CLEVELAND — Schools across the country are increasing their focus on school security following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting last December. As a result, the summer break saw a wave of renovations and upgrades for school security as the tragedies of Sandy Hook remain fresh in minds of school administrators and parents.
CHICAGO — The school districts of Illinois will split $400 million for new construction, maintenance projects and renovations as part of the statewide Illinois Jobs Now capital fund.
The funds will be dispersed among 24 school districts with $306 million allotted to school construction, $50 million for maintenance projects, $25 million to alleviate overcrowded classrooms and $20 million will be dedicated to making the state’s schools more energy efficient. The fund may also provide reimbursement for school construction that has already completed.
WASHINGTON — Nearly 57,000 of the nation’s economically disadvantaged children will be denied access to the Head Start and Early Head Start programs this year due to cuts caused by sequestration.
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The University of Miami (UM) has unveiled its news Student Activities Center along with the Schwartz Center for Athletic Excellence, just in time for the academic year.
JUNEAU, Alaska — The overhaul of Auke Bay Elementary School is set to be complete by Oct. 1 of this year. The school — long overdue for major renovations — has been under construction since June 2012.
Although the initial target completion date was the first day of school for the 2013-2014 academic year —Aug. 20 — the project team feels confident that the extended schedule won’t interrupt the beginning of classes. Problems installing the new elevator system and quality issues with the soil caused the delay in the schedule.
WASHINGTON — New York-based Skanska USA Building was recently awarded a $78 million contract to construct American University’s (AU) new East Campus in Washington, D.C. The new space will encompass a large portion of AU’s campus plan and will aim for LEED Gold certification.
KETTERING, Md. — A new Center for Health Studies has opened at Prince George’s Community College showcasing a state-of-the-art learning facility with 26 simulation labs and full-body mannequins to simulate a wide variety of medical situations from surgery to radiography.
Heery International, with offices in Baltimore, designed the $33 million center that stands at 112,000 square feet.
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — Sunday, Aug. 4 marked a ceremony welcoming Central Michigan University’s first group of medical students to its new College of Medicine. The “white coat ceremony” in McGuirk Arena welcomed the 64 new students to the start of the school’s four-year program.
LONDON — London-based powerPerfector has announced the expansion of its Voltage Power Optimisation (VPO) technology to the North American market through a partnership with the Enercorr Voltage Optimization Systems, based in Canada.
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan bill that would lower the cost of borrowing student loans and reverse a recent loan rate hike has gone to President Barack Obama for approval.
After the House overwhelming approved the bill in a 392-31 vote, students in the United States may soon receive lower interest rates for federal student loans.
