Advancing School Sustainability During a Pandemic: Challenges and Opportunities
COVID-19 has created unprecedented challenges for schools, and the situations that schools must navigate are constantly changing.
How will instruction be delivered? What will it take to ensure that school facilities keep children safe and support public health goals? State and local sustainability goals have not been canceled – how can energy and building projects move forward?
The 2021 Green California Schools and Community Colleges Summit will provide a forum for school leaders to share how they are addressing these challenges, including ways that the current crisis might be providing unanticipated opportunities for progress.
Topics covered will include:
Healthy Air
How can HVAC systems be commissioned and maintained to ensure the healthies air possible? What about purification systems? How does a Dedicated Outdoor Air System fit into this picture?
Sustainable Cleaning
What are the green options for disinfecting and cleaning schools to the standards necessary to prevent contagion and the right ways to use them?
Facility Design
Public health experts have said that even if the virus is brought under control, future outbreaks are possible. What kinds of design changes should be considered to make it easier keep students safe, or reconfigure learning spaces if this occurs?
Outdoor Learning
Outdoor learning offers a way to increase safety, and it’s more feasible in California than in many other states. What are the best practices?
Student-Centered Instruction
The CDC has recommended that classrooms be configured with all desks facing forward. How can the current focus on student-centered learning and collaboration be maintained when physical distancing is required?
Remote Learning
If remote learning is the only, or predominate method for delivering instruction, what kinds of distance learning activities can be created to get students outside, and support implementation of Environmental Principles and Concepts?
Project Management
Given the urgency and intensity of pandemic response, and the new era of remote workers, how can facility teams best manage projects and keep them on schedule? What are the concepts and approaches that can help them develop the resilience necessary to pivot when needed?
Funding
How will budget cuts affect facility plans? What are the prospects for funding for work that addresses COVD-19 risk? What kinds of funding or incentives are still available?
Staying on Course
How can Green Ribbon School efforts move forward at this time? What’s currently happening in regard to energy projects and building projects on school campuses? Is there anything about the current moment that is creating opportunities for these to move forward faster?