SBIC's High-Performance School Building Program

The impetus for this program was a prediction in 1996 that about 6,000 K-12 schools would be needed by 2007 in the US. We seized the moment and launched an aggressive education, outreach, and advocacy campaign with the goal of affecting the early design decisions made by school facility planners to create not just sustainable or "green" schools, but truly high-performance facilities. Since the late 1990s, much has changed. Millions of square feet of schools have been built every year. Most recently, according to the American School & University's 33rd Annual Official Education Construction Report, school districts nationwide increased spending on construction from $23B to $25.3B in 2006. However, there are many challenges facing school districts seeking high-performance buildings - cost increases have skyrocketed, planning and budgeting has become more complex, maintenance schedules have been deferred, and while the goal of high-performing school buildings has become widely accepted, the ability to achieve one is not as common.

Our schools program addresses three key questions:

What is a high-performance school building?
Why is it valuable?
How can they be achieved in the community?

Although, we have in-depth technical training for architect and engineers designing these schools, SBIC's program is unique because it speaks directly to the procurement specialists, school board members, superintendents and district officials, and community advocates who seek high-performance schools and because it goes Beyond Green^TM honing in on critical issues like accessibility, safety and security, durability, and classroom acoustics - perhaps one of the most challenging issues facing educators today. The centerpiece of the program is the third edition of our High-Performance School Buildings Resource & Strategy Guide and the two-day Beyond Green^TM companion workshop. In addition, the Council has created on-line training for NYSERDA and an Information & Training Center for those seeking to promote these facilities.