Grantee Research Project Results

Final Report: Balancing Sustainability, Clean Air, Healthy Learning Interiors, and Structural Safety when Designing and Building Schools

EPA Grant Number: R835634
Title: Balancing Sustainability, Clean Air, Healthy Learning Interiors, and Structural Safety when Designing and Building Schools
Investigators: Holliday, Lisa M. , Lynch, Robert A. , Magzamen, Sheryl , Keesee, Marguerite , Wachter, Hans-Peter , Floyd, Evan , Wang, Jun , Johnson, David L
Institution: University of Oklahoma , Colorado State University , University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: November 1, 2014 through October 31, 2018 (Extended to October 31, 2019)
Project Amount: $984,175
RFA: Healthy Schools: Environmental Factors, Children’s Health and Performance, and Sustainable Building Practices (2013) RFA Text |  Recipients Lists
Research Category: Children's Health , Human Health

Objective:

1. Investigate school building features & student performance
2. Explore the importance of building features
3. Determine which building features influence student scores
4. Develop an Evidence Based Tool
   1. A complete source of building features categories, elements, and their associations with student performance for principals, architects, contractors, and school decision makers

Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):

This is the final report as the project closed on 10/31/2019. The data collection, analyses, and results reporting were all completed in previous years and summarized in previous reports. The key findings were also reported in the Can School Buildings Make Kids Smarter and Healthier? document. The final year was spent doing two things, 1.) finalizing the website that is the primary dissemination tool for our findings and 2.) strategizing with community partners to continue working with school stakeholders on identifying ways to improve school facilities in the state based on the findings from our project.~~

1. Outputs of Year #5
   1. Evidence Based Tool as described in (d) above.
   2. This is in the form of a website that is hosted by the K20 Center on our campus. The K20 Center partners with educators at all levels to promote innovative learning. Their mission is “to cultivate a collaborative network engaged in research and outreach that creates and sustains innovation and transformation through leadership development, shared learning, and authentic technology integration.” More on the K20 Center can be found at k20center.ou.edu.

Conclusions:

1. This is on its way to being a useful tool for all parties involved in the planning, design, and construction of school buildings (new construction, renovations, and additions).
2. The housing of this website in partnership with the K20 Center was done purposefully. Since the K20 Center is already working with school stakeholders across the state, there is a built-in network that they can reach out to.
3. We have been fortunate to have school stakeholders join with us to continue gathering data about schools in our state. We have developed an instrument to gather data on a larger scale. This past year, the instrument was developed, piloted, refined, and distributed state-wide.
   1. We have distributed pdf and web-based versions of the instrument. The web-based version can be found here:https://ousurvey.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_88iIKQdRYeWa4vj.
   2. We currently have collected data on 372 school buildings in the state.

Journal Articles:

No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 17 publications for this project

Supplemental Keywords:

Oklahoma Healthy School,School Building Features,School Construction,School Renovations

Relevant Websites:

Oklahoma Healthy Schools Exit

University of Oklahoma Survey Exit

Oklahoma Healthy Schools Project Exit

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

2015 Progress Report

2016 Progress Report

2017 Progress Report

2018 Progress Report