For 20 years, the author has promoted constructing today's schools with the future in mind, yet as many school districts begin planning for the year 2050, he is starting to think this foresight/forethought might actually be a distracting course of action. Some districts may try to plan so far into the future that they neglect the present. But,…

This essay reviews two books on Julius Rosenwald and the Rosenwald Fund and places them within the historiography of the Fund. "Julius Rosenwald: The Man Who Built Sears, Roebuck and Advanced the Cause of Black Education in the American South," is a biography written by Peter M. Ascoli. The book entitled "The Rosenwald Schools of…

Schools and universities have to confront countless problems that threaten to divert them from their primary function: educating children. Insufficient funding, subpar facilities, lack of community support, dissatisfied employees and dysfunctional board members are just some of the obstacles that can prevent an education institution from achieving…

The 24-acre site south of Wilshire Boulevard in the Koreatown section of Los Angeles signifies different things to different people. To those with fond memories of the golden era of Hollywood glamour, the site is where starlets were discovered, some of the first Academy Award ceremonies were held, and where the Rat Pack hung out. To those…

The federal government has traditionally given local school districts an indirect subsidy by allowing them to issue tax-exempt bonds. Because the bondholders pay no tax on the interest income, they are willing to take a bond bearing interest at, say, 4.5% rather than 6%. Such lower interest is great for the school district because it saves the…

With detailed information about the costs and benefits of potential green investments, educational facilities can effectively evaluate which initiatives will ultimately provide the greatest results over the short and long term. Based on its overall goals, every school, college, or university will have different values and therefore different…

This article seeks to augment an emerging interest in education policy research in enactment theorising, to explicitly consider the role and contribution of materiality in this theorising. Guided by the notion of policy "matters," the article takes as its empirical context a major policy initiative, the Building the Education Revolution…

When one thinks of 21st century schools, one thinks of geometric modern architecture, sustainable building materials, and high-tech modular classrooms. It's rare, though, that a district has the space or the money to build that school from the ground up. Instead, the challenge for most is the transformation of the 20th century architecture to…

With unemployment rising and the public more concerned about the economy than at any other time in recent memory, the idea of a municipality deciding to spend millions of dollars to build or refurbish a school seems an uphill challenge to say the least. In the best of times, voter approval for school construction projects is difficult to get;…

Even before the state fire marshal ordered the Somersworth (N.H.) School District in 2007 to abandon the top two floors of Hilltop Elementary School because of safety concerns, folks in the city of 12,000 had been debating whether the aging facility should be replaced--and how to pay for it. Finally, in February 2009, the city council approved…

Most educational institutions have faced the decision whether to demolish, abandon or sell a facility. This article discusses how institutions can decide whether to renovate or build new. The author suggests to develop a campus- or districtwide master plan. A long-range master plan includes assessments of deferred maintenance, educational…

In the late 1990s, Fulton County Schools in Atlanta were looking at average enrollment growth of more than 2,500 students a year and a new source of significant revenue to drive its capital improvement program. With funding from Georgia's new special purpose local option sales tax, or SPLOST, for school capital needs, total revenue from the…

The Yakutia Republic is currently working to update its early childhood development (ECD) system. Its goal is to ensure a high quality environment for early learning and child care and to enable higher enrolment levels. Currently, a high priority for the Government of Yakutia is to increase access to pre-school education, given the significant…

Step into a classroom in the 21st century, and the odds are it won't look all that different from one in the 20th century. One decade into the 2000s, many schools and universities have been frustrated in their efforts to upgrade their facilities and resources because of shrinking budgets. But even with the ailing economy, some education…

For many schools and universities, constructing a new facility isn't always a viable option. The envisioned facility may be too costly for a school system struggling with budget deficits. Maybe administrators can't find enough land in the right area to accommodate the type of facility needed. In some cases, the residents and businesses surrounding…