From Washington state to Florida to Colorado, more schools are being built with sustainability in mind. These environmentally friendly buildings take into account everything from natural lighting to water conservation鈥攅ven the landscaping outside. But how does changing the physical environment impact the learning environment?
To understand this question we visited six-year-old in Fort Collins. It鈥檚 the most energy efficient school in Colorado, according to Poudre School District officials. The school is also of interest to researchers like Stephanie Barr, an associate at Colorado State University鈥檚
As districts construct more sustainable schools, Barr is trying to understand how the buildings affect students. To learn what鈥檚 unique about Kinard, we first visit an empty science classroom on the second floor. It has two sets of windows along one wall.
Even on a cloudy day, natural light pours into the room.
鈥淭he bottom set is specifically for views,鈥� says Barr. 鈥淏ut then the top ones are for harvesting daylight. They combat the glare by having those louver systems.鈥�
In order to get the light to the farthest places in the classroom away from the windows, architects used something called a solar tube, which projects light beams down from the ceiling. When it comes to natural light, Barr says has studied its connection to student performance in subjects like math.
鈥淚t also influences science and reading,鈥� she says. 鈥淪o if we can raise student test scores just by having a great building, I think that鈥檚 a great first step in the right direction.鈥�
Kinard is one of six schools built from the ground up in Poudre School District with sustainable principles in mind. And so far the school鈥檚 paying off. It uses about one-third the amount of energy compared to a typical school. That鈥檚 thanks in part to Kinard鈥檚 geothermal system, which taps into the earth for heating and cooling.
But Barr says a successful green school needs to go further than just saving money.
鈥淭he building is important, but it鈥檚 just a pretty shell if it鈥檚 not integrated into curriculum and culture,鈥� she says. 鈥淪o that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e researching right now is how do you do that.鈥�
During the typical school day of tests and prepping for statewide assessments, goals like these can easily fall to the bottom of the list for teachers. Barr says this 鈥渨hole school鈥� approach to sustainability starts at the top from school leadership setting priorities.
But it ultimately comes down to students and teachers taking the reins on projects. Global Leadership and are two clubs that create projects and teach kids about sustainability.
On one recent afternoon, a half dozen middle school students belonging to Kinard Cares monitored compost and recycling bins.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e witnessing first hand an active leadership role,鈥� says Chris Bergmann, a science teacher who heads up the club. It dispatches members almost every day to monitor how food scraps are sorted into the bins during lunch.
There鈥檚 a bit of drudgery to the work, according to student Ian O鈥橳oole. Especially when students pull this prank:
鈥淭hey put everything in the plastic bag that鈥檚 see through, and they shove all their trash in it: everything, all the compost and recycling all in the bag. Then they pour their juice inside the bag so that when we reach in there we get sticky,鈥� he says.
This spring students are taking the initiative to start a no idling campaign, targeting parents who leave their cars running in front of school. And a peak experience comes every summer for kids, who raise money to attend a one-week environmental camp on Catalina Island in California.
鈥淪uddenly you want to do the right thing,鈥� says Rebecca Hamner, an eighth grader in the club.
鈥淎nd so that鈥檚 one of our biggest goals for the year is to make sure people feel the same way we do.鈥�
According to Stephanie Barr it鈥檚 this type of attitude that鈥檚 critical to the long-term success of any sustainable school. Students learn and they become leaders. All of that can have a pretty profound effect on adults.
鈥淚f you have a teacher that鈥檚 leaving their lights on all the time, the energy manager can say, 鈥楶lease turn your lights off,鈥� and they probably won鈥檛. But if you have a 6th grader say, 鈥楥an you please turn your lights off,鈥� you can鈥檛 say no to that. So they are really the leaders of this change,鈥� she says.
Barr will discuss her complete findings on 鈥淕reen Schools that Teach鈥� at the conference in Fort Collins later today.
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