A PERFECT LEARNING ENVIRONMENT INSIDE & OUT

In Business, November-December, 2006, Vol. 28, No. 6, p. 26

Portland, Oregon's Rosa Parks Elementary School features renewable energy practices, green building, water-savings methods and campus that is 30 percent more energy efficient.

Marnie McPhee

AS MOST STUDENTS headed back to Portland, Oregon schools in September, about 450 in North Portland marveled at their new digs: Rosa Parks School. The kids appreciated the sparkling school. It's big, bright, bold - and brand new! They and their families - along with school staff and many others - are also learning to appreciate its earth-friendliness.
The school marks two major firsts. For one, it's the first new school in the district since Forest Park Elementary School was built in 1996. This winter, it also will be the first school in the district to earn a certification for its environmental features from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program of the U. S. Green Building Council. Just 29 schools in the U.S., including three in Oregon, are LEED-certified. Oregon soon will add four more, including Rosa Parks.

GREEN ON THE OUTSIDE
The kids likely may not care about those “firsts.” But they are learning how the carefully preserved maples, cherries and oaks they see from the school's abundant windows shade the site, prevent erosion and store water.
No doubt, the large open space around the school will become their natural playground. They'll learn how the vibrant miniponds and vegetated bioswales that dot the property absorb, treat and then channel all of the storm water from the school and adjacent Boys & Girls Club into deep underground wells.
They also will learn about the native and drought-tolerant plants throughout the school grounds, which are easy to maintain and require 50 percent less irrigation than more traditional choices. This natural system will not only provide a rich educational opportunity for the kids, but save the district thousands of dollars in yearly maintenance, water and storm-water costs. And, consistent with district policy, school grounds will be managed using integrated pest management, which calls for the least-toxic control methods, an obvious benefit at a school.

GREEN ON THE INSIDE
Inside, the building demonstrates a range of cost-effective green measures that kids, their families and school staff will explore.
Energy
According to energy models, the building is almost 30 percent more efficient than the Oregon Energy Code requires. This reduces energy costs and improves occupants' comfort. To accomplish this impressive result, the project team:
o Increased insulation in the building shell;
o Incorporated daylight extensively, which brightens the rooms, reduces lighting-related electricity consumption, and as studies have shown, also improves learning;
o Installed sensors that automatically turn the row of classroom lights nearest the windows on and off in response to daylight levels;
o Chose energy-efficient windows and skylights with a “low-E” coating that reduces heat gain and loss;
o Installed architectural light shades and shelves on some windows, to disperse daylight throughout the rooms, and reduce glare and overheating;
o Ensured that several windows can be opened, to bring in fresh outside air and cool the rooms naturally;
o Selected a heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) system that includes a high-efficiency condensing gas boiler, which heats both the air through a displacement ventilation system, and water that circulates through baseboards; and
The district also has brought renewable energy to the school. First, it will buy enough “green power” from Portland General Electric to meet about half of the building's electricity costs for the next two years. With funding from PGE, the Energy Trust of Oregon and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, BEF's “Solar 4R Schools” program installed a 1.1-kW demonstration photovoltaic (PV) system at the school. BEF already has installed similar systems at three other district schools: daVinci Arts Middle School and Cleveland and Lincoln high schools. The system converts energy from the sun into electricity, which will flow into PGE's grid. An informational kiosk provides information about the photovoltaic system and other green features, and real-time data about the PV system's electric-power production. Additionally, teachers will use a curriculum developed by BEF to teach students about solar electricity.

CLEAN AIR
Indoor air quality always is a concern, especially in schools. At Rosa Parks, the air is cleaner than in most buildings for several reasons. First, builders kept construction debris out of heating and cooling ducts, mitigated the potential of mold developing in building materials stored on site, and kept a clean “house” during construction to control dust and other pollutants.
The team also used low-toxic and nontoxic building materials and sophisticated air filters, and carefully flushed the indoor air before the school opened to cleanse it of any lingering pollutants. The school's custodian uses only green, nonpolluting cleaners. And ongoing air-quality monitoring system will ensure a healthy indoor environment.

WASTE REDUCTION
These students have learned to practice the “3 R's” - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. So it shouldn't surprise them that contractors diverted more than 90 percent of construction waste by volume from the landfill by carefully sorting and then recycling the material.
In addition, as much as 10 percent of the materials used in the building contain recycled content. And, per the district's Earth-friendly recycling policies, everyone in the building is reusing and recycling as much as possible. A green “Trash Train” provided by the Housing Authority of Portland will pick up recyclable materials and garbage from the school and all sites within New Columbia.
REGIONAL BUILDING MATERIALS
According to Karina Ruiz, project manager for DOWA Architects, which designed the building, about 20 percent of the materials used in the school were manufactured within 500 miles of Portland, and up to 50 percent of these materials were made from raw materials that were extracted within that same area.

GROWING TO THEIR FULL POTENTIAL
When Rosa Parks' first students arrived, Principal Tamala Newsome greeted them enthusiastically, just as she always did at nearby John Ball Elementary School. Ball was closed this year, and many of its students now are attending Rosa Parks.
“After many years of plans, dreams and work, we have a building that is much more than a school,” she says. “It is a place where children can and will grow to their full potential. We'll all be learning about how to take care of our building and the larger environment.
“We'll be proud to be the first school in our district to earn a LEED certification and we look forward to monitoring it for the life of the school. Like its namesake, Rosa Parks, this place will stand for what is right, what is honorable and what we are all about.”

Marnie McPhee is a freelance writer in Portland, Oregon who specializes in sustainability topics.

SCHOOL'S NAME SPEAKS VOLUMES
WHEN it came time to name its new school, Portland, Oregon Public Schools chose one that symbolizes strength, courage, dignity and the ability of one person to “make a significant difference, no matter what his or her position in life happens to be,” in the words of the resolution approved by the PPS Board of Eduction.
Rosa Parks was born in Tuskegee, Alabama in 1913. She was compelled to give up her studies as a teenager to care for ill family members, but in 1933, at her husband's urging, she earned her high school degree. Active in the civil rights movement for many years, she took a highly visible stand for equality when, riding a bus home from work on December 1, 1955, she refused to give up her seat to a white passenger and was arrested.
The 382-day Montgomery Bus Boycott resulted, launching Martin Luther King Jr. as a leader in the civil rights movement.
Several years later, Parks moved from Montgomery to Detroit. She worked as a seamstress and later in the office of U.S. Rep. John Conyers. She died in 2005 at age 92. Her casket was placed in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda for two days; she was the first woman in American history to be so honored. Parks was buried in Detroit.
- Katie Essick
Portland,Oregon Public Schools

Copyright 2007, The JG Press, Inc.