The Colorado Chapter of U.S. Green Building Council welcomed over 400 education and green building industry stakeholders to its 2015 Green Schools Summit on Friday, Nov. 6, for a general discussion on how to green Colorado school districts within this generation. The event covered topics including school safety, Net Zero energy school districts, and design best-practices.

According to keynote speaker Heather Tallis, Lead Scientist at the Nature Conservancy, school buildings have a remarkable effect on how students learn and how teachers teach. “Colorado as a whole needs to start thinking further outside of the box on the ways in which we design and maintain green schools,” she said.

Tallis revealed promising research that is being done to help understand ways in which the environment is affecting how students learn. Tallis noted that not only do the school grounds have an impact on students’ learning capacity; surrounding neighborhoods are also just as important to consider in the overall research. “The way we design schools and orient windows and students towards an outside view is extremely important when working towards improving Colorado school districts. However, we also need to remember that the engagement space continues way beyond our school walls,” Tallis said. Tallis wrapped up the opening presentation by asking attendees to consider thinking about ways to green Colorado inside and outside of the school grounds.

In some of the Summit’s highlight sessions, attendees heard from education and green building leaders on how to create more sustainable school districts in integration and design, as well as educational programs.

Jeff Medwetz, Project Manager of Energy Systems for Boulder Valley School District (BVSD), outlined BVSD’s strategic plan to achieve a Net Zero energy school district as well as helpful tips on integrating design projects into new and existing school facilities. “We encourage districts and design professionals to look not only at initial costs, but also at the long term factors that will affect the school’s energy use,” Medwetz said. Phil Saieg, consultant at McKinstry also discussed approaches to achieving Net Zero energy, stating, “Internal leadership needs to think about high performance plans before the design process to get the best results and benefits.”

Christine Harms, Director at the Colorado Schools Safety Resource Center, opened the school safety session by sharing a brief timeline of Colorado’s school safety history starting with the 1999 Columbine shooting, all the way up to the state’s current and future initiatives. Harms mentioned that not only is the students’ physical safety important to consider, but their psychological safety should also be factored into security designs. “Most importantly, we want students to come to school and feel a positive connection,” Harms noted. “We have been helping schools create a positive school environment by making all students feel safe and welcomed.” Harms continued the session by discussing design methods such as creating single points of entry, open and collaborative classroom designs and effective routes for emergency vehicles and first responders.
 
Carol Henry, Principal at Design Concepts discussed the emerging trend of incorporating outside learning landscapes. The session highlighted Denver Public Schools’ success in integrating schools’ curriculum into various outside design elements such as their gardens and playgrounds.  “These learning landscapes provide a seamless way to engage students into learning while also having fun,” Henry remarked.