School Facilities Physical Conditions In School Districts Receiving Impact Aid For Students Residing On Indian Lands

This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. State and local governments spend billions of dollars annually on the construction, renovation, and maintenance of public school facilities, yet concerns persist about the condition of some school facilities, esp. in districts serving students on Indian lands. The Dept. of Educ. Impact Aid (IA) Program provides funding to school districts that are adversely impacted by a lack of local revenue because of the presence of fed. land, which is exempt from local property taxes. IA can be used for school expenses, such as facilities and teacher salaries. This report describes: (1) the physical condition of schools in districts receiving IA because of students residing on Indian lands; and (2) what is known about how school facilities affect student outcomes. Charts and tables.

State and local governments spend billions of dollars annually on the construction, renovation, and maintenance of public school facilities, yet concerns persist about the condition of some school facilities, particularly in school districts serving students residing on Indian lands. The Department of Education's (Education) Impact Aid Program provides funding to school districts that are adversely impacted by a lack of local revenue because of the presence of federal land, which is exempt from local property taxes. Impact Aid can be used for school expenses, such as facilities and teacher salaries. In response to concern about school facility conditions and concern that these conditions can affect student outcomes, GAO was asked to describe (1) the physical condition of schools in districts receiving Impact Aid because of students residing on Indian lands and (2) what is known about how school facilities affect student outcomes. GAO interviewed federal, state, and local officials; analyzed available independent school facility assessment data for three states; visited eight school districts that receive Impact Aid; and analyzed studies examining the relationship between school facilities and student outcomes. GAO is not making recommendations in this report. Education provided technical clarifications, which GAO incorporated as appropriate. Four appendices are included: (1) Objectives, Scope, and Methodology; (2) List of School Districts That Received Indian Impact Aid in Fiscal Year 2009; (3) Examples of Studies Examining School Facilities and Student Outcomes; and (4) GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments. (Contains 6 tables, 3 figures and 36 footnotes.).

School Facilities: Physical Conditions in School Districts Receiving Impact Aid for Students Residing on Indian Lands

The United States has about $2 trillion tied up in aging school facilities. School districts throughout the country spend about $12 billion every year keeping this infrastructure going. Yet almost all of the new money we pour into school facilities reinforces an existing—and obsolete—model of schooling. In Blueprint for Tomorrow, Prakash Nair—one of the world’s leading school designers—explores the hidden messages that our school facilities and classrooms convey and advocates for the “alignment” of the design of places in which we teach and learn with twenty-first-century learning goals. Blueprint for Tomorrow provides simple, affordable, and versatile ideas for adapting or redesigning school spaces to support student-centered learning. In particular, the author focuses on ways to use current spending to modify existing spaces, and explains which kinds of adaptations offer the biggest return in terms of student learning. The book is organized by area—from classrooms to cafeterias—and is richly illustrated throughout, including “before and after” features, “smart idea” sidebars, and “do now” suggestions for practical first steps. It outlines key principles for designing spaces that support today’s learning needs and includes tools to help educators evaluate the educational effectiveness of their own spaces. Blueprint for Tomorrow will open educators’ eyes to the ways that architecture and learning are entwined and will challenge them to rethink the ways they teach and work together.