Page 11 - School Planning & Management, April/May 2019

LED lighting was not practical in schools until 2009-2010. In the last 10 years, it has quickly become the preferred type of artificial lighting in schools. A trend that will no doubt continue for many years
to come.
Almost every classroom built in the
last 50 years includes a suspended-grid ceiling that is designed to accommodate multiple fluorescent lighting fixtures, or troffers. In order to gain acceptance of the new LED technology in school buildings, manufacturers have adapted their products to legacy equipment standards. And so, most LED lighting systems are subject to the same restrictions typically encountered with screw-in light bulbs or fluorescent fixtures. There has not been serious consideration given to eliminating the previous light fixtures and switches. Design requirements for LED lighting differ from the previous systems. Since they are not dependent on assorted types and sizes of glass bulbs, a multitude of configurations are possible. Imagine the opportunities that could be created in the learning environment if there were 50 or even 100 points of light in each classroom that could be controlled individually
or grouped in zones. From their desks, teachers and/or students could create lighting levels to match the task at hand or to their individual preferences.
Our primary goal with lighting design in schools should be focused on providing an optimal learning environment in the classroom and other instructional areas. Lighting controls should no longer be simply limited to wall-mounted light switches that are on or off. Innovative school architects are making creative choices as to the positioning of school buildings and the placement of windows to capture more natural lighting in the classroom. It follows that there should also be a higher-level flexibility of controls to balance natural and artificial lighting to enhance the variety of activities, (often occurring simultaneously) throughout
the space. Special consideration must
be given to adjusting room light to optimize visibility of projected images on promethean boards, computer screens, and other surfaces.
Craig DiLouie, who is the education director for the Lighting Controls Association headquartered in Rosslyn, Va.,
describes another interesting innovation. “A more recent trend in classroom lighting control is the use of tunable-white lighting, which offers a choice of correlated color temperature (CCT) from warm (orangish- white) to neutral to cool (bluish-white). This allows the teacher to reset the color
Teacher alerts
Strobe, tones, & pop-ups
Pre-recorded announcements and instructions
Display maps & directions
Notify off-campus responders
Lock doors
How well can you communicate in an emergency?
Communication technology that helps keep staff and students aware, focused, and out of harm’s way is part of a strong Emergency Preparedness
Plan (EPP). What’s more, it should cover:
1. ...activation: Multiple ways for staff to activate an alert
2. ...notification:Redundant ways to inform responders
3. ...response: A suite of effective, automated actions
Does yours?
If it’s time to update your school’s communication technology, give us a call. We make it easier
to learn in classrooms and to manage bells, paging, alerting, and
response
across campus.
To learn how
to build strong
EPP-ready
communication
infrastructure,
download the free guide at gofrontrow.com/spm-conductor.
Silent signals
800.227.0735 | gofrontrow.com
APRIL/MAY 2019 / SCHOOL PLANNING & MANAGEMENT 11