Page 8 - School Planning & Management, July/August 2017

NEWS & VIEWS
Hot Tips
This Month
Safe Flooring Choices
HOW FLOORS KEEP
STUDENTS SAFER
IS IT POSSIBLE TO GET STUDENTS TO STOP
running in halls? Well, that’s not our expertise, but here is what we do know. It is possible to make floors safer in the event a student is rushing to class, running to catch up with friends or sprinting to the cafeteria on pizza day. Rubber flooring can help keep students safer and school environments healthier too.
How? Rubber flooring is slip-resistant, and many are available in sheet and tile, as well
as stair treads for school steps. The rubber surface is resilient and flexible so students and staff stay surefooted. Even when floors are wet from spills or snow and rain-soaked shoes and boots, they remain moisture resistant and very easy to clean. In some cases, the profile is also available in an embossed round design for additional texture.
Safety isn’t just about slip resistance. When it comes to flooring there is hygiene and environmental health to consider. Many brands of rubber flooring are resistant to fungi and bacteria and are stain resistant, smoke and fire resistant too. And this type of flooring can be a comprehensive healthy choice for materials in a school because some rubber flooring is FloorScore-certified, PVC-free and has low VOC emissions. Finally, rubber flooring absorbs noise, providing excellent acoustical performance — critical in learning environments.
Slips and fall prevention, cleanliness, noise reduction and smart designs are all consid- erations school planners and administrators must evaluate. But choosing flooring does
not have to be complicated. Rubber flooring is available in a wide range of colors, patterns and profiles to deliver both performance and design for corridors, cafeterias, classrooms, science labs, stairwells and restrooms.
>> Kendall Speer Ellis is the Marketing manager for The Stonhard Group. She can be reached at info@thestonhardgroup.com.
{ CONT. FROM PAGE 3 }
Ohio Students Attend goIT Robotics Summer Camp
Recently, more than 145 middle and high students flooded the halls of Tata Consultancy Services’ Global Delivery Center in Milford, Ohio, to take part
in the annual goIT Robotics Summer Camp. The goIT Robotics Summer Camp was a citywide event designed for students to demonstrate their learning, celebrate their accomplish- ments and interact with others who share an interest in robotics. Students representing nearly 50 area schools vied for prizes as they participated in collaborative team challenges with
the theme of espionage: Spy Games — Avoid the Drone and Zip Line (middle and high school camp). Mindstorm Challenge — Mine Sweeper and Find the Spy (high school camp only).
Eliot Innovation School Breaks Ground
Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh
joined students and city and Boston Public Schools officials in a ground- breaking ceremony recently to launch the $20-million renovation of the John Eliot K-8 Innovation Upper School building. When completed in fall 2019, the school will feature state-of-the-art spaces designed to promote collabora- tive learning, as well as an art studio and robotics-engineering lab overlooking
the Charles River. Finegold Alexander Architects is the architect for this project and another Eliot School project, also in the North End. The Eliot Upper School, which serves 280 students in grades 3-8, is located in a 42,000-square-foot build- ing. The two-year construction project — the final phase of an overall $43 million project to two Eliot school buildings — will begin in early July. The upgrade of the building will include a complete renovation of the building’s interior, replacement of its exterior facade, and many structural and site improvements.
For more information go to webspm. com/eliot.
Crandall ISD High School Begins Expansion Project
As a part of a 2017 bond program, Crandall (Texas) ISD has teamed with WRA Architects to design two new ad- ditions and renovations to the existing high school. This expansion will include a 3,000-square-foot cafeteria and 43,000-square-foot classroom addition increasing the capacity by 450 students. It will boast Next Generation Learn-
ing environments. Four new physics and biology science labs with shared prep rooms will have built in perimeter casework with mobile tables making
the space flexible for different teaching strategies. Curriculum will be taught
in new culinary, interior design and medical areas. At the cafeteria addition, a more contemporary design was chosen with full height glass curtain wall and a deep overhanging roof structure, sup- ported by elegant round columns.
For more information go to webspm. com/crandall. SPM
8 SCHOOL PLANNING & MANAGEMENT / JULY/AUGUST 2017
WEBSPM.COM