Like many of you, we've spent the past few weeks filling classroom supply lists, buying new shoes to fit still-growing feet, anxiously awaiting teacher announcements, and generally looking forward to kids being back in school. (Summer is great...but...it's time.)

It's not surprising that school is on our minds, and in our profession, that includes K-12 facility design. It's an area that has taken on a new life over the past two years. Even before 2020, schools across the country were in need of updates and expansion to accommodate modern technology and a growing student population. In fact, a Government Accountability Office report found that more than half of all public schools needed to replace multiple building systems. The post-pandemic focus on improved indoor air quality, and the availability of ESSER funds, has now made it possible for some districts to make improvements and/or shift toward new construction. And with the extension of the ESSER fund application deadline through 2023, there's still time.

But while IAQ is certainly a major area of focus, ongoing violence in schools has it taking a back seat to the number one priority for administrators, teachers, parents and communities - student safety.

In this edition of Plains Talk, we’ll weigh in on what can be done from an MEP perspective to shore up school facility security. We'll also talk about some of our recent and ongoing K-12 projects and share what districts are doing to improve their facilities and enhance the student experience. 

Check out more of our K-12 work by visiting our website.

The Serious Work of Student Safety

The safety and security of school facilities has been at the forefront of the conversation around K-12 education for years. Unfortunately, that conversation is still a hot button issue as our nation continues to experience dangerous and senseless violent tragedies at schools across the country. While districts work diligently to evaluate and shore up the safety of their students, we as designers can help by identifying ways to reinforce the security of the school building itself. 

Physical Security Measures

A common and simple first step schools can take, if they haven’t already, is to create vestibules with locked interior doors at main building entrances. Visitors must first buzz the office to request entry, and when granted access, enter through the office itself. This creates a multi-level pathway before an unwanted visitor would have access to the rest of the building.

The remaining exterior doors to the building can remain locked throughout the school day. This can be accomplished seamlessly by incorporating an access control system.

Access Control Systems

The use of an access control system is commonplace in many public buildings, including schools. Protecting exterior doors is critical and utilizing access control inside the building can also provide an extra level of protection.

Modern systems offer an array of customizable features to make them user-friendly without sacrificing performance. Depending on the system there may even be the ability to add an app to a smart device allowing administrators to interact with the system when they are away from their desk. For instance, if a delivery driver activates the buzzer at the delivery door, the administrator would receive a notification through the app, review live video from the door and grant entrance remotely right from their phone.

The system also allows administrators to grant varying levels of access to different employees or employee groups, reducing the risk of staff members entering areas of the building they shouldn’t, such as IT rooms or specific classrooms. Doors can also be scheduled to unlock automatically for set periods of time (i.e. when children are entering the building in the morning) without unlocking ALL entrances.

Regardless of access, the system will provide a log of who enters the building, both through a reporting feature, as well as being interlocked with the video surveillance equipment to offer visual confirmation. 

Video Surveillance

A video surveillance system can be implemented both outside and inside the school building. Many schools already use a level of video surveillance but may consider incorporating video analytics. While the surveillance system itself captures video of the spaces, analytics takes safety one step further by identifying threats with features such as facial recognition, license plate recognition, wrong-way movement, and foreign object detection. 

Lighting Controls

To aid in the clarity and usefulness of video surveillance, exterior and interior school spaces should be well lit. Occupancy-based controls turn lights on when movement is detected, which performs the double duty of saving energy by not lighting unoccupied spaces, and assuring a space is well lit when someone is present – wanted or unwanted. Additionally, an illuminated space can be a deterrent to unwanted behavior.

Communications

Another consideration in the safety discussion is the use of a reliable communication system. The ability for staff to communicate a threat not only to authorities, but to other building occupants quickly and clearly, can make the difference in the extent to which security is breached. Overhead paging systems are an effective tool for this level of communication and have the added benefit of alerting an intruder that they have been identified and no longer hold any element of surprise. 

The reality is that many of these systems have been available, and implemented, in schools for years. As we look for answers to the issue of school safety, it’s important to remember that these systems are only effective if they’re well operated and maintained. Doors should be spot checked by facilities personnel to assure the mechanisms haven’t failed, or they aren’t being propped open. Access control systems should be reviewed for performance and any software upgrades implemented immediately. Video analytics should be considered to enhance existing surveillance systems and then carefully monitored by the appropriate personnel. Lighting control and communication systems must be routinely tested so any operational failures are identified. In addition, providing staff training is also critical to the success of using the previously mentioned security measures. 

While we’d like to believe that any building system can be incorporated with a “set it and forget it” mentality, the reality is that consistent, rigorous testing and maintenance is critical. The last thing anyone wants is to discover an element of the security protocol has failed in the moment it was needed most.

Chamberlain CSD Elementary School & HS Gym Addition

The Chamberlain School District is located along the banks of the Missouri River in Central South Dakota and includes both a K-5 elementary school and 6-12 middle and high school. In K-5 alone, CSD serves more than 400 students each school year, and with enrollment climbing, the district decided to plan for the future with a new, larger building.

In our more than 35 years as a firm, WPE has worked with the lion’s share of school districts in the State of South Dakota. Notably missing however, was Chamberlain. We were understandably thrilled when, in 2021, we were selected as part of a design team to deliver a new $23.5 million elementary school for the Cubs. The 55,000 square foot space will feature not only general education classrooms, but a 6,000 square foot competition gym and cafeteria to accommodate up to 900 students.

Also under this contract, WPE designed a gymnasium addition for Chamberlain’s high school, which will include four sets of locker rooms, and a 22,000 square foot gym that can be divided into two full-size courts with spectator seating.

Mechanically, we were able to deliver a tried-and-true air-handler/VAV system with hot water heat from high efficiency boilers. Cooling is provided by Dx coils paired with air-cooled condensers in the air handlers. (Does anyone else remember the days before schools had A/C? Talk about standardized system improvement!)

Electrical service coordination, first and foremost, was accomplished by working with the local utility to relocate the main feed to the facility, as well as finding a new home for the building transformer. Finding a good balance of cost versus function was also a big step for the design and construction team, specifically with the lighting. Automatic lighting controls were implemented in much of the building addition, as well as the use of dimming controls in the majority of interactive staff/student spaces.

Cotter Elementary Addition & Renovation

Check out what others are saying about our projects from around the region.

We are pleased to announce Matt Stroh, P.E., a Senior Mechanical Engineer and Project Manager most recently from Wisconsin, has joined our firm as Office Manager in Casper.

Matt was previously a Senior Engineer for Multistack in Sparta, Wis., where he led an engineering team responsible for all water-cooled MagLev products. He also previously worked as a Senior Engineer with the Trane Company, where he attended the Trane GTP, a master’s course in HVAC systems/applications and professional development. 

Matt holds two bachelor’s degrees, one in Applied Physics from the University of Northern Iowa and the other in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. Outside the classroom, he was involved in the local ASHRAE chapter, AHRI, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and numerous other volunteer efforts, and served as a Deacon in his church.

Matt arrived in Casper August 23, and we hope you’ll join us in welcoming him to Wyoming!

Direct Phone: (307) 776-9973

Email: matt.stroh@westplainsengineering.com

We were thrilled to sponsor the bus tour for AIA-SD Design in the Hills for the 6th consecutive event! After half a dozen years running around with this group, we still have the best time. Thanks for welcoming us for Design in the Hills 2022!