June 10, 2021 at 1:12 p.m.
Adequate facilities improve student achievement
To the Editor,
Let me share just a few of the published studies and what I have learned from a real life experience at South Ridge Schools in Culver, MN. In the first study "Impact of Inadequate Facilities on Student Learning" from the MN Department of Education. This study demonstrates that students in buildings that were in poor condition scored 6% below students who attended class in buildings that were in fair condition, and 11% below student in new or excellent condition.
The second is from John B. Lyons entitled "Do School Facilities Really Impact a Child's Education? An Introduction to the Issues." Mr. Lyons points out that as school buildings grow older, more environmental issues are appearing. The issues consist of mold, mildew, and air quality issues which can have a big impact on all students, but especially those with asthma and allergies. He goes on to correlate all the absences or days children attend school when they are not feeling healthy to the impact on student learning. Compromised air quality, inefficient HVAC systems, mold and mildew result in student absences and illnesses which hamper student learning. Mr. Lyons also discusses the importance of sunlight in the classrooms, as well as the problems within schools for students with disabilities. At Northland, the clearest example of our current facility being unequipped for people with disabilities is the fact that we do not have an elevator to allow accessibility to the upper floor of the building built in 1941 during the Works Progress Administration (WPA).
In another study titled "School Facilities Improve Learning" They preface their study with this statement: "There is a growing body of research demon¬strating that clean air, good light, and a small, quiet, comfortable, and safe learning environment are important for students' academic achievement." I have included the actual source for their information.
Point #1- Students who receive instruction in buildings with good environmental conditions can earn test scores that are 5-17 percent higher than scores for students in substandard buildings.1
Glen I. Earthman, School Facility Conditions and Student Academic Achievement (Los Angeles: UCLA Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access, 2002).
Point #2- Schools with better building conditions have up to 14 percent lower student suspension rates.3 Stephen Boese and John Shaw, New York State School Facilities and Student Health, Achievement, and Attendance: A Data Analysis Report (Albany, NY: Healthy Schools Network, Inc., 2005).
Point #3- Improving a school's "Overall Compliance Rating" to meet health and safety standards can lead to a 36-point increase in California Academic Performance Index scores.4 Jack Buckley, Mark Schneider, and Yi Shang, Los Angeles Unified School District School Facilities and Academic Performance (Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities, 2004).
Point #4- Substandard physical environments are strongly associated with truancy and other behavior problems in students. Lower student attendance led to lower scores on standardized tests in English-language arts and math. Revathy Kumar, Patrick M. O'Malley, and Lloyd D. Johnston, "Association between Physical Environment of Secondary Schools and Student Problem Behavior," Environment and Behavior 40, no. 4 (2008): 455-86. Also substantiated in Valkiria Durán-Narucki, "School Building Condition, School Attendance, and Academic Achievement in New York City Public Schools: A Mediation Model," Journal of Environmental Psychology 28, no. 3 (2008): 278-86.
Point #5- Studies indicate that student performance is improved by an even distribution of daylight, an expansive view, and limited glare and thermal heat gain. One study found 20 percent faster student progress on math and 26 per¬cent faster progress in reading compared with students in classrooms with less exposure to daylight. Peter Boyce, Reviews of Technical Reports on Daylight and Productivity (Troy, NY: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2004). Also pointed out in Heschong Mahone Group, Daylighting in Schools: An Investigation into the Relationship Between Daylighting and Human Performance (Fair Oaks, CA, 1999).
Of course there are many more points to this compilation of studies, but as you can see there is significant research that support how quality facilities positively impact learning.
In addition, I have had the opportunity to visit with Kristi Berlin who was hired as the K-12 Principal at South Ridge schools in Culver, MN and is now acting as the Curriculum Director for their school district. She pointed out that they moved into a new building 3 years ago and the first year their building became a 'celebration school' due to increased student test scores. In addition, their school population has grown each year as families have moved into the area as well as families have chosen to open enroll their children into a new and successful school. One major thing she highlighted (that I can completely relate to in Northland) is that now instead of worrying and wondering about what would go wrong with the building next, and what programs they would eliminate or cut funding for to pay for expenses, they are now able to focus on programming and best practices in education and their kids are flourishing.
The goal for the plan is even more than to improve education for our children, it is also to provide our students with a safe, secure, healthy, efficient and modern facility that can serve our communities for many years. It will be up to the residents that live within the communities we serve to decide if you support the citizen task force plan that was unanimously approved by the school board. If you have additional questions you would like to discuss, my office number is 218-566-2352 extension 2011. The hope of myself and your school district is that you will get out and vote on November 9th.[[In-content Ad]]
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