Seeking SAFER SCHOOLS
Schools continue to look for ways to discourage and prevent shootings and other violence on their campuses.
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Seeking Safer Schools
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Safety first
by Mike Kennedy
The topic of this month’s cover story is school safety and security, and as I sit down to write my editor’s column, another fatal shooting has just taken place in a U.S. school. And maybe by the time you come across this column in the magazine or online, different school community somewhere else in America will be grieving over the latest gun-related tragedy that society seems unable to prevent.
Everytown for Gun Safety, an organization that works to reduce gun violence, argues that arming teachers is opposed by school safety experts, teachers, and law enforcement.
EDITORIAL
ADVISORY BOARD
Bruce Mather
Executive Director of Facilities Management Elmhurst College, IL
Martin Montaño
Capital Projects Administrator Rio Rancho Public Schools
Rio Rancho, NM
James E. Rydeen FAIA, Armstrong Torseth Skold and Rydeen, Inc. Minneapolis, MN
Someone given to idealistic thinking—me, once upon a time—might hope that people could come together and find ways to discourage violence and prevent guns from getting into schools. But the political divide in the nation has become so entrenched that a school shooting seems like it pulls people further apart rather than bringing them together to find a solution.
It’s difficult to reach a consensus when many people are so far apart on the fundamental issue of guns in schools. Many believe keeping guns out of schools is critical to keeping students and staff safe, while others believe that the path to safer schools is having more guns in schools— arming teachers or other school workers.
I have no illusions that my opinion will persuade anyone, but I hope that efforts to deter school violence and stop guns from getting on campuses focus less on adding more guns to the mix and more on threat assessment programs that can identify and intervene with students who may be prone to violence.
“The notion of a highly trained teacher armed with a gun, able to respond as quickly as trained law enforcement is a myth,” Everytown for Gun Safety says. “Law enforcement officers receive hundreds of hours of training but in states that have laws to arm school personnel, school staff receive much less training.”
As an alternative, the organization supports efforts for schools to adopt threat assessment programs.
“These programs help schools identify students who are at risk of committing violence and resolve these incidents by getting the students the help they need,” the organization says. “Effective programs work to identify threats, determine if a student has access to guns, and ensure that there are enough professionals available to provide students with mental health services.”
Enter Educational Interiors Showcase 2025
This spring, American School & University magazine will assemble a panel of education and architectural professionals to judge the 35th annual Educational Interiors Showcase, the industry’s premier awards program for excellence in education facilities interiors. Selected projects will be published in the August 2025 Educational Interiors Showcase issue. Visit schooldesigns.com/educational-interiors-showcase to enter or for more information. Entry forms due March 14. Submission Materials are due by April 25.
Senior Editor Mike Kennedy has written for AS&U on a wide range of educational issues since 1999.
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First-ever elected school board members seated in Chicago
The first-ever elected members of the Chicago Board of Education have been sworn in, marking a move away from mayoral control and toward a fully elected 21-member body by 2027.
WTTW-TV reports that 10 board members chosen by voters in November, and 10 more members appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson, took their oath of office at a January meeting.
“This moment is no doubt historic,” elected member Ellen Rosenfeld said, “not just for me but for all of us, because this body reflects the voices and values of the majority of the people of our district.”
Before state lawmakers passed legislation to expand the board, the panel consisted of seven members, all appointed by the mayor.
The hybrid board of elected and appointed members will serve for two years; then all 21 seats on the board will be up for election—two members each from 10 city voting districts, and a board president elected citywide.
www.asumag.com/55261232
Boston College is building a facility for Catholic archives
Boston College is planning to build a Catholic Religious Archives facility that will connect to its Theology and Ministry Library.
The college says preliminary site work on the two-story, 44,000 square-foot building begins this month; the anticipated completion date is June 2026.
The facility will store archival records of Catholic congregations and religious orders that have ceased or are planning to cease operations.
The building will be erected on the north side of the Theology and Ministry Library. It will include an internal receiving area and a holding room for collected materials and will use the library’s research reading room and available space for processing collections. The buildings will be linked by a one-story connector.
The facility also will house artwork from religious sources in both the United States and Canada.
www.asumag.com/55260345
Ferris State University is building a new home for Jim Crow museum
Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan, has broken ground on a new home for the Jim Crow Museum, a resource designed to be a space for teaching, learning, and meaningful conversations about race.
The $22 million,26,000-square-foot facility is expected to open in fall 2026. The new facility will improve the museum’s capacity to collect, preserve, and
display artifacts of intolerance for educational use. Its centerpiece will be a 7,500-square-foot permanent exhibit dedicated to a large-scale display and interpretation of the museum’s most compelling assets.
The university envisions the museum as a resource for scholars, school groups, faith communities, civic organizations, corporate leaders, policymakers, law enforcement, and civil rights advocates.
Jim Crow was the name of the racial caste system, which operated primarily, but not exclusively, in southern and border states between 1877 and the mid-1960s. Under Jim Crow, African Americans were relegated to the status of second-class citizens. www.asumag.com/55252152
Roof collapse forces Ashtabula, Ohio, students to move to temporary sites
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tudents enrolled at Lakeside High School in Ashtabula, Ohio, began 2025 dispersed among several temporary sites after a December roof collapse at their school.
WKYC-TV reports that when classes resumed after the winter break, students had been relocated to several locations. Students in grades 10 to 12 were attending the former Huron Primary School. Ninth graders have been assigned to the former Mother of Sorrows Catholic School, which the district bought several years ago.
Heavy snow caused a partial roof collaspe on Dec. 1 at Lakeside. Students attended online classes while
www.asumag.com/55260039
the district figured out where to house the 850 high school students.
Shepley Bullfinch
Ashtabula Area City Schools
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Georgia district allots millions for school furniture
The DeKalb County (Georgia) school board has approved a $7 million expenditure for furniture in its school buildings and other facilities.
The district is seeking to spend up to $5 million from March 2025 to March 2026; the administration also asked for an additional $2 million through March 2025 to cover immediate needs.
“The increased spend limit request is to address the $1.8 million in backordered student furniture” at 104 schools, according to the school board agenda. In addition, the school system has about $820,000 worth of backordered furniture for principals, administrative staff and other office spaces at 21 schools.
Furnishing collaborative learning environments
Modern trends in classroom design call for different ways of furnishing classrooms and other learning environments.
“To optimize twenty-first-century teaching methods such as project-based learning and personalized instruction, space should be adaptable to allow multiple learning activities to occur simultaneously,” the Califonia Department of Education says in its guidance on flexible learning environments.
The guidance says that a key element in creating a collaborative learning environment is flexible furniture that accommodates various teaching and learning styles.
“Children have a developmental need for movement, and flexible school furniture allows students to shift position, rock, rotate, and roll,” the guidance says. “Chairs and tables with wheels and adjustable standing desks offer students the choice of sitting or standing during the school day and provide alternatives for various activities, learning styles, and special needs.”
Other examples that create a flexible learning space include soft seating, beanbag chairs, low tables, mobile carts and cabinets. Outfitting a space with flexible furniture can transform existing classrooms into collaborative learning spaces, the guidance says.
New Jersey district sends surplus furniture to the Dominican Republic
The Camden City (New Jersey) district moved students out of Eastside High School last year as it embarked on a $105 million project to tear down the building and construct a modern campus to replace it.
The new high school will be outfitted with new furniture and equipment, and the district had been expected to dispose of the furnishings left behind—desks, chairs, whiteboards and other fixtures.
Market growing
The U.S. school furniture market size was estimated at $2.06 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow at a 6.2% a year from 2025 to 2030. Grand View Research says technological advancements to support digital devices, such as laptops and tablets, are reshaping furniture needs in modern classrooms. The demand for school furniture in the years to come
Then it received a letter from officials in the Dominican Republic, TAPinto Camden reports. The Caribbean nation, which had previously received donated firefighter equipment from the Camden Fire Department, asked the school district if it was able to donate any surplus supplies for needy Dominican schools.
Officials from the district and the city worked with the Consulate of the Dominican Republic of New Jersey to provide the used furnishings. The Dominican consulate is handling all transportation and associated expenses for the donation, the district says.
Meanwhile, students from Eastside will be housed in a former elementary campus until construction of the new Eastside is completed in 2029.
will emphasize adaptable, durable, and technologyfriendly designs, the researchers say. As students spend more time on laptops and other electronic devices, furniture that promotes good posture and focuses on comfort will enhance student concentration and productivity and help prevent long-term health problems.
Northeastern University science facility receives LEED Platinum
EXP, Northeastern University’s eight-story center for science, engineering, and computational research in Boston, has received LEED Platinum certification for its environmentally friendly design.
The building, which opened in fall 2023, has achieved a 50.6% reduction in energy use over baseline models through energysaving features and on-site renewable energy from solar panels at Snell Library.
The building also has reduced its natural gas site energy use by 73.5%, contributing to a total energy savings of 49.6% over a baseline lab building.
Some of the features that have enabled EXP to achieve LEED Platinum certification:
• Triple-glazed windows and exterior shading fins to reduce heat gain.
• A heat recovery chiller that generates hot water by reusing heat rejected during the chilled water generation process.
• An enthalpy wheel for general office ventilation and a highefficiency two-stage run-around coil energy recovery system for lab exhaust to significantly reduce energy use.
• Chilled beams in offices and labs, reducing the need for outdoor air heating and cooling.
• A digital lighting control system that automatically dims or powers down lights based on occupancy and natural daylight, further conserving energy.
• Seventy-seven ductless filtered fume hoods that use advanced carbon filters and significantly reduce the need for additional heating and cooling.
• Rainwater harvesting for irrigation of planting beds on the eighth-floor roof deck and make-up water for the cooling tower, combined with low-flow plumbing fixtures to optimize water savings.
The building envelope also plays a crucial role in sustainability efforts: curtain wall systems featuring high-performance insulation and minimized thermal bridging, and envelope commissioning to ensure the building performs as designed regarding energy and water use.
Solar panels installed at 72 New York City schools
New York City has completed installation of solar panels atop 72 public schools in the city.
City officials and students from PS 58 in Brooklyn cut a ribbon to mark completion of the project, which brings the total number of city schools with solar panels up to 104.
“Today’s ribbon cutting represents an incredible milestone in our city’s clean energy and sustainability efforts: over 100 solar panels on our schools, bringing renewable power to the city and augmenting the robust sustainability work happening inside our buildings,” said Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos. “I am eager to see how this work continues, inside
and outside of the classroom.”
Of the new 72 solar arrays, 55% have been installed in disadvantaged communities. With solar arrays covering roughly 70% of existing school roof surface, the project sites were chosen based on their roof feasibility and condition. This analysis included roof warranty checks and water tightness inspections of the buildings to avoid future capital project conflicts.
The panels were installed through a Power Purchase Agreement with an investment subsidiary of Generate Capital, which is responsible for the costs of installation, operation, and maintenance of the systems. The city’s Department of Citywide Administrative Services has agreed to buy the solar power produced by the panels over the next two decades. The $85 million dollar portfolio cost estimate is the total cost for the clean power over the next 20 years; through this agreement, the city has saved an estimated $120 million in capital costs, and millions more in annual operations and maintenance costs over the panels’ lifetimes.
Net zero energy elementary under construction in Amherst, Massachusetts
T he Town of Amherst, Massachusetts, is building a $97.5 million net zero energy elementary school that will replace two existing campuses.
The Daily Hampshire Gazette reports that the new Fort River Elementary will replace the existing Wildwood and Fort River Elemen-
tary Schools. The 575-student, K-5 campus will have five classrooms per grade level.
To achieve its net zero energy status, the building will utilize ground source heat pumps and photovoltaic panels to provide 100% of its energy needs.
The new elementary school is expected to open in fall 2026. Demolition of the existing structures will follow, and all remaining site work is expected to conclude by June 15, 2027.
The architect is DiNisco Design
Northeastern
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HVAC AND IAQ
Good indoor air quality in a school facility is dependent on a properly functioning HVAC system.
Maintaining good indoor air quality (IAQ) in schools is vital for the health and safety of students and staff and has always been a priority for educational facility managers. But since the Covid-19 pandemic, the connection between inadequate indoor air quality and possible transmission of airborne diseases has raised the stakes for schools and universities.
Since the Covid-19 disease spread across the nation in 2020 and shut down virtually all education facilities, school administrators have put greater focus on the HVAC systems in their buildings—how well they are functioning and whether they need upgrading or replacement to provide students and staff with healthy indoor environments.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has assembled plenty of guidance that can help education institutions select, operate and maintain their HVAC equipment so that a facility has good indoor air quality.
“The selection of equipment for heating, cooling and ventilating the school building is a complex design decision that must balance a great many factors,” the EPA says.
Among those factors: heating and cooling needs; energy efficiency; humidity control; potential for natural ventilation; adherence to codes and standards; outdoor air quantity and quality; IAQ; and cost.
“Where feasible, schools should use central HVAC air handling units that serve multiple rooms rather than unit ventilators or individual heat pumps,” the EPA says.
The agency says central air handling units have several advantages compared with unit ventilators and heat pumps serving individual rooms.
They are quieter and therefore more likely to be turned on or left on by teachers and staff; they’re better at controlling humidity and condensed moisture drainage; they’re easier to maintain because they have fewer components.
There is more space around units and workers can access them without interfering with class activities; and they have space for higher efficiency air filters and more surface area.
Ventilation strategies
Making sure school facilities have adequate ventilation and filtration is critical.
“To reduce pollutants in the air and limit the spread of viruses and bacteria, schools should maximize ventilation rates to the extent possible by bringing in as much outdoor air as weather and outdoor air quality permit,” the EPA’s guidanee says.
Steps to take to increase a system’s ventilation rate:
• Conduct an HVAC assessment to evaluate the condition of the existing HVAC system components and unit ventilation equipment.
• Have a scheduled inspection and maintenance program for HVAC systems in place to allow for repairs, modifications or replacement of equipment.
• Assess and service ventilation systems to ensure they perform as designed.
• Adjust the HVAC system to bring in more outdoor air.
• When HVAC adjustments are not possible, consider other ways to bring in outdoor air, such as opening windows and using window fans, if weather and outdoor air quality permit.
• Keep unit ventilators clear of books, papers and other items that could reduce airflow.
When schools are not able to make sufficient HVAC adjustments, they should consider increasing HVAC filter efficiency and using portable air cleaners as a supplemental filtration strategy, the EPA says.
Facility managers can increase filter efficiency in existing HVAC systems by using filters with the highest Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) rating possible (per equipment specifications).
“If possible, increase the level of the air filter to MERV 13 or higher,” the EPA says.
Schools that choose portable air cleaners as a supplemental filtration strategy should select portable air cleaners that use proven technology and are appropriately sized for the spaces they will service.
“Do not use air cleaners that intentionally generate ozone in occupied spaces or that do not meet state regulations or industry standards for ozone generation,” the EPA says.
“If air cleaners are used, they should be placed so that air is not blown directly from one person to another, as this could potentially facilitate the spread of viruses and bacteria to others. Air flow to and from air cleaners should not be obstructed.”
Other recommendations from the EPA: Schools should pay special attention to preventing moisture from entering duct work; wet duct surfaces can lead to mold growth. Schools also should make sure the air ducts in their HVAC systems are sealed to prevent air leakage.
Significant energy losses, air leakage from HVAC ducts and air handling units cause significant IAQ problems due to unexpected airflow between indoors and outdoors and between areas within the school,” the EPA says.
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SEEKING SAFER SCHOOLS
Schools continue to look for ways to discourage and prevent shootings and other violence on their campuses.
by Mike Kennedy
Two weeks into the new year, deadly gun violence in schools hit the headlines again. A 17-year-old student at Antioch High School in Nashville opened fire in the cafeteria and killed a 16-year-old female student before taking his own life with a self-inflicted gunshot. Those deaths came about a month after a 15-year-old girl fatally shot a 14-yearclassmate and a teacher before shooting herself to death at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin. The sad fact is that shootings at schools and universities are not the shock to the system that they once were.
The design of the new Sandy Hook Elementary balances a nurturing environment with sustainable building and security. It presents a buffer against intrusion—anyone crossing it at a point other than a bridge will be noticed quickly.
The new Sandy Hook Elementary opened in Newtown, Connecticut in 2016, replacing the facility where 20 children and 6 staff members were killed in 2012.
Robert Benson, courtesy Svigals+Partners
A bench memorial on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg honors the survivors of the April 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech that killed 32. ID 52155492 © Aspenphoto | Dreamstime.com
LEARN MORE
The design for Legacy Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, will require all visitors to pass through the school’s vestibule and show credential before they can enter the facility.
Uvalde CISD Moving Forward Foundation
It would an unfair exaggeration to say the school shootings had become commonplace, but in the quarter-century since an attack at Columbine High School in Colorado left a teacher and 14 students (including the two shooters) dead, the periodic recurrence of deadly school violence and the attention the most horrific episodes attract may make it seem that the nation’s 50 million elementary and secondary students and the 19 million students enrolled in higher education are in peril each time they head off to attend classes.
The reality is that compared with other aspects of society, schools are relatively safe. But communities want educators and administrators to make every effort to bolster school security, create climates conducive to learning and minimize the likeli-
hood that their schools will be victimized by violence.
In the aftermath of tragedies such as the mass shooting deaths at schools in Newtown, Connecticut, and Uvalde, Texas, panels and commissions have provided reams of recommendations for how schools can be made safer. Schools and universities can absorb the lessons learned from the tragic shootings others have experienced to make their campuses more secure.
Designed for improved safety
In reaction to a violent episode, schools may make operational changes or adopt new security solutions for a campus. But in some extreme cases, the enormity of an event proves to be too traumatic for students and staff to resume classes in a building.
The Uvalde (Texas) district is building Legacy Elementary to replace Robb Elementary, where 19 children and two adults were killed in a 2022 attack.
After 20 young children and six adult staff members were shot to death in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, the school was torn down and replaced by a building that incorporated enhanced security features. In Uvalde, Texas, a new elementary is being built to replace Robb Elementary, where 19 children and two adults were killed in 2022 after a shooter entered the school.
The new Sandy Hook opened in 2016 after a report from the state’s School Safety Infra-
structure Council provided recommendations for improving security on campuses
The Council identified four major goals for improving school security:
• Deterrence—to prevent unwanted visitors from gaining access to school grounds or buildings, and avert the impact of natural threats that could result in potential harm to students, staff and property.
• Detection—to quickly locate, identify and contain the movement of an unwanted
ID 314927474 © David Pillow | Dreamstime.com
party who has gained unauthorized entry to a school.
• Delay—to impede, isolate and forestall the movement of an unwanted party within a school building; to prevent access to classroom areas and common gathering points so that there is adequate time for a public safety response.
• Response—to ensure that coordinated, interactive and reliable communication systems and procedures are in place to facilitate an immediate and effective response from public safety and medical agencies.
Based on those goals, the report lists dozens of security recommendations for schools to adopt with regard to access control, surveillance, parking and vehicular routes, recreation areas, communications, the building exterior, the main entrance, doors, windows, classrooms, assembly areas, roofs, shared space and utilities.
“[P]rotective school design techniques, better planning and uniform standards can make school grounds and school buildings safer places in which to conduct educational activities,” the Council’s report said.
In Uvalde, Robb Elementary is to be demolished and replaced by a new campus, Legacy Elementary, which is scheduled to open later in 2025. Among the security enhancements planned for the campus:
The school will have a single point of entry and exit for visitors. They will have to enter through a secure vestibule and must show credentials to enter the space. The vestibule also will have restrooms and a meeting room to limit the need for visitors to gain access to the school proper. Nine-foot-tall privacy gates will surround student and staff entrances. Outdoor play areas will be enclosed with security fencing. Security cameras will be installed.
In addition, the design of Legacy Elementary will incorporate
trauma-informed strategies intended to lower the stress levels of students and staff. Those include improving accessibility by removing environmental barriers; adding biophilic elements to connect with nature and living beings; and an emphasis on inclusion and equal access, which enhances students’ comfort and belonging.
Broader strategies
School shootings, especially those that result in multiple fatalities, always will get the lion’s share of public attention. But educators and administrators also should be vigilant about recognizing and working to prevent other types of violence in schools.
A report from the Educator’s School Safety Network, Violent Threats and Incidents in Schools: An Analysis of the 2023-24 School Year, notes that the majority of violent incidents in schools are not gun-related.
Compiling data based on media reports, the network found that in 2023-24, a shooting in a school or on school grounds accounted for 9.3% of violent incidents; outside violence spilling into a school accounted for 10.1% of incidents a, a gun found on campus accounted for 15.9% of incidents, and false reports of an active shooter accounted for 29.5% of incidents.
“The first critical step for improvement is to shift the thinking about school safety from an occasional concern or an active shooter event to an everyday all-hazards approach for educators,” the network’s report urges.
The network’s recommendations:
• Training, resources, and emergency planning for schools needs to focus on an all-hazards approach to school safety.
“The erroneous belief that active shooter events are the most significant hazard schools face leaves educators vulnerable and unprepared for the more likely crisis events they will encounter,” the network says. “In many cases, the only training educators receive is geared toward a school shooting, even though it is one of the least likely crisis events.”
Schools should pay greater attention to operational procedures such as supervision, accounting for students, relationship-building, access control and visitor screening, the network recommends. Staff members should be provided with adequate training not only in school lockdowns, but also in emergency response procedures, plans for evacuation, parent reunification, and crisis communications.
• School safety practices alone are not effective in reducing school violence; prevention strategies should play a greater role.
“Preventing violence, not just responding to it, must become a priority,” the network says. It advocates strategies aimed at
Many schools have had to restrict access to their campuses to combat the threat of violence and other security threats. ID 128952678 © Simone Hogan | Dreamstime.com
improving school climate and culture, offering appropriate supports and interventions to those at risk for violence, and putting more effective supervision in place.
“Attention must be paid to the consequences of creating a prison-like, surveillance-based environment in schools, where students are viewed as potential perpetrators and educators are forced into security and policing roles,” the network says.
• Schools should recognize and work to lessen the effect that false reports of bomb threats or other violence can have on student safety and the school climate.
“The task of assessing the validity of these threats and false reports...puts educators and emergency responders in a difficult position, often with little training or support in what to do, the network says. “Even worse, the frequency and scope of swatting and bomb threats consumes significant financial and personnel resources and almost always results in the loss of instructional time, negatively impacting academic achievement.”
Schools can beef up their security by installing surveillance cameras throughout their buildings.
ID 223384217 © Jittawit Tachakanjanapong | Dreamstime.com
Improvements seen
Some of the conditions that can create a dangerous or uncomfortable environment in schools have improved in the last decade.
The federal government’s Report on Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2023 cites several areas where elementary and secondary campuses appear to be safer for students and teachers.
• Between 2012 and 2022, the nonfatal criminal victimization rate (including theft and violent victimization) for students 12 to 18 years old decreased from 52 victimizations per 1,000 students to 22 per 1,000.
• The percentage of students ages 12 to 18 who reported being bullied during school dropped from 28% in 2010-11 to 19% in 2021–22.
• The percentage of public school teachers reported being threatened with injury by a student or being physically attacked by a student fell from 10% in 2011–12 to 6% in 2021-22).
• 6% of students ages 12 to 18 reported gang presence in their schools in 2021–22 compared with 18% in 2010–11.
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CAMPUS MEALS,
LOCKED AND LOADED
Smart food lockers enable university dining operations to deliver a greater menu variety with more efficiency.
by Mike Kennedy
For college students hurrying across campus from one class to the next, meals may not be the highest priority. They may opt for 30 extra minutes of sleep in their residence hall instead of allotting time to get to a dining hall for breakfast before a class. They may find it necessary to sign up for an essential class even though the schedule puts them in a corner of the campus without any convenient lunch options.
But for food and dining operations at universities, meals—and getting students
to eat them—are a top priority. That means not only offering food options that appeal to students’ taste buds, but also providing dining services that can compete with the speed and convenience of restaurants and stores off campus.
“We offer different plans for students to choose because not everyone will wake up at 7 a.m., go to the cafeteria and eat breakfast,” says Vedda Hsu, director of university dining services at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. “We know they will probably just grab a cup of coffee from Starbucks on
the way to class and later grab a piece of fruit from convenience store.”
Oklahoma State and many other college campuses, populated by thousands of tech-savvy students with powerful computers in their pockets, have recognized that they can take advantage of some of that technology to modernize their food operations and adapt to the lifestyles of 21st-century students.
Getting smart
Specifically, colleges and universities are embracing smart lockers that enable students or others on campus to order food remotely over the internet and retrieve it quickly and securely from a locker assigned to them.
Food lockers like these at Texas Tech’s Student Union Building enable students to order ahead and bypass the service line. Texas Tech
“What we’re basically doing here is trying to shorten the time so a student doesn’t have to wait in line when there’s only 10 or 15 minutes between classes,” says Kirk Rodriguez, senior director for hospitality services at Texas Tech University, which has installed smart food lockers in its Student Union Building for people ordering sandwiches.
The ordering process will be familiar to anyone who uses apps on a mobile phone to order food ahead of time. A customer orders food and chooses where and when to pick it up. Instead of going through a drive-through line or interacting with a restaurant worker to retrieve a food order, the customer is sent a code that unlocks a locker where the food has been placed. Students with university dining accounts can link the ordering app to their accounts, and the meal costs are automatically deducted.
“They can be walking from one building to another, or just coming through the Union,” Rodriguez says. “They just make their order, they’re notified that it’s ready, they pick it up and off they go.”
And because each student specifies on the app how he or she wants the food prepared, mistakes are reduced. “It lessens the errors preparing the food because the customers are designing their orders exactly how they want it,” Rodriguez says.
Incorporating food lockers into a school’s dining operations may enhance safety; having fewer people involved in preparing, serving and delivering food reduces the chances of spreading illness and disease. Since the Covid-19 pandemic heightened people’s awareness of germs and avoiding risky interactions, using smart food lockers for contactless deliveries has grown in popularity.
The contactless delivery that smart lockers enable also is likely to result in more efficient deployment of dining staff. Workers who otherwise would be stationed at a counter to take orders and give the food to the waiting customer can instead be working in the kitchen preparing food.
Friendly ghosts
The food lockers also enable a dining operation to dabble in the “ghost kitchen”
concept, also known as a virtual kitchen, where meals are prepared for delivery or pickup and there is no need for dining rooms or servers.
At Oklahoma State, its newly opened dining facility, Central Marketplace, incorporates 32 smart food lockers and a ghost kitchen concept as it tries to meet the demands and preferences of modern,
on-the-go students. Planning for new facility coincided with the Covid-19 outbreak, when many restaurants had turned to ghost kitchens to provide meals with an extra layer of safety.
“During Covid, we heard a lot about food lockers and ghost kitchens and how we can utilize our kitchen space, how we can be more flexible and offer more food
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2025
FOR ENTRIES
l Entry forms due March 14. Online portfolios due April 25.
l Discounts for multiple projects.
l Twenty-six entry categories for every type of project.
l Open to projects completed since January 1, 2020.
l Free print-ready PDF for multiple entries and multi-page projects.
l Larger circulation, including expanded reach to school boards and industry partners.
l National recognition for you, your project, and the school or university.
l Featured in the August 2025 Educational Interiors Showcase issue, full-screen galleries on SchoolDesigns.com, and our e-newsletter.
options for students,” Hsu says. “We put the technology at the front end with smart lockers, and in the back end we have full kitchen support.”
The food locker operation, called BYTE, offers students about 10 types of cuisine, including Italian, barbecue, vegetarian, tacos, chicken wings, wraps and desserts. More options may be added as the new facility settles in.
“It’s just like you see on Grubhub or Uber Eats—you don’t know where these kitchens are, but they can offer you different menu options,” Hsu says.
Food orders are placed in one of the 32 lockers for customers to retrieve. Most students pick up their orders promptly. But if
Students at Oklahoma State University’s Central Marketplace wait for the food they have ordered to be placed in smart food lockers. Smart food lockers enable Oklahoma State University to offer a wider variety of menu items than a traditional restaurant.
Oklahoma State University
food is still sitting in a locker after 15 or 20 minutes, the lighting on the locker will change, the customer will be reminded that the order is waiting, and workers will bring the food back to the kitchen and place it under a warmer. If an order is not picked up after a few hours, it will be thrown out. The operation
processes 450 to 500 orders a day, and on average no more than two students per day fail to pick up their orders, Hsu says.
Students with university dining accounts pay for their meals via an app that deducts the cost from their accounts; those without accounts can use a kiosk in the facility and pay with a credit card.
“The reason I have put a kiosk there is for the older generation, or parents who are not familiar with ordering on the phone with an app,” Hsu says.
Early success
The busiest time for the lockers is between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., but the promptness of customers picking up their food and the
Smart food lockers enable campus dining operations to provide food more safely by minimizing the number of workers who interact with an order.
Texas Tech
efficiency of workers refilling lockers with the next rounds of orders means that the 32 lockers have been able to handle the volume of orders even during the lunch rush.
For now, Hsu says her goal is to reach 700 transactions a day for the locker concept. If the smart lockers continue to be successful, Hsu envisions adding another bank of lockers in the Central Marketplace or expanding the concept to other dining locations on the Stillwater campus.
“We needed to start small,” says Hsu. “Later on, we can always add on. We can tailor the cuisine to what the students like and add items to the menu.”
Eventually, Hsu would like to have all of Oklahoma State’s campus restaurants and stores convert to cashless operations, but not everyone is ready for that step.
“There are some professors who still want to pay for their coffee with coins,” she lamented. “But so far, what we heard about the smart lockers has been very positive.”
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HARMONY COMMONS PASSIVE HOUSE DORMITORY SCARBOROUGH,
ONTARIO
Harmony Commons at the University of Toronto Scarborough is a key part of the campus’s 300acre expansion, housing 718 first-year students and resident advisors along with the campus’s
first full dining hall and offices for student life and campus security. The building is designed to take advantage of its natural surroundings, offering views of a preserved grove of trees and ensuring as many
occupied spaces as possible feel a connection to the outside.
As the largest Passive House project in Canada and the world’s largest Passive House residence hall, Harmony Commons reduces energy use by 70% to 80% and enhances indoor air quality and comfort. The building’s design includes a highperformance envelope with vertically patterned aluminum cladding and earthy tones inspired by Scarborough’s geography. Double-story layering reduces its perceived height and it integrates seamlessly into the low-rise neighborhood.
The ground floor has a dining hall, event spaces, and offices; peer resources are situated at the main entrance. Upstairs, dormitory rooms are organized into “communities,” each with private study and gathering spaces and a common kitchen to foster interaction. n
Handel Architects, CORE Architects
Associated firms: Arcadis IBI Group
Design team
Integral Group; Jablonsky, Ast & Partners; Steven Winter Associates; The Planning Partnership; WSP; Bousfields; Matteo Gilfillan & Associates; Human Space; PARTISANS
Client
University of Toronto Scarborough, Fengate
Asset Management
Area Cost
270,000 sq. ft. $120,000,000 (USD)
Cost/square foot Capacity
$444 746 beds
Space per student Completion
362 sq. ft. September 2023
Images
CORE Architects; Ryan Fung; Tom Arban
By Paul Erickson
The Last Spaces Considered: Maintenance Support
Not enough is written about the support areas that maintenance staff need to adequately care for school spaces. Maintaining such spaces requires special design considerations.
Maintenance personnel must be trained, time and funding must be allotted, and maintenance spaces must be provided to extend building life and bridge funding gaps. Facilities planners can make a difference in designing maintenance spaces.
During programming and design phases, meet with maintenance personnel to discuss space needs—locations in the building, square footage, and required components. Listen to maintenance personnel to learn what is needed to make cleaning and maintenance more efficient.
Spaces
Provide spaces for loading and receiving, trash containment, storage, office functions, equipment repair, cleaning supplies, and utilities/building systems. Every building should have a loading and receiving area with outdoor space for vehicles to maneuver—install driveways that avoid interference with on-site circulation. Loading docks are typically 48 inches above pavement with motorized dock levelers to adjust to truck floor-bed height; a 28-inch dock height may be added for smaller trucks.
For weather protection, install a building canopy, set back from the dock edge to prevent truckto-building damage. Provide space near the dock area for multiple dumpsters; put refuse receptacles at low pavement height for convenience of transferring refuse and recycling items. Provide electrical power to operate compactors.
Disperse custodial closets throughout the building, near restrooms at locations covering 20,000plus square feet of service area per floor, and near labs, locker rooms, and kitchens. For each closet, provide a service sink, shelving for cleaning supplies, and space for equipment. Provide an office at the receiving area with a desk, storage cabinets, and energy management system technology. Design a breakroom, with nearby restrooms and lockers, for maintenance personnel. For large facilities designate a repair space (e.g., for furniture, plumbing items).
Design
Design plays a vital role in effective maintenance and the longevity of building systems. Adequate budgeting enables designers to select high-quality, low-maintenance components for exteriors and interiors. Design floors for ease of cleaning; avoid inaccessible corners. Provide wide doorways for moving equipment. Provide wall and ceiling access panels for repairing and monitoring mechanical and electrical equipment. Labeling mechanical, electrical and technology components helps maintenance personnel and serves as a teaching tool for students. Provide ample electrical outlets throughout the building and utility stairs for roof access to equipment. Place mechanical air handling units inside the building rather than on the roof for ease of maintenance and longer equipment life.
Paul W. Erickson , executive officer and partner, is past president of ATSR Planners/Architects/Engineers, a firm specializing in school planning and design. He has 47 years of experience in school planning, design, and construction, and can be reached at perickson@ atsr.com.
At the building interior, provide a receiving area with garage or double doors to the dock. The receiving area is clear floor space for shipping items, holding deliveries, and transferring items to areas in the building; a can wash area and recycling area can be in this space. Place central storage adjacent to the receiving area for holding furniture, bulk supplies, and large equipment in transition. Situate storage rooms throughout the building including chair and table storage connected to cafeterias, gyms, and meeting rooms. Consider outdoor storage for maintenance vehicles, mowers, and snow removal equipment.
Sophisticated energy management systems with temperature controls and ventilation/lighting occupancy-sensor technologies aid in effective building operations. Facilities outfitted with automated systems and building information modeling enable maintenance personnel to focus on keeping spaces in premier condition and spend less time fixing underperforming or nonfunctioning equipment.
Furniture design advancements integrate userfriendly maintenance features. Protective edging on tables and specially treated fabric or vinyl coverings on soft seating reduce damage and time required for managing repairs/replacements. Designer-created guidebooks specify furniture care and manufacturer/supplier contact information for warranty work and routine maintenance.
Plan now to include your best projects in American School & University’s 2025 Educational Interiors Showcase.
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AiphoneCloud’s Remote Management
Aiphone has debuted AiphoneCloud, a suite of powerful tools designed to simplify security system management and increase operational efficiency. With Remote Management, security professionals can configure, monitor, and troubleshoot Aiphone IP intercom systems from anywhere at any time. Additionally, AiphoneCloud’s on-demand system design tool, QuikSpec, enables security integrators to create customized solutions. The platform streamlines subscription management, providing a centralized hub for activation and renewal of services.
www.aiphone.com
KI Wall balances elegance and functionality
KI Wall, a subsidiary of KI, offers movable and customizable glass and solid modular wall systems that are suitable for office, health care, and education settings. Clients can reconfigure a space without the usual debris that comes with construction and demolition. KI Wall products are easy to install and take down with zero waste produced. And they’re constructed with 97% to 99% recyclable materials, such as glass, steel, and aluminum.
www.kiwall.com
Greenheck’s New ERVi Energy Recovery Ventilators
The ERVi, a new energy recovery ventilator from Greenheck, is designed to fit into limited indoor spaces such as basements, mezzanines, and small mechanical rooms. Its modular construction fits through a 30-inch door, can be ceiling-hung, and is ideal for retrofitting and decarbonization projects. It is highly configurable, with either right-hand or left-hand access and either-end discharge. Two compact cabinet options are available. The ERVi-10 discharges 375–1,500 cfm with a maximum height of 18 inches, and the ERVi-20 discharges 750–2,500 cfm with a maximum height of 23 inches.
www.greenheck.com/products/air-conditioning/energy-recovery-ventilators/preconditioners/energy-recoverywheels
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Trane®/Mitsubishi expands Electric Hybrid Variable Refrigerant Flow offerings
Trane has added two families of indoor units to the line of Trane/Mitsubishi Electric HVRF, its all-electric hybrid VRF unit. The HVRF system uses a combination of refrigerant to connect outdoor units to the Hybrid Branch Controller (HBC) and water to connect the HBC to indoor units. This unique two-pipe system combines the advantages of VRF and hydronic chillers into an all-electric heat pump that can heat and cool simultaneously while reducing refrigerants in the overall system. The system delivers zoned comfort and helps owners of multizone commercial buildings that require individual temperature settings achieve sustainability goals through electrification. www.trane.com/commercial/north-america/us/en/products-systems/vrf/hvrf/indoor-units.html
WALLcontrol™ Monolith VP Adhered AWB from Siplast
Siplast has introduced a self-adhered vapor permeable (VP) air and water-resistive barrier (AWB) developed for commercial wall applications — WALLcontrol™ Monolith VP Adhered AWB. The flexible, UV-resistant membrane features a high-temperature stable, low-temperature application permeable acrylic adhesive with a split siliconized release liner, designed to ensure robust protection and durability. The monolithic product design helps provide chemical stability, and its sleek black finish adds a visually appealing touch.
https://www.siplast.com/systems/wallcontrol-monolith-vp-awb
J + J Flooring launches Synergy
Kinetex from J+J Flooring has launched Synergy, its latest release in the textile composite flooring category. It provides the performance attributes of hard surface with the softness and warmth of carpet. The structured pattern, offered in warm and cool neutrals with unique accent colors, provides a sophisticated look for workplace, retail, education, multifamily, and even health care spaces.
Kinetex provides key performance and sustainability attributes, including a lifetime warranty. The line contains no less than 45% post-consumer recycled content; one 24” x 24” tile selection contains 27 recycled plastic bottles. www.jjflooringgroup.com
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Fabricated AI recording leads to lawsuit after principal is reassigned
Aprincipal in the Baltimore County (Maryland) district has sued the school system after a fabricated 2024 recording created by artificial intelligence tricked people into believing that he had made racist and antisemitic comments.
CBS News Baltimore reports that Eric Eiswert, who had been principal at Pikesville High School, was suspended and subsequently reassigned after the recording was disseminated widely on social media.
However, police later determined the recording was generated by artificial intelligence (AI), and allege that Pikesville High’s former athletic director, Dazhon Darien, framed Eiswert in retaliation after he launched an investigation into the potential mishandling of school funds.
The lawsuit contends that the Baltimore County district removed Eiswert from his position as principal despite knowing that the recording was fabricated. Eiswert asserts that the district did not defend him or correct the record when it was proven that he did not make the remarks.
AI experts believe Eiswert’s voice was simulated on the recording, making comments about Black students and the Jewish community.
The audio went viral on social media.
Eiswert was reassigned and became principal of the district’s Sparrows Point Middle School. However, according to the lawsuit, Eiswert is still suffering the consequences of the AI hoax.
Audit says St. Louis area district mismanaged construction of high school
Lack of transparency and poor communication about construction costs resulted in board members and constituents in the Francis Howell (Missouri) District being blindsided by overruns of some $78 million for the new Francis Howell North High in St. Charles.
Those are the findings of a report from Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick, who gave the Francis Howell district the lowest possible rating of “poor” and identified several questionable actions involving construction of the high school.
The high school, which opened in August 2024, was projected to cost $86 million when voters were asked in 2020 to approve
a bond proposal. In November 2021, administrators informed the board that the cost of building the school had mushroomed to $164 million.
“What we found was a lack of transparency, a failure to communicate, and a flawed project manager selection process that led to the Board of Education and taxpayers being shocked when the actual cost of the new school was revealed,” Fitzpatrick said. “Because of these cost overruns, 71 originally planned projects, totaling more than $56 million, for schools across the district will not be completed. This lack of transparency violated the trust of the people and created serious doubts about the district’s ability to manage projects of this scale in the future.”
The audit also placed blame on the school board for failing to make sure it was receiving timely updates on projects. That led to “decisions with insufficient knowledge or understanding of their financial impact.”
Despite voter approval, Kansas blocks district’s access to bond funds
The Kansas Attorney General’s Office has blocked millions of dollars in school bond funds to a district in the state’s smallest county based on a rigid interpretation of a 2023 elections law.
The Kansas Reflector reports that voters in the Greeley County school district approved a $4.6 million school bond in May 2024 for renovations and new construction, but the Attorney General’s Office refused to approve the funds.
The Attorney General’s Office which determines whether a bond issue meets legal standards, based its Greeley County decision on a state law that requires county election officials to publish notice of an election on a county election website, in addition to a traditional newspaper notice.
However, Greeley County, with a population of about 1,200, doesn’t have a website.
The office found the county clerk’s “non-compliance with the website notification” was equal to a failure to follow the law.
The bond funds would have been spent on a new gymnasium, renovations in the existing gym and a new accessible playground.
Francis Howell School District
ID 96120943 © Webdata | Dreamstime.com
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