The average age of a main instructional school building in the United States is 49 years, according to a survey by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
About 38% of schools were built before 1970. Roughly half of the schools surveyed have undergone a major building renovation or addition. Of those that have been renovated, the average age of the renovation was 14 years.
Major repair, renovation, or modernization work was being performed in 21% of all public schools surveyed as of December 2023. Indoor air quality is a major focus for many schools, with 39% having an indoor air quality coordinator on campus. This position is responsible for monitoring air quality conditions at the school and reporting air quality issues and complaints.
Some 60% of schools have designated vehicle loading and unloading areas at least 25 feet from all building air intakes, including doors and windows. Eighteen % of schools have an anti-idling program that includes signage and active monitoring during pick-up and drop-off times.
Some 31% of public schools have one or more non-permanent (portable) buildings in use.
Here are other findings from the NCES public school building survey:
The average age of the main instructional building is 49 years old. The following %ages of reporting public schools’ main instructional buildings were built during the following time periods:
- Pre-1970: 38%
- 1970 – 1999: 21%
- 2000 – present: 20%
Nearly all public schools (93%) reported having some kind of athletic amenities on-site. The most commonly reported types of facilities were:
- A gymnasium (69%)
- All-purpose grass field (68%)
- Outdoor basketball court (56%)
- Baseball/softball field (38%)
- Weight room (29%)
- Outdoor track (28%)
Most public schools have dedicated library space available (89%).
Compared to the national estimate (89%), higher percentages of public schools with the following characteristics reported having dedicated library space available:
- With 500-999 students (96%)
- With a student body made up of 0-25% students of color (96%)
- In rural areas (94%)
- With 300-499 students (93%)
- Elementary schools (93%)
- In low-poverty neighborhoods (92%)
Compared to the national estimate (89%), lower percentages of public schools with the following characteristics reported having dedicated library space available:
- In cities (84%)
- In high-poverty neighborhoods (81%)
- With a student body made up of 76% or more students of color (80%)
- High/secondary schools (80%)
- With 0-299 students (77%)
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Lincoln High School
Tacoma, Wash.
Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Wash., was built in 1913 and spent nearly a century morphing into a patchwork of outdated and confusing additions. A few years ago, the Tacoma School District picked Lincoln High School, dubbed “Old Main,” to be the first high school in the district to be part of its newly launched Small Learning Communities program.
| Aug 11, 2010
Call for entries: Building enclosure design awards
The Boston Society of Architects and the Boston chapter of the Building Enclosure Council (BEC-Boston) have announced a High Performance Building award that will assess building enclosure innovation through the demonstrated design, construction, and operation of the building enclosure.
| Aug 11, 2010
Portland Cement Association offers blast resistant design guide for reinforced concrete structures
Developed for designers and engineers, "Blast Resistant Design Guide for Reinforced Concrete Structures" provides a practical treatment of the design of cast-in-place reinforced concrete structures to resist the effects of blast loads. It explains the principles of blast-resistant design, and how to determine the kind and degree of resistance a structure needs as well as how to specify the required materials and details.
| Aug 11, 2010
Gensler, HOK, HDR among the nation's leading reconstruction design firms, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 100 Reconstruction Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Gensler among eight teams named finalists in 'classroom of the future' design competition
Eight teams were recognized today as finalists of the 2009 Open Architecture Challenge: Classroom. Finalists submitted designs ranging from an outdoor classroom for children in inner-city Chicago, learning spaces for the children of salt pan workers in India, safe spaces for youth in Bogota, Colombia and a bamboo classroom in the Himalayan mountains.
| Aug 11, 2010
ASHRAE introduces building energy label prototype
Most of us know the fuel efficiency of our cars, but what about our buildings? ASHRAE is working to change that, moving one step closer today to introducing its building energy labeling program with release of a prototype label at its 2009 Annual Conference in Louisville, Ky.
| Aug 11, 2010
10 tips for mitigating influenza in buildings
Adopting simple, common-sense measures and proper maintenance protocols can help mitigate the spread of influenza in buildings. In addition, there are system upgrades that can be performed to further mitigate risks. Trane Commercial Systems offers 10 tips to consider during the cold and flu season.
| Aug 11, 2010
Jacobs, HOK top BD+C's ranking of the 75 largest state/local government design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 State/Local Government Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants