[CharterSchools] Green Schools Showcase Event at Ben Franklin High School to feature advanced technologies donated to school

[charterschools at LACharter.org]

Green Schools Showcase Event at Ben Franklin High School

				
NEW ORLEANS, LA --- Oct. 16, 2014 – The U.S. Green Building Council Louisiana Chapter invites interested students, parents and other residents to see a model of a green school here in New Orleans. On Saturday, Oct. 25, Ben Franklin High School will be featured as the USGBC Louisiana’s Green Schools Showcase, starting with a tour of the building and a reception to celebrate the designation.


This event, to be held from 11am-1pm at 2001 Leon C. Simon Drive in New Orleans, is the last local event of Greenbuild week, and the last stop on the Green Makes Cents tour – one of the final tours offered as part of the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo 2014, to be held at Morial Convention Center from Oct. 22-24. The conference - the flagship event of the USGBC, which operates the LEED certification program – is expected to bring up to 30,000 green building professionals to the city that week.


Vendors of green building products have donated approximately $150,000 worth of materials to the school, and installed them. The innovations include sound-buffering ceiling tiles, self-tinting windows and Idea Paint in two classrooms, to turn walls into white board, and various improvements to two centrally-located bathrooms that make them water conserving and energy efficient. Paper towels will be replaced by energy-efficient blowers CHECK, and the renovation will include low-VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) paint. 


“It is nice to get all these things donated,” said teacher Mary Mysing-Gubala. “We have to give credit to Erin [Ryerson, the Host Committee Chair and Ben Franklin parent.] She made all of the contacts and was the mover and shaker in this project. USGBC Louisiana wanted to showcase companies that could display their products. And then Allison Bowler, our school’s Assistant Principal Operations, was very instrumental in making it happen – she wanted to make this a more environmentally sound campus, so she was our champion.”
 
“It all started when we had an Earth Day celebration here and folks with Sage toured the facility,” Bowler said. She explained that this project was meant to show that an older building can be remodeled using sustainable materials and made more energy efficient.


“The students can hear me better,” said Environmental Science teacher Katy Clincy CHECK. The projects also offer an opportunity for the students to engage in science and their building in a real way. Noting that one of the projects is to improve air quality by irradiating the intake valve of the HVAC system, one of her students is planning to do a study on the particulates to measure the changes over time. “The air quality in the building is dreadful, Mysing-Gubala said. “This should really help.”


Frank D’Aprile of SageGlass explained that the “electrochromic” windows to be installed adjust the amount of light coming into the classroom depending on how much sun is shining outside. “They conserve electricity because you don’t have to turn the lights on, and they reject 91 percent of radiant heat… They let in just the right amount of light at the appropriate time and condition.”


The companies that donated time and products for the renovations include Sage Glass, a division of Saint-Gobain, and DeGeorge Glass for the installation of the windows; Current Electric for the WHAT; Bradley WHAT for the fixtures, partitions and hand-washing stations in the toilets; and Superior WHAT, which donated floor model low-flow toilets. 



Electronically tintable SageGlass®, a product of Saint-Gobain, was donated to and installed at the Benjamin Franklin High School in New Orleans, helping a high-achieving school in one of the city’s more under-resourced school districts become a working model of green building efficiency.   



SageGlass dynamic glass is one of a number of advanced building technologies donated by Saint-Gobain and other companies as part of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Louisiana Chapter’s Louisiana Green School Challenge – a program that aims to educate the public about the benefits of green building and environmental stewardship by participation in hands-on, experiential projects. 



To learn more about USGBC Louisiana, SageGlass or Greenbuild, go to www.usgbclouisiana.org. www.sageglass.com or www.greenbuildexpo.org

For more information please contact USGBC LA Chapter Coordinator JolieLemoine 504-330-1292 (Jolie at usgbclouisiana.org)   

 
 
  
The United States Green Building Council Louisiana Chapter (USGBC Louisiana) is a 501 (c)(3) organization, whose mission is to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, to be more energy efficient and cost effective. We create healthier places to live, work, and learn through education, advocacy, and community outreach.
 
 
			
		
		
				












 

The Brylski Company
(504) 897-6110
3418 Coliseum Street
New Orleans, Louisiana 70115
www.brylskicompany.com
Cheron Brylski • Heather Harper • Devin Johnson



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