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…

In this testimony, Patricia K. Whitefoot talks on behalf of the National Indian Education Association with regard to the President Obama's Fiscal Year 2011 budget request. She notes that Native education still faces enormous challenges, including severe underfunding. Far too many students and schools continue to experience abject failure. Under…

In the era of globalization, China, Korea and Japan have put forward favorable policies to develop higher education. The essay is aimed to make a comparison of their various policies. The conclusion is that, when facing similar forces and problems against the background of globalization, the guidelines and goals of the key construction projects in…

The Alpha point of the authors' life as a Montessori educator began in 1959, when he was a graduate student studying philosophy at Fordham University in the Bronx, New York. While studying the works of the great American philosopher William James, the author came across the writings of Maria Montessori and immediately became captivated by her…

In this testimony, Dr. Willard Sakiestewa Gilbert talks on behalf of the National Indian Education Association with regard to the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) and challenges facing BIE schools in improving student achievement. Founded in 1969, the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) is the largest organization in the nation dedicated…

This paper details typical construction errors that occurred during the building of new media laboratories at the University of Missouri at Kansas City. Also defined are the steps and guidelines that need to be taken to protect specialized media facility designs and specifications from compromise or deletion by general project architects,…

This report examines "prevailing wage" and school construction costs in Washington state by first examining 1985 through 1999 data on the state's school construction financing levels, the percentage of local share of funding, comparisons of average actual square foot cost versus the state's area cost allowance, and bond election…

A growing school population and deteriorating facilities are among the problems faced by the nation's educational system. Finding solutions to both the overcrowding and the crumbling condition of this nation's schools has fueled a bit of a construction boom, first among colleges and now in the nation's school districts. Within different states and…

Construction management on educational facility projects provides boards of education with documentation showing the project is on track. Eight "myths" surrounding construction management are explained. (MLF)

This paper discusses the policy and political issues surrounding school construction, and it illustrates how infrastructure banks would work to address this challenge. The paper explores the problems of overcrowding and crumbling schools, details the struggle many communities and states have in expanding their efforts to solve these problems, and…

Except for unusually large and complicated school building projects, it is more cost-effective to use consultants and in-house personnel for project administration than it is to retain an outside construction-management firm. (MLF)

The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education provides his viewpoints on maintaining strong public support for public education by reaching out to every part of the community. The Secretary urges Congress to act on school modernization. He discusses the emerging focus of architecture that now creates schools as community learning centers and…

Reviews state and local options for financing construction of public school facilities, including state grants or loans, or school districts' use of current revenues, reserve funds, bonds, or shared facilities. Assesses current problems involving voter disapproval of school bonds, financing and construction costs, equalization litigation,…

Holds that "improvement" is an important theme for understanding the early history of public schooling in Buffalo. Describes Oliver Steele's strategy for linking public schooling with the concept of "public improvement" and argues that an unfortunate part of Steele's legacy was the idea that a suitable building guaranteed a…

Nair discusses the "Learning Street," a now-frequent concept of modern school planning and design in terms of the multiple modalities of learning that today's schools must nurture. The author lists 18, including: (1) Independent study; (2) Peer tutoring; (3) Team collaborative work in small and mid-sized groups; (4) One-on-one learning with the…