In 2019, Elizabeth Goldberg, an emergency physician and associate professor at Brown University, stumbled upon an ecoRI News article about air quality in Providence schools.

Goldberg read about how Providence has 24 schools within 1,000 feet of major roads, when the recommended distance for newly constructed school buildings is at least 1,500 feet.

She also read how Vartan Gregorian Elementary School, which is at the corner of Wickenden and East streets and directly adjacent to Interstate 195, had high rates of black carbon and nitrogen dioxide both inside and outside the 67-year-old building.

As an emergency physician with a master’s in epidemiology, and as a parent of a child at Vartan Gregorian, Goldberg was shocked that nothing was being done about this.

“I take care of patients with asthma, kids and adults, and as a parent of a kid in the Providence public schools, at Gregorian, which is within 200 feet of a major highway … I was surprised that there wasn’t any kind of regular air monitoring,” Goldberg said. “I started looking at some air sensor data … and I saw that Boston generally had better air quality than Providence, and well, that was kind of eye-opening.”

Goldberg began advocating for stand-alone air purifiers to be put in all Providence schools, started contacting local officials, and was appointed to the Providence School Board.

Then, the coronavirus pandemic hit, and air quality monitoring and purification became hot topic issues.

WASHINGTON (WDVM) — The District of Columbia Public School system is making changes to Ward 2, by investing in two new schools for students.
The changes come from overcrowding, as the student population grows, but open the door for some exciting possibilities, including a new high school coming to the ward.
Ward 2 State Board of Education representative, Allister Chang, explained that it would be a big deal for a high school to open in Ward 2, as there is currently no in-boundary high school in the area. This creates an inconvenience for these students, as some have to travel outside of their ward to get to school every day.
If Ward 2 gets a new high school, the option involves moving students from Hardy Middle School to what is currently Georgetown Day School’s lower campus, and opening Hardy as a high school. Georgetown Day School’s campus (being called MacArthur at the moment) would be one of the properties purchased by the city.
While none of the options are certain right now, Chang explained that some things are certain. First, the Wilson feeder program is currently overcrowded, as the ten middle schools that feed into Woodrow Wilson High School are at 100 percent capacity or higher. Second, the city is investing in two new schools for Ward 2.
Currently, there are four options on the table. One of those options is moving the students from Hardy Middle School and opening the school as a high school. Another includes creating a new elementary school at a newly purchased location. There are also talks of moving some elementary schoolers from their current building to one of the new properties, as a means of helping with the overcrowding. Finally, the school system is contemplating opening up a new middle school.
 

Syracuse, N.Y. — As more Central New York parents clamor for in-person instruction and the coronavirus cases decline, some school districts are responding.
Two large school districts — Liverpool and North Syracuse — plan to bring more students back for in-person learning starting in early March. They are adding another day or more of instructional time for junior high or high school students.
The Central Square district is looking to transition to a hybrid model starting in April for its middle and high school students. They have been fully remote since the pandemic started in March.
The Syracuse schools — the region’s largest district — is exploring the possibility of bringing back students who want to attend for more than two days a week, said Michael Henesey, a spokesman.
Whether or not more school districts can bring back more students depends on what happens with the distancing rules, how far apart kids have to stay. Will the districts have to stay at keeping them 6 feet apart, or can that be reduced to 3 or 4 feet?
 

Pittsburgh Public Schools late Monday released new details about the district’s plans to get its students back into the classroom this spring. 
The school system has been completely remote since March 2020 but is expected to phase in students for in-person instruction in early April. Students determined to have the most need will be eligible to return first. 
Superintendent Anthony Hamlet said Monday that while teachers should be given precedence for vaccines, “it is unrealistic to continue to postpone the reopening of our schools until every teacher is vaccinated.”
“Our administration understands the resistance from our teachers and their union, and we agree that our teachers should be prioritized to receive COVID-19 vaccine,” Mr. Hamlet said. “As a district, we are doing everything we can to work with our health care partners, like UPMC, to schedule vaccinations as quickly as possible as part of [Phase] 1B vaccinations.”

The district said it would launch a survey this week to help PPS officials finalize the order in which students will be able to return to in-person instruction when schools reopen. Students will be placed into four categories, with children identified as having the the highest level of need being given top priority. 

Category 4 includes pre-K and kindergarten students, as well as students who have not shown progress in remote learning. Students placed in that group — estimated to total 4,786 children districtwide — will be allowed to return April 6.

Category 3 includes students who have shown some progress in online learning. Those students — approximately 5,215 children — will be eligible to return April 26, according to the district.

HOUSTON – Some students and teachers are still feeling the impact of last week’s extreme winter weather. The damage to a number of school campuses has forced some school districts to extend their closures.
Tomball Independent School District
Busted pipes from the fire suppression system sent 10,000 gallons of water gushing out of the second floor ceiling in a wing of Tomball Memorial High School. The result was extensive damage to classrooms on both the second and first floors. The main hallways along with classroom after classroom were covered in about an inch of water.
Maintenance crews removed many of the drenched and waterlogged ceiling panels and strategically placed dehumidifiers and fans throughout the damaged areas in an effort to dry everything out. Tomball Memorial High School was one of at least six schools in the district that sustained some kind of damage during the sub-freezing temperatures.
Repairs should be finished by March 8.
Houston Independent School District
The recent subfreezing weather conditions resulted in more than 500 requests for service from HISD facilities. Many of the service calls were for frozen pipes, leaks, and heating system repairs.
 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WV News) — The West Virginia Board of Education passed a motion Tuesday requiring grades pre-K to eighth to return to full, five-day instruction. The motion replaces a Jan. 13 one that required counties to offer at least blended learning for families.
During a special meeting Tuesday, board members heard from the state’s coronavirus czar, Dr. Clay Marsh, who presented data on the transmission of COVID-19 within schools and noted minimal transmission, especially among younger students.
“Early in the pandemic, we thought school transmission was closely tied to community transmission rates,” said Marsh. “We’ve since learned this is not correct. We are finding that when mitigations are followed, schools are among the safest places for our children.”
In a unanimous vote, board members approved the motion to send pre-K-8 students back to school in-person five days a week no later than March 3, regardless of the county’s designation on the Department of Health and Human Resources’ County Alert System map.
The board also voted unanimously to include in the motion a provision that high school students will attend classes in-person unless their county is red on the County Alert System map. Also included in the motion is a recommendation that students in grades 9-12 in counties that are not red attend school five days per week.
 

Might Hardy Middle School at 1819 35th St. NW become a public high school? That was a proposal put forth on Feb. 11 at the first Foxhall and MacArthur School Planning Community Working Group Meeting.

Ward 2 is the only ward in the District without a comprehensive public high school, a fact that has long been a “to be discussed sometime in the future” topic of various parent and neighborhood organizations and DC Public Schools. But as of last week, ideas have been spreading more widely — perhaps a sign that the pandemic is almost over. It is also becoming clear that the burgeoning population at Hyde-Addison, Georgetown’s public elementary school, will in a few years inevitably spill into the middle school and high school system.

“Under the working group scenario last week, Hardy would move to an about-to-be purchased property at MacArthur & Q (formerly the Georgetown Day School lower campus),” Kishan Putta, the Georgetown/Burleith advisory neighborhood commission’s schools liaison, wrote to The Georgetowner on Feb. 19. “I don’t yet have any details about what proposals are being discussed for the potential high school that would theoretically open at the current Hardy site, but I heard there were questions about playing field space. I also don’t know about the possible timeline, but am told it would likely take a few years.” 

Brian Ragan, Director of Facilities and Construction presented to the Hernando County School Board on February 9, 2021, a proposal to install Permanent Concretables to solve imminent and future capacity problems in Hernando County schools.

Permanent Concretables, commonly called “prefab” or “pre-cast” are concrete structures manufactured in a plant, and shipped to the school campus.  These can be assembled on a traditional foundation and classified as Permanent capacity per state School Concurrency regulations. These one or two-story buildings can be finished to match other campus buildings. Rated for 220 MPH winds, the structures have bullet-resistant concrete walls and roofs. 

Maintaining School Concurrency is a legal obligation of the district. This is a system of land use regulations designed to meet the demands placed upon public school capacity by new residential development.  Before approving proposed residential development, local governments and school boards must jointly determine whether adequate school capacity will be available to accommodate the development. Local governments must deny applications for new residential development if adequate permanent capacity will not be available or under construction within three years of approving the application.

Today Howard County Executive Calvin Ball announced that the Interagency Commission on School Construction (IAC) increased its state funding recommendation for Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) priority construction projects by nearly $8 million dollars, bringing the total state funding recommendation to $28.6 million out of a requested $40.3 million.

“Ensuring the completion of these three critical school construction projects is a top priority of my administration,” said Howard County Executive Calvin Ball. “While I am encouraged that the IAC increased its recommendation of State support for our school construction efforts, fully funding the requests for High School #13 and Talbott Springs, there is work left to do to secure the remaining state requested funding for the Hammond High School project.”

The adjusted IAC recommendation elevated the Hammond High School Renovation and Addition project from a B local planning status and a C funding status, both to A statuses, adding $5.37 million of prior year appropriations for recommended state funding out of a requested $14 million to the project after recommending no state funding to support the project in December. Additionally, the IAC state funding recommendation for the Talbott Springs Elementary School Replacement project increased by $2.6 million ​through prior year appropriations, fully funding the $8.2 million in requested state funding. The $15 million state funding request for High School #13 was recommended by IAC to be fully funded in December. Final approvals on funding levels for projects in the FY2022 capital budget will be made by IAC in May.

To help rebuild New York in the post-pandemic era, Mayor Bill de Blasio is turning to one of his administration’s biggest construction experts to help get the job done.

On Monday, de Blasio named President and CEO of the New York City School Construction Authority and Commissioner of the Department of Design and Construction Lorraine Grillo senior advisor and “recovery czar” tasked with “supercharging” New York City’s rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We want a recovery that is strong, that vibrant, that brings New York City back to where it was and then some in terms of economic activity and people’s livelihoods,” said de Blasio during a Monday press conference. “Every single city agency must be a part of the recovery effort. Recovery for all of us is about everything.” 

A bill granting local school boards in Tennessee the authority to open and close schools during a state of emergency passed the state Senate on Monday.
If the bill becomes law, local school board members, as well as the governing body of charter schools, could consult health officials but would have the authority to determine whether to open or close schools during an emergency, such as the COVID-19 pandemic or a natural disaster. The governor would also hold veto power to mandate school openings under the bill. 

 

RUTHER GLEN, Va. (WWBT) - Engineering and robotics students at Carmel School built and designed three air filters for each building on campus. The students learned about air quality and filtration before building the units.
The systems will be used in the Lower School, Middle/Upper School, and Athletic Center buildings.
The filters were built based on the “Comparetto Cube” design by Neil Comparetto.
“This project is exciting because the students built working units capable of filtering COVID-19 as well as many allergens. The units can be used by the school to help us continue to stay safe and healthy,” Ms. Kember Forcke, Robotics & Engineering Teacher said. “Each unit should last six months and will filter approximately 60,000 cubic feet per hour,” she continued.
On February 10, the class teams presented the units to Mrs. Carolyn Williamson, Head of School, Mr. Stephen Griggs, Head of Middle and Upper School, and Dr. Melanie Casper, Head of Lower School.
 

ROCKCASTLE CO., Ky. (WKYT) - Rockcastle County was hit hard by this week’s weather and countless are still without power.
A warming shelter was opened at Rockcastle County Middle School to provide people without heat or water a safe place to sleep.
New friendships, it seems, can start anywhere. Terry Horton and Michael Reeb met at the warming center at Rockcastle County Middle School.
“This gentleman, he sticks with me like glue,” Terry says.
“Terry is the greatest storyteller I’ve ever met, I wish I could tell a story like him, but maybe if I can around him long enough, maybe he’ll rub off,” Michael says.
Terry was one of the countless people in Rockcastle County to lose power after this week’s weather, but that’s not his only obstacle. He lives alone with hearing difficulties and is blind in his left eye. Still, after spending a few days at the shelter, he’s choosing to be optimistic.
“It’s warm, it’s friendly, I haven’t heard anybody say a bad thing about anybody, so I’m grateful,” Terry says.
Terry’s cot was one of 36 at the middle school gym, with each cot placed 6-feet-apart to practice social distancing.
“Rockcastle County Schools, our motto is to educate, feed, and support, and that doesn’t end with our students, that ends with our entire community,” says superintendent Carrie Ballinger.
Ballinger says while outages bring challenges any year, COVID-19 has made it even more difficult to bring people shelter. She says luckily they learned lessons holding classes in an era of social distancing.
“We kinda had those protocols down, so we just transferred that to this current situation,” Ballinger says.
To Terry, it’s about taking it one step at a time and making sure to enjoy the company on the way.
 

HARRISBURG (100.1 FM and AM 1020 KDKA) — State Senator Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia/Montgomery) and Representative Elizabeth Fiedler (D-Philadelphia), along with many other House and Senate members, called for repairs to be done on Pennsylvania schools that are in dire need of improvement.
On Friday, numerous legislators talked about the importance of investing in the improvement of the “school infrastructure" throughout the commonwealth.
In harmony with the earlier politicians, Senators Jim Brewster (D-Allegheny/Westmoreland) and Judy Schwank (D-Berks) and Representative Kyle Mullins (D-Lackawanna) singled out schools off-the-cuff that they knew needed repairs within their jurisdiction.
Many of the legislators were in agreement with their support for enhancing shoddy school buildings.
“Today’s event addressed conditions in schools all across the commonwealth, and make no mistake, these same hazardous and toxic conditions exist in communities represented by the Republican caucuses,” Senator Hughes said.
“Rural, suburban and urban communities alike face daunting challenges because of our aging public school buildings. We cannot wait any longer to act. I am grateful to my colleagues for their support on this legislation, as well as the awareness they are helping raise for this important issue.”
 

The Columbus Board of Education has taken the first step to relaunch a defunct school-rebuilding program it started nearly 20 years ago.
Board members voted 7-0 Tuesday to approve a nearly $800,000 contract between Columbus City Schools and Legat Architects for "educational planning and master facility planning services."
The district selected the firm, which is based in Chicago and has offices in Downtown Columbus, from among eight applicants. There was no discussion of the matter at the board meeting. The Dispatch has requested a copy of the contract.
The facility planning process is expected to last more than a year, through July 2022. Planning for a bond issue to fund any proposed construction would follow, Columbus City Schools spokeswoman Jacqueline Bryant said in an email to The Dispatch.
"Before we seek the public's financial support, it is important that we engage our community to determine how to best meet the needs of our current and future students, as well as the greater community," Bryant said.
It's not clear when a levy request might occur. Historically, the district has had success asking voters to support tax levies and bond issues during presidential election years. The district contemplated going on the November 2020 ballot but those plans never panned out, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 

Twenty-five local schools will be renovated in 2021 as the Salem-Keizer School District enters the busiest year of its years-long construction blitz - one of the largest such efforts in Oregon history.
The work, which will touch every school in the district, has expanded considerably since voters first approved borrowing $619.7 million in 2018, to be repaid through 20 years of property taxes.
Projects are on schedule, with some areas like major seismic work at South Salem High School “well ahead of schedule,” said Joel Smallwood, the district’s director of maintenance and construction services, who is overseeing the construction program.
The Covid pandemic, which has kept most students out of schools for most of the year, gave construction crews more time for interior work in buildings originally supposed to be crammed into summer vacation.
The district added $116 million to what voters approved, doing so by the way it sold bonds used for financing such work. With new state grants, interest earned and other reimbursements as well, project managers added more work to several large projects - without costing taxpayers more.
 

A coalition of Democratic legislators in Harrisburg are calling on the commonwealth to prioritize fixing crumbling school infrastructure with a substantial portion of the federal funds in the latest proposed COVID-19 stimulus package.

President Joe Biden’s planned $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package is still taking shape, but the most recent figures suggest the package will contain about $350 billion earmarked for state and local governments.

On Friday, state Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-Phila.), state Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler (D-Phila.), and several other Democratic lawmakers held a virtual press conference to demand Pennsylvania route some of that money into an emergency grant program that would pay for schools to remediate asbestos and lead, make electric and plumbing repairs, and do other needed maintenance work.

“We know that our schools were dangerous even before this pandemic,” Fiedler said. “For generations, our teachers, guidance counselors, nurses, students, and school staff have been sent into buildings where they can get brain damage because of chipped paint, or cancer because of asbestos.”

DUBLIN, CA — The Dublin Unified School District will have to prioritize which school facilities projects matter most after discovering a shortfall of at least $184 million in seven of its highest-priority projects.

That number could be as high as $200 or $300 million, but DUSD staff has yet to closely scrutinize its six lower-priority projects, Superintendent Daniel Moirao said at a Jan. 26 DUSD Board of Trustees meeting.

The biggest discrepancy was reported in the cost to build the new Emerald High School, which was initially estimated to cost $167 million. Now that number has ballooned to nearly $270 million, according to documents that district staff presented during the meeting.

MINNEAPOLIS — Khadija Ba walked the hallways of North High School with her cell phone camera rolling, hoping the video she captured would send a message.
“We are the blackest school in Minneapolis and this is what our school looks like,” she said into the camera.
In the wake of a city-wide reckoning over race, students and staff at North High School argue kids in the predominately black school deserve better.
As Ba toured the school, she pointed out long windowless hallways, outdated classrooms lacking any natural light, and holes and dents in walls and ceilings. Bathroom sinks are old and rusted.
In separate cell phone videos students can be seen jumping on their desks as a mouse runs through the classrooms.
“There’s such a big mice problem that sometimes the football players will like make games and try to catch them,” she told KARE 11.
The school also had to replace water fountains found with lead content above safe levels. The school custodians run water for two hours in the morning to flush the pipes and control the lead content. It’s consistent with the state’s best practices for solving the problem, but students say it’s still disconcerting.
“When you go to a different school for sports or something else, you see how nice their school is,” Ba said. “Then you come back to your school and it makes you sad.”
For Ba and other students, the conditions speak volumes.
 

MONTPELIER — George W. Bush was president of the United States the last time state of Vermont offered a financial assistance program to its public K-12 school districts for building construction projects.
That was two governors ago, in 2007, when the Vermont Legislature suspended state aid for school construction to allow then-Gov. Jim Douglas’s administration to study and recommend “a sustainable plan for state aid for school construction.”
On Thursday, the House Education Committee continued efforts to restore the state school building assistance program. The panel heard testimony on a proposal for a statewide study of school building needs, and an accompanying study of how the state would pay for it.
The price tag could be high. An informal study undertaken in 2019 by the Vermont Superintendents Association found that the state’s public K-12 districts had $565 million worth of projects either proposed or planned.
In the meantime, school districts either bonded their own projects, to the tune of $350 million between 2008 and 2019, or kicked the can down the road.
“The reality is we have aging infrastructure with declining enrollment, and we’ve been investing in people and programs and not in buildings. That caught up to us,” said Bill Anton, superintendent of the Windham Central Supervisory Union.