A Tipping Point for America’s Aging School Buildings
March 13, 2023
Children need safe places to learn, and research has shown that the right school setting can boost student achievement. A thoughtful design can also buoy students’ and teachers’ mental health.
But a lack of consistent, equitable investment in the nation’s school buildings is showing.
Buildings in most school districts require major system upgrades, federal data have shown. Many students can’t drink the tap water at their schools. And school districts are struggling to find the staff needed to maintain their existing facilities, much less secure the funding to make major improvements. Plus, the uncertainty of declining enrollments makes taking an expensive risk on a new building that much more complicated.
This special report addresses the state of the nation’s school buildings and their shortcomings. But it also points to a way forward as educational needs evolve, the nation ages, and the consequences of climate change come into focus.
But a lack of consistent, equitable investment in the nation’s school buildings is showing.
Buildings in most school districts require major system upgrades, federal data have shown. Many students can’t drink the tap water at their schools. And school districts are struggling to find the staff needed to maintain their existing facilities, much less secure the funding to make major improvements. Plus, the uncertainty of declining enrollments makes taking an expensive risk on a new building that much more complicated.
This special report addresses the state of the nation’s school buildings and their shortcomings. But it also points to a way forward as educational needs evolve, the nation ages, and the consequences of climate change come into focus.
School & District Management From Our Research Center Many Educators Give Their School Buildings Low Grades. There's No Big Fix in SightSchool and district leaders say having sufficient staffing and funding are critical for long-needed work on facilities.
School & District Management Water in Many 69´«Ă˝ Isn't Safe to Drink. Here's What Districts Can DoLead and other chemicals pollute water students drink every day. But robust testing and installing filtered stations can make a difference.
Families & the Community A Town Put a Senior Center in Its High School, Offering a Model for an Aging NationWhen crowded classrooms pushed Swampscott, Mass., to consider building a new high school, some innovative thinkers saw another opportunity.
School Climate & Safety Q&A Making the Case for 69´«Ă˝ That Don't Look Like PrisonsClaire LatanĂ©, a landscape architecture professor at Cal Poly Pomona, discusses how schools can design environments that support mental health.
