reports&research.

SUSTAINABLE SCHOOLS

Greening America’s Schools Costs and Benefits (2006) AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: KATZ, GREG Capital E American Federation of Teachers American Institute of Architects American Lung Association Federation of American Scientists U.S. Green Building Council This carefully documented study investigates the question "how much do green schools cost, and is greening schools cost effective." It borrows from Katz's similar reports for CA and MA and finds that the long term benefits far outweigh the initial costs for both new building design and retrofits. They conclude that "greening school design provides an extraordinarily cost-effective way to enhance student learning, reduce health and operational costs and, ultimately, increase school quality and competitiveness." Turner Green Building Survey (2005) AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: Turner Construction Company, Bayer Consulting The results of this self-administered survey of school executives reveals that most of them believe that green buildings significantly improve their ability to attract and retain teachers, improve student performance, and reduce absenteeism. Do School Facilities Affect Academic Outcomes? (2002) AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: Schneider, Mark National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities This report investigates the relationship between academic outcomes and school facilities. The research focuses on six categories: indoor air quality, ventilation, and thermal comfort; lighting; acoustics; building age and quality; school size; and class size. Green Schools: Attributes for Health and Learning (2007) AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: National Research Council (U.S.). Committee to Review and Assess the Health and Productivity Benefits of Green Schools This report investigates the health and student-achievement benefits of green schools, with a focus on benefits from improvements in the building envelope, indoor air quality, lighting, and acoustical quality of schools. While it recognizes the challenges of accurately quantifying benefits v. costs, the report offers recommendations for planning and maintaining green schools.

Collaborative for High Performance Schools - Best Practices Manual, Scorecards, and resource links (2009) AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: CHPS CHPS has developed and compiled technical resources for school districts regarding the benefits, design, construction, maintenance and operations of high performance schools. Collaborative for High Performance Schools - Texas Criteria (2009) AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: Texas-based advisory committee, representing a broad range of school construction and operation stakeholders Responding to increases in school construction in Texas, CHPS worked with a Texas-based advisory committee to create a high performance building assessment tool specifically tailored to Texas school districts committed to green, healthy, high performance schools. Draft criteria are available in report and PowerPoint formats. National Review of Green Schools: Costs, Benefits, and Implications for Massachusetts (2005) AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: KATZ, GREG A Capital E Report prepared for A Report for the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative This national review of 30 green schools found that green schools cost 1.5% to 2.5% more than conventional schools, but provide financial benefits that are 10 to 20 times as large. The most significant benefits appear to be energy savings and increased student learning (which leads to higher future earning). Additional benefits include water savings, reduction in costs associated with waste and emissions, reduced incidence of student asthma and other illnesses, reduced costs of teacher turnover, and net employment gains for the state.

GREEN ECONOMY & ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY

JUSTIFICATION AND TRAINING NEEDS

Green Jobs and Service Clearinghouse (2009) AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: Green for All and partners: The Apollo Alliance Center for American Progress Center for State Innovation Center on Wisconsin Strategy Ella Baker Center For Human Rights Energy Action Coalition Innovations in Civic Participation The Corps Network This website has an ever-expanding collection of valuable reports, literature, and resources about growing the green economy. Whether you're looking to start a green career of your own, campaign for better policies, or connecting with organizations that are already providing traning opportunities, this site is a great first stop. United Nations Division for Sustainable Development AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: United Nations Division for Sustainable Development: Education and Environmental Awareness Recognizing that education in sustainable development is essential to the peaceful and prosperous existence of all nations, the United Nations established the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development in 2005. This document page offers relevant research on the need and opportunities for such education.

Green Collar Jobs: How one solution can fix our two biggest problems (2009) AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: Jones, Van Van Jones, founder of Green For All, offers this well-researched argument and blueprint for creating a green collar economy capable of saving our planet and economy. Green Collar Jobs: Work Force Opportunities in the Growing Green Economy (2006) AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: Pinderhughes, Raquel Pinderhughes makes the case that over the next decade the potential for green collar jobs in a number of sectors will be immense, especially because of local and state pressure. NEEF Publications: Environmental Literacy, Health and Environment, etc. (2009) AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: National Environmental Education Foundation This publication page offers a number of reports on environmental literacy, health and environment.

INDOOR AIR QUALITY

Healthy School Environment Resources, including Tools for Schools (2009) AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: Environmental Protection Agency This EPA resource page offers a wide array of research and best practices pertaining to environmental health in schools. It is invaluable resource for facilities managers, architects, parents, teachers, nurses, and staff. NCEF Resource Lists (2009) AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: National Clearininghouse for Educational Facilities This list offers links, books, and journal articles addressing indoor air quality issues in school buildings, including building materials, maintenance practices, renovation procedures, and ventilation systems.

Greening Schools: Protecting Our Children, Our Environment, Our Future (2009) AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: Illinois EPA and Waste Management Resource Center This website has compiled research on indoor air quality and asthma relevant to schools. The Greening Schools website overall has many other links including lesson plans for teachers.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND COLOR PSYCHOLOGY

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder (2006) AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: Louv, Richard In this book, Louv makes the case that since children spend the vast majority of time in indoor enviornments disconnected from the natural world, they do not develop a relationship to or understanding of natural systems and environments. Louv also explores the psychological and physical health risks posed by children's disconnection from nature. No Child Left Inside (2009) AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: Chesapeake Bay Foundation The No Child Left Inside Coalition, with 1000 member organizations, has identified several interellated problems (a narrowing curriculum, Nature Deficit Disorder, climate change, childhood obesity) and suggests that environmental education is a good antidote to all. This webpage offers links to research on these problems and proposed solutions.

Classroom Layout (2008) AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: Sommer, Robert Robert Sommer of UC Davis's psychology department argues in this article that students' lack of power in the spatial arrangements of their classrooms impedes their ability to learn. To advance student learning, teachers should engage students about how they feel in their environments.

EXPERIENTIAL, PROJECT-BASED, PLACE-BASED, and/or SERVICE LEARNING

Creating Sustainable Environments In Our Schools (2005) AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: Shallcross, Tony Designed to contribute to the UN decade of education for sustainable development, this book focuses on whole school development and education for sustainable development. It makes a research-based argument for learning through doing, action-focused education, and self-evaluation. School Renovation as Learning Experience (2007) AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: Fried, Joseph New York Times This article profiles a New York City program, NY3D that gives high school students an opportunity to collaborate with professional architects and designers to renovate school classrooms, halls, and offices. PEEC Resources (2009) AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: Place-Based Education Evaluation Collaborative This collaboration of place-based educators offers a website that outlines the benefits of place-based education and self-evaluation annual reports published by participating programs. EDRA Resources (2009) AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: Environmental Design Research Association This organization advances and disseminates behavior and design research seeking to improve and understand the relationships between people and their environments. Place Based Education: Connecting Classrooms and Communities (2005) AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: Sobel, David This book makes the case that place-based education directly connects students to their local communities and provides several case studies of place-based programs. Accountability and Collaboration: Institutional Barriers and Strategic Pathways for Place-Based Education (2005) AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: Gruenewald, David A. Ethics, Place, and the Environment Recognizing that place-based education is essential for learning, this article explores how contemporary accountability and standardization trends have become significant institutional barriers to place-based educational principles.

Experience and Education (1993) AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: Dewey, John John Dewey is the founding theorist on experiential education. Experience and Education is his theoretical argument about the value of experiential education and the educator's role in student learning. Journal of Experiential Education (peer-reviewed journal) (2009) AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: Association for Experiential Education Contains articles in the areas of outdoor adventure programming , service learning, environmental education, therapeutic applications, research and theory, and the creative arts. NSEE Quarterly Journal (2009) AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: National Society for Experiential Education Publishes articles focused on experiential learning. EBLS Research Library AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: Experience-Based Learning Systems This professional site of David and Alice Kolb, leading experts in experiential education, offers a comprehensive listing of current research in experiential education. Sustainable Education: Revisioning, Learning and Change (2001) AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: Sterling, Stephen This book argues that in order to have sustainable design education in public schools we need our schools to be sustainably designed. This includes the educational paradign, institutional culture, and curriculum/pedagogy. Participation and learning : Perspectives on Education and the Environment, Health and Sustainability (2008) AUTHOR & ORGANIZATIONS: Reid, Alan (and others), Editor This collection presents a diverse range of perspectives on the philosophy, design and experience of participatory approaches within education about environment, health and sustainability.