ALEXANDRIA – At the brand-new
T.C. Williams High, a modern “green”
school, students say the environmentally
friendly design has led to a serious
lifestyle change: They can’t doze in
class anymore because sunlight pours
in from practically every angle.
“These schools create a healthy and
productive educational environment.
And they save huge amounts of money
over the lifetime of a school,” said Rachel
Gutter of the building council.
“What if I said: ‘Let’s build a school.
It’s going to increase test scores. It’s
going to increase your teacher retention.
It’s going to be a more comfortable
and healthy environment. And by the
way, I am going to save you $100,000
a year.’ ”
In the Washington region and elsewhere,
local governments are spending
big money on a new generation of
schools designed to be sensitive to the
environment. The campuses – often
equipped with the trappings of an
upscale hotel, such as waterless urinals
and motion-sensing light systems
– stand in sharp contrast to schools
with mold, chipped ceilings and more
fluorescent light than natural light.
As students talked at lunch about
how they would never write graffiti in
their new school, they sounded like
ex-convicts wistful about previous
transgressions.
“I’ve doodled my name or ‘Titans,’ ”
the school mascot, Mary said.
“I would write my name or draw a
flower or a star or a heart,” classmate
Blair Shipp, 16, said.
“I drew stick figures,” J.W. Wilson said.
Would they rat on someone who
draws on a school desk or wall? Some
things, even in the green school era,
will not change.
“I wouldn’t say something,” Grace
said, joking. “I wouldn’t want to get
beat up.”