Schools Designed To Make Students Healthier And More Ready To Learn Posted: Jan 2019 Posted by: Mats Inc.

Chock full of research and data, How IEQ in Schools Affects Student Performance was one of the most interesting educational sessions I attended at GreenBuild 2018.

Perkins Eastman collaborated with Washington DC Public Schools to evaluate the District’s modernization investment approach and obtain a quantitative understanding of how school buildings can help improve learning outcomes and the health of students and teachers.  The material was presented by Sean O’Donnell, practice area leader for Perkins Eastman DC’s international K12 practice; Patrick Davis, Deputy Chief of Facilities at the DC Public Schools; and Katie Herber, Sustainability Specialist at Perkins Eastman.

Washington DC has invested over $3 billion in new schools since 2000, approximately $400-$500 million (4-5 schools) per year.  By 2025, all 110 of the public schools will have received significant capital investment. DC was the first city in the nation to pass a law, the Green Building Act of 2006, requiring green building certification for both the public and private sectors.  Currently, there are 27 LEED certified schools.

The researchers measured the qualitative and quantitative data of each school’s Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) including daylight, thermal comfort, acoustics, and air quality. They surveyed the teachers and children and gathered archival data such as student attendance, enrollment rates, crime within a few blocks of the school, etc.  They compared the data points with various performance metrics from each school to determine which factors did and did not affect student performance.

The findings:

Students are: 16% happier, 18% calmer, 17% healthier, and 16% more ready to learn in modernized school classrooms.

While the conclusions from the study did not substantiate an improvement in student academic performance, the renovations made in the modernized schools showed meaningful improvement in IEQ satisfaction for both students and teachers.

The results of the study also highlighted several areas that should be noted for future modernizations.

The first is the importance of daylight in the classroom.  Regardless of age, daylight was the most noticed; it enhances mood and is the IEQ condition that most closely ties to satisfaction. Despite the districts requirement to achieve LEED Gold with a strategy that includes acoustics performance, the research also revealed that high noise levels are a problem across all of the DCPS School buildings studied and one that needs to be addressed in all future projects.

The study’s findings did not conclude school performance improvements, but it does reinforce the notion that designing for high-performing indoor environmental quality protects students and teachers health, well-being, safety, and satisfaction.  The analysts believe this is the foundation for research, which they hope to continue and expand upon.

To learn more about the information presented here, visit “Investing In Our Future…”.

To learn about flooring for school facilities, visit Education Flooring

Categories: Education Flooring