Adopt green school design approaches—electrification, pollution monitoring, building envelopes, daylighting, and green schoolyards—to advance equity and health¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The brief recommends concrete building approaches for LEAs seeking to advance educational equity, student health, and environmental and fiscal sustainability. These include electrifying energy systems (heat pumps, electric HVAC, electric buses), establishing research-based limits for indoor pollution and monitoring carbon dioxide, ozone, and nitrous oxide, improving building envelopes, using healthy materials, designing classrooms for daylight access, and developing green schoolyards with shading and native plants. Green schoolyards mitigate blacktop heating and support "students’ mental and physical health, attendance, and performance."

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Passive envelope upgrades must be combined with measures to maintain a quality ventilation system

Constraints¶

• Green schoolyards cost more up front than asphalt-based yards, though benefits outweigh costs mid-to-longer term

Target Learners¶

• PK-12 students, particularly low-income students and students of color disproportionately affected by outdated facilities

Target Learning Goals¶

• Improved attendance, health, focus, and academic performance

Affordances¶

• Causal Chains Facilities Health Performance

Related Strategies¶

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Perez, Alyssa. (2024). How school facilities impact student health and performance: advancing equity with green infrastructure. WestEd. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED655919