New Greenwood School is Green—And a Nice Place to Work, Learn

With towering windows bringing in natural light and energy-efficient heating, Seattle's Greenwood Elementary is among a growing class of cutting-edge, "high-performance" buildings.

A $15.7 million renovation the school completed in 2002 brought the aging building up to 21st-century standards by using an emerging federal government standard to save energy, use more recyclable building materials and make the building more efficient and user friendly.

"It's a great building to work in, the atmosphere, the ambiance," said Greenwood Principal Robert Radford. "I'm not sure it all translates into measurable evidence, but it's certainly a pleasure to be in the building."

Nationwide, 167 projects have gained certification for meeting the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, standards, and 1,834 have been registered. In Washington state, 13 have been certified of 101 registered.

Environmental activists think the new standards do have a measurable impact, economically and academically. According to the Washington Environmental Council, the new standards have lowered utility costs by 30 percent, raised standardized test scores by 20 percent and increased student attendance and employee retention rates.

To improve student health, the school monitors air quality and used "low-emitting" building materials in construction.

And while students, faculty and administrators glow over their new brighter and "greener" classrooms at Greenwood Elementary, lawmakers in Olympia are considering making all of the Evergreen State a little more environmentally friendly.

Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, is sponsoring House Bill 1272 to require that new school and state buildings over 5,000 square feet use LEED standards.

Proponents say "green buildings" pay for themselves in eight to 10 years through lower utility costs. And schools benefit even more, they say. Healthier students through better air quality means more state money, because funding is linked to student attendance.

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