Sustainable (Green) Building

High Performance Schools

According to the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS), "Nearly 6.2 million children, teachers, and administrators—1/5 of California's population—spend their day inside a school." With such a large portion of the population spending so much time inside schools, both the design and the construction of high performance schools are gaining popularity. 

• What are high performance schools?
• K-12 Schools
• Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS)
• Higher Education
• Case Studies
• Additional Programs and Links

What are high performance schools?

High performance schools join together the very best of today's design strategies and building technologies, as well as:

• Provide a healthy and comfortable indoor environment.
• Conserve energy, resources, and water.
• Function as a teaching tool.
• Serve as a community resource for neighborhood meetings and functions.
• Ensure easy maintenance and operation.
• Create a safe and a secure educational atmosphere.

Also, high performance schools are cost-effective and help to protect the environment. 

K-12 Schools

In 2003, the California Department of Education estimated 35,000 new classrooms or 7,000 classrooms per year (19 per day) are needed to accommodate the projected number of unhoused K-12 students in the state. Over the next five years, $5.2 billion per year in school funding will be needed to design and construct nearly 300 schools annually in California. As school expenses rise, it becomes even more important to find new ways to minimize cost. High performance schools are an innovative and cost-effective alternative in controlling operation and maintenance expenses.

Another challenge facing California's schools is the demand for improved student performance. High performance schools create a better learning environment for children. Recent studies show a direct link between high performance design features and increased test scores. To provide an optimum learning environment, it is necessary to include high performance design concepts in the construction and modernization of California's schools.

• About CHPS
• Los Angeles Unified School District
• Additional K-12 Schools Programs

Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS)

Organized in 2000, the Collaborative for High Performance Schools is a collaborative of government agencies, utilities, and nonprofits that are working to improve the quality of California's schools. CHPS is developing standards for the design and construction of high performance schools. As a part of the collaborative's activities, CHPS stakeholders provide funding to assist in the implementation of high performance features. 

CHPS offers a Best Practices Manual to assist architects, engineers, and school administrators in designing and building schools that offer an enhanced learning environment for children. CHPS Volume III, Criteria, provides a checklist for schools to self-certify that they have achieved "high performance" status. For information on school district's that are using the CHPS guidelines, visit the CHPS website.

• High Performance School Construction Online Video Series
• Demonstration Schools
• CHPS Criteria for Recycled Content
• Maintenance and Operations, CHPS Best Practices Manual Volume IV

Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)

On February 16, 2000, LAUSD's Sustainable Schools Workshop (inactive) developed a sustainability plan for future district school facilities. A year later, the Los Angeles City Board of Education unanimously adopted a High Performance Schools Resolution formalizing their commitment to sustainable design. As part of that commitment, LAUSD formed a High Performance Schools Work Group that has been working with the Collaborative for High Performance Schools to develop design criteria so that all newly constructed and renovated LAUSD schools are high performance schools. On February 28, 2003, LAUSD adopted another resolution to reaffirm their commitment to design and construct high performance schools.

Additional K-12 Schools Programs and Reports

• School Energy Efficiency (SEE) Program. The SEE Program provides a variety of energy education resources and facility improvement services free of charge to school districts located in the counties of Fresno, Kern, Kings, Tulare, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Yolo, El Dorado, and Mariposa.
• Building Healthy, High Performance Schools: A Review of Selected State and Local Initiatives
• California Portable Classroom Study (California Air Resources Board)
• Division of the State Architect's Sustainable Schools Resource
• Healthy Schools
• Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Tools for Schools Kit
• NCEF's High Performance School Buildings 
• Recommended Best Design Practices for All New Public Schools (Adobe PDF, 1.2 MB)
• Schools Education and Assistance Program
• SEEDS Foundation
• Sustainable Building Industry Council
• To Build a Better School Report
• U.S. Department of Energy Guidelines for High Performance Schools
• U.S. EPA's IAQ Tools for Schools Program

Last updated: April 19, 2010