The number of online resources available to those interested in school design is truly astonishing. Here are some favorites we find ourselves referring to frequently.

School Design:

The American Architectural Foundation's Web site has a number of books and pamphlets that summarize the results gained during activities held as a part of its Great Schools By Design program. To see them, click on the "publications" tab at www.archfoundation.org.

The National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities has nearly 50 free school-facilities publications available for download at its Web site. They cover everything from construction supervision to renovating facilities. www.edfacilities.org/pubs/.

The resources section of the 21st Century School Fund focuses on urban public schools. Its Web site has many school design reports, transcripts of public testimony, and an archive of the Better Buildings Better Schools newsletter. You can find them by clicking on the publications tab at www.21csf.org.

Dollars & Sense I and II are a pair of publications published by the Knowledgeworks Foundation that summarize research on the educational and social benefits of small schools. You may access these at www.goodsmallschools.org. The foundation has other school- and education-related publications at its website, www.kwfdn.org/.

Green Schools:

The U.S. Department of Energy's Energysmart Schools web site has resources that make a persuasive case for energy efficency in schools. For information on planning, financing, design, and operations and maintenance, see the "how to" guides at www.energysmartschools.gov.

The Collaborative for High Performance Schools web site is presents a tremendous amount of information about the importance of water, energy, and natural resources conservation, and how to achieve it. Its six-volume Best Practices Manual and other publications are available at www.chps.net.

U.S. Green Building Council has recently released its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Green Schools rating system. It allows architects, engineers, contractors, and school officials to design and build healthier, more energy-efficient school buildings. Information is available at www.buildgreenschools.org.

ASHRAE, an international technical society dedicated to advancing the art and science of heating, air conditioning and refrigeration has recently released the Advanced Energy Design Guidelines for K-12 School Buildings, which it created in collaboration with several other professional organizations. For information, see www.ashrae.org/aedg/.

The U.S. Department of Energy and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities have just launched a High Performance Schools Online Academy. It offers a number of courses that on such topics as commissioning, day and electric lighting, energy modeling, and life cycle costing. Check out www.hpschoolsonlineacademy.org/ for details.

Facts and Figures:

McGraw-Hill Construction Publications sells comprehensive reports on construction spending trends, including the newly released Education Green Building SmartMarket Report. You can find them at construction.ecnext.com/coms2/analytics

The Institute of Education Sciences' National Center for Educational Statistics is the U.S. Department of Education's primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing an amazing amount of data related to education. Click on the Publications and Products tab at www.nces.ed.gov for reports on dozens of topics, including data related to school buildings.