Page 40 - School Planning & Management, April 2017

CASE HISTORIES { REAL-WORLD SOLUTIONS }
Better Classroom Security for Safer Schools
THE OLATHE PUBLIC School District in Kansas is improving classroom security and sim- plifying key control by replacing multiple brands of locks on classrooms doors with Schlage locks and the patent-protected Everest 29TM key system.
With 40+ schools, the school district was using key systems from three different manufacturers, making key control difficult.
Challenges included:
• Limited support and expansion: manu-
facturers no longer supported some systems,
while others had reached their capacity.
• Overexposure: Some of the key systems
had been in place so long that it was diffi-
cult or impossible to know who had keys. • Maintenance: Upkeep was also trouble-
some with so many key systems to maintain. The district wanted to implement door
hardware products and a consistent key system across the district that allowed for increased control and more effective maintenance.
The school district chose Schlage mortise and cylindrical lock products and a patent-protected Everest 29 key system because of its many benefits, including:
• Patent protection: The key system pro-
vides patent protection against unauthor- ized duplication through 2029, so the district will be able to maintain effective key control with confidence.
• Ease of rekeying: All locks are Schlage with full-size interchangeable cores, which simplify rekeying.
• Classroom security functionality:
The Schlage L-Series mortise locks and ND-Series cylindrical locks used include a classroom function that allows teachers
Olathe Public School District made their schools safer and more secure by replacing multiple brands of locks on classroom doors with Schlage locks and the Everest 29 key system.
to lock the door from within the classroom during an incident.
Most of the locks being upgraded are on classroom doors, the district also is replac- ing locks on other openings.
Better HVAC for a Sustainable School
MARK AND GRETCHEN Biedron co-founded the The Willow School (Willow) in
Gladstone, N.J., to celebrate learning and collaboration, and foster ethical relation- ships between people and the natural systems that support them. Sustainability drives the curriculum and building design, which led to the selection of a Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) system from Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating (Mit- subishi Electric) for its Health, Wellness and Nutrition Center.
Biedron and his team took on the Living Building Challenge (LBC) for the Health, Wellness and Nutrition Center, which required everything in the building to be 100-percent electric. The team chose VRF over an all-electric geothermal system because “VRF was well ahead on net-zero
efficiency.” The need for an electric kitchen contributed to the selection of high- efficiency electric heat pumps and photo- voltaic panels to offset the energy used.
Including Lossnay Energy Recovery Ventilators (ERVs) further improved ef- ficiencies. When conditions are agreeable for natural ventilation, a controls system prompts teachers and students to open classroom windows. Otherwise, the ERVs recover energy from exhaust air to simulta- neously cool or heat outside ventilation air.
“We had to remain net-zero or net- positive. With solar panels and the Mit- subishi [Electric] system, we were able to achieve that,” says Biedron. “A conventional facility built to code uses between 100-150 kBtu per square foot ...but this building uses only 21 kBtu per square foot. If you re- move the kitchen, it would only use 15 kBtu
The Willow School was able to earn the Living Building challenge certification with help from Mitsubishi Electric’s VRF system.
per square foot.” Willow is one of the most energy-efficient buildings in the country.
The project earned LBC certification and is also recognized as a Green Ribbon School by the United States DOE. SPM
www.mitsubishipro.com
www.allegion.com
40 SCHOOL PLANNING & MANAGEMENT / APRIL 2017
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