Planning And Managing School Facilities

Nearly half of the nation's school buildings need to be renovated or replaced. This book provides a knowledge base for administrators to plan and manage construction projects, and addresses specific planning tasks including public opinion polling, enrollment projections, financial planning, selecting architects and other professionals, and managing facilities once they are operational. Theodore Kowalski addresses the administrative procedures associated with planning and managing school facilities. As noted at the outset, practitioner interest in school facilities has been growing rapidly in recent years because decades of neglect, poor planning, and cost cutting have created a situation in which large numbers of America's school buildings are in need of major repair or replacement. At the same time, the realization that costs related to repair and replacement have escalated significantly has fueled a new concern among school facility planning and management. Writing for school administrators, superintendents, and board members as well as graudate students in education, Kowalski discusses planning from the perspective of both individual facility projects and more comprehensive district-wide efforts. The responsibilities associated with administering school buildings are also approached from the individual school and district program perspectives. Part One of the book examines historical and contemporary perspectives of school facility planning. A systems perspective is provided for defining the adequacy of school buildings, and the effects of changing demographics, school reform, technology, and obsolescence are detailed. Various planning paradigms and needs assessment are the foci for Part Two. Part Three examines specific tasks related to completing a facility project. They include public opinion polling, securing professional services, and management responsibilities before, during, and after construction. Part Four includes these focused issues: planning elementary schools, planning secondary schools, doing enrollment projections, working with other agencies, choosing between renovation and new construction, financing capital outlay, and maintaining facilities once they become operational.

This book provides a detailed discussion of all of the processes involved in planning a school building. From a discussion on how to organize the local staff to the final evaluation of the building, the separate processes are described in detail.

Theodore Kowalski addresses the administrative procedures associated with planning and managing school facilities. As noted at the outset, practitioner interest in school facilities has been growing rapidly in recent years because decades of neglect, poor planning, and cost cutting have created a situation in which large numbers of America's school buildings are in need of major repair or replacement. At the same time, the realization that costs related to repair and replacement have escalated significantly has fueled a new concern among school facility planning and management. Writing for school administrators, superintendents, and board members as well as graduate students in education, Kowalski discusses planning from the perspective of both individual facility projects and more comprehensive district-wide efforts. The responsibilities associated with administering school buildings are also approached from the individual school and district program perspectives. Following an introductory chapter that sketches the history of school facilities and the evolution of planning, Kowalski examines contemporary issues in school facilities planning and management. The remaining chapters are divided into two groups devoted to planning and the management of existing facilities, respectively. Turning his attention first to planning activities, Kowalski advocates a system-analysis approach that is based upon high levels data integration and used in conjunction with a vision-driven model of goal development. Particular attention is given to the potential participants of planning, alternative planning paradigms, and the potential pitfalls of various approaches. In the section on administering school buildings, an overview chapter is followed by separate treatments of school district maintenance, managing the individual school, and major contemporary problems associated with school facility management. Taken as a whole, Kowalski's work fills a major gap in the field by focusing attention on a key aspect of school administrative responsibility that, until now, has received little attention in the professional literature.

This sixth edition is the most comprehensive and up-to-date book on the market today in the planning of educational facilities.

This book includes a thorough conceptual framework, with descriptions and "how to" applications of educational planning, architectural design, and research. Serving as both a reference and textbook, each of the 18 chapters includes exercises to expand traditional and computer-assisted facilities planning and design activities. The book is amenable to web-assisted instruction and there are numerous citations from the Internet. Each chapter provides a special "reality-based" contribution to the educational facilities planning and design process. Ideas are conveyed through comprehensive descriptions, illustrations, summaries, and extended activities developed to increase understanding and emphasize the relevance of school planning and design in a regulated, political climate. The reader is guided to visualize a broader context for educational planning and design, where design principles are categorized according to building organization, primary education, shared school and community resources, character of all spaces, and site design and outdoor spaces.

Your school' facilities and grounds often comprise the "first impression" visitors--including potential students and their families--experience of your institution. Proper facility design and maintenance are critical components in how your school is portrayed to constituents and the public, and reflect strongly on your overall program. Facilities Planning and Maintenance for Private-Independent schools pulls together key articles published by Independent School Management addressing plant and campus management--from determining educational specifications for available classroom space to developing a campus master plan to envisioning your facility needs in coming decades and much more. Here you will find the core principles for designing and maintaining your school's facilities--preserving and enhancing your school's unique character and program.

This Guide is designed for staff at the local school district, where most facility maintenance is planned, managed, and carried out. Chapters: Intro. to School Facilities Maint. Planning; Planning for School Facilities Maint.; Facility Audits: Knowing What You Have; Providing a Safe Environment for Learning; Maintaining School Facilities and Grounds; Effectively Managing Staff and Contractors; and Evaluating Facilities Maint. Efforts. Appendices: Chapter Checklists; Additional Resources; State School Facilities Web Sites; Audit Form Template; Record Layout for a Computerized Work Order System; Model Job Description for a Custodial Worker; Useful Interview Questions; Using Mapping During the Interview Process; and Sample Customer Survey Form.