The Top 10 Green Schools in the U.S.: 2005

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7. Good Will Towards Green Citation

The Goodwillie Environmental School in Ada, Michigan, lives up to its name in this multi-award winning building. Designed for the Forest Hills School district, the LEED-certified project included students in studying its environmental impact during the building's creation. Under project architect Jim vander Molen and the firm's director of sustainability Jeff Remtema, the design was laid out to nestle between the woods and a restored pesticide-free prairie, allowing every class to open up to the outdoors. Windows covering the entire South wall can be opened for ventilation while the dimmer lights and the heating system use the back wall and the floor of the building, respectively, as a thermal masses teaching 5th and 6th graders "the efficient use of resources," says Remtema. So does the overall design-with-nature: no A/C, doors that open to porches, a heating system powered by a geothermal heat loop and simplicity in the layout. Add natural ventilation, recycling and low- or no-VOC interior finishes—and the all-embracing effort inspired parents to vote for bond issues to build three more with the same high standards.

8. Gold Binocular for Clear Vision

The Clearview Elementary School in Hanover, Pennsylvania, got the LEED gold for bringing out the basics—air and light or, in USGBC's terms—"features ... to enhance the learning environment through increased daylighting ...and better ventilation." Under architects L. Robert Kimball and Associates and John Boecker, director of High Performance Green Design, the project succeeded on many fronts. Low-VOC paints, sealers, coatings and adhesives were used throughout the building while indigenous plants outside reduce the need for water and pesticides. From daylight design with photocell dimming, to CO2 sensors in classrooms, to underfloor air distribution, to 39 percent water consumption reductions and 20 percent recycled materials (65 percent made locally), to passive solar strategies, this state of the art structure got points—and more points—for performance. Outside, the lack of school buses eliminates the all-too-hazardous fumes from idling.

9. Green Measuring Tape for Tying Toddlers to Old-timers

Green go the generations in this ecologically astute, multi-age mix of Head Start and high school, kindergarten and seniors at the all-encompassing John M. Langston High School Continuation and Langston-Brown Community Center in Arlington, Virginia. The LEED-certified silver design by William Brown of BeeryRio offers a veritable punch list of green procedures from solar shading to electric vehicle re-charging. Clerestory windows illuminate the rooms, and green awareness—from reclaiming roof-top rain waters, to permeable soil that drains into a bio-filtration area, plus built-in cabinetry made of formaldehyde-free strawboard, low-VOC paints, carpets and adhesives—kept high standards in indoor environmental quality and efficiency. In the end, the unique design process involved nightly meetings and talks with the Arlington County neighbors, users and civic associations, elevated the community's communication and created a handsome, multi-generational, green site.