The non-profit Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) recently launched an effort to develop industry-backed best practices for school modernization projects.
The Minor Renovations Program aims to fill a void of guiding criteria for school districts to use to ensure improvements meet a high-performance threshold. CHPS is assembling a coalition of interdisciplinary experts in design, performance, student health and wellness, technology, and products, along with school district leaders to:
- Develop best practices that underpin new design criteria
- Pilot improvements at schools to demonstrate their effectiveness
- Develop and demonstrate financing solutions that show how allocated funds can be more effectively used for better performance outcomes
- Create and grow a community of support for schools
Two of the country’s largest school districts, Los Angeles Unified and the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD (Harris County, Texas), will participate in the program at the outset, and more districts are expected to join in the future.
“It’s estimated that 53% of America’s public schools need to invest in repairs, renovations, and modernizations, yet upgrades are not getting done at the rate or scale needed to provide safe and productive learning environments for students,” according to a CHPS news release. “Although smaller renovation projects represent the majority of districts’ facility expenditures, a set of industry-aligned best practices does not exist to enable effective planning and implementation.”
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Aug 28, 2020
2020 Giants 400 Report: Ranking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms
The 2020 Giants 400 Report features more than 130 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
K-12 Schools | Aug 6, 2020
HMC releases COVID-19 Campus Reboot Guide for PreK-12 schools
Ongoing research effort includes whitepaper series that outlines resiliency solutions for healthcare, civic and education markets.
Coronavirus | Jun 19, 2020
Experts address COVID-19's impact on nursing homes and schools on The Weekly
The June 18 episode of BD+C's "The Weekly" is available for viewing on demand.
Coronavirus | Mar 30, 2020
Learning from covid-19: Campuses are poised to help students be happier
Overcoming isolation isn’t just about the technological face to face, it is about finding meaningful connection and “togetherness”.
Education Facilities | Mar 3, 2020
Carisima Koenig, AIA, joins Perkins Eastman as Associate Higher Education Practice Leader
Perkins Eastman as Associate Higher Education Practice Leader
Multifamily Housing | Feb 26, 2020
School districts in California are stepping in to provide affordable housing for faculty and staff
One high school district in Daly City has broken ground on 122-apartment building.
Architects | Feb 24, 2020
Design for educational equity
Can architecture not only shape lives, but contribute to a more equitable and just society for marginalized people?
Giants 400 | Sep 4, 2019
Top 90 K-12 School Sector Construction Firms for 2019
Gilbane, Balfour Beatty, Turner, CORE Construction, and Skanska lead the rankings of the nation's largest K-12 school sector contractors and construction management firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2019 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Sep 3, 2019
Top 140 K-12 School Sector Architecture Firms for 2019
DLR Group, PBK, Huckabee, Stantec, and VLK Architects top the rankings of the nation's largest K-12 school sector architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2019 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 30, 2019
2019 K-12 School Giants Report: 360-degree learning among top school design trends for 2019
K-12 school districts are emphasizing practical, hands-on experience and personalized learning.