state what the student should know and be able to do upon completion of…