School environments can positively or adversely affect student well-being in multiple ways in the short and long-term. This is because environmental factors around schools interact in a complex way to undermine or improve well-being. Since students spend a significant portion of their time in schools, even more than at homes, the nature of school building offers prime opportunities to protect students’ health. Green schools provide healthier environments for students and staff and, therefore, better quality environments for productive human beings. It is also well established that Green schools help save money that is directed to other academic and student services. This is achieved, for instance, through significant cuts on oil consumption.
Going green is, however, a complicated process that often requires stakeholder involvement- school management, students, parents, teachers, and local authorities. Community involvement is especially important when going green since school construction naturally draws in community members and since finished schools continue to attract community members long after their erection. Multi-stakeholder involvement ensures everyone has a voice in the design, construction, and later operation of the facilities. Students are not just beneficiaries of green schools but also active participants in their creation.
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Background
The deteriorating condition of American schools has been documented for over two decades now. Teachers, students, and school staff have had to operate in poor building conditions despite associated problems like lost income, low educational attainment, and even health problems (American Federation of Teachers, 2008) . The breakdown of American infrastructure has not spared educational facilities, and a heavy toll is now exacted in learners and their teachers.
The importance of school environments in determining health and educational outcomes has been well established. An increasing number of American students are poised to spend more time in school than they do at home. It would, therefore, not be wrong to assert that school environments impact student behavior more powerfully than even home environments (Bangay, 2016) . This necessitates a continuous improvement of the school environment. Schools bring together learner communities including students and their teachers. A cursory review of the literature reveals many factors influence these learners’ quality of life and education (American Federation of Teachers, 2008) . The green school model is widely advocated as one of those factors that leads to a positive school environment.
According to Dick (2007), green building is a structure that is designed, built, renovated, operated or even reused in a resource-efficient and ecologically smart manner. Their purpose is to meet certain objectives like occupant health and safety, utilization of water and energy, improving employee productivity, and reducing spill over to the environment. Green schools represent a consensus between planners, designers, and constructors on building performance considerations over a span of 50 to 60 years. Fresh air, comfortable temperature, abundant light, minimization of pollution, and low noise distraction are some of the objectives sought by the green school model (American Federation of Teachers, 2008) . Green schools , therefore, attempt to create suitable learning environments while addressing sustainability demands that have come to form the core of development projects.
The concept of green architecture is by no means new. It has been with us for centuries. The Greeks and Romans put up their homes facing south to fully take advantage of the sun’s heat (National Council of Educational Research and Training, 2015) . In more recent times, the Architect, Arthur Brown, was the first to attempt to build a green school at Rose Elementary in Arizona. While Arthur’s green schools may appear a little primitive by today’s standards, the basic objectives still hold. These include conserving water resource, lowering noise to facilitate effective teaching and learning, reducing energy costs through innovative solutions like solar heating, daylighting, and shade placement. Other objectives include the use of recycled or recyclable material in construction and improving the quality of air through the elimination of the indoor and outdoor source of pollution (Ramli, Masri, Mohd, & Hamid, 2012) .
Discussion/Analysis
Green schools address one of the most pressing challenges of our time: Climate change. Most of the materials and fuels used in conventional schools for construction, lighting, cooling, and heating account for nearly half of all greenhouse gases, a major cause of global warming. Reports indicate that in nearly 15,000 American schools, air breathed is unfit due to indoor pollution. Indoor and outdoor pollution exacerbate the challenge of green gas emissions (American Federation of Teachers, 2008) . Other than greenhouse gas emissions, most conventional building materials release toxic waste, organic compounds , and other harmful substances into the school’s compound (Ramli, Masri, Mohd, & Hamid, 2012) . Leaky roofs , for instance, release mold spores and other biological organisms that add to the pollution. The result is allergies and increased prevalence of respiratory diseases like asthma (American Federation of Teachers, 2008) . Asthma prevalence in school is on the rise and accounts for numerous cases of absenteeism.
Through reliance on renewable energy and emphasis on conservation, the green school cut on green gas emissions and, therefore, addresses sustainability concerns. Emphasis on ventilation reduces the concentration of indoor gases and fosters temperature and humidity controls, thus, reducing the spread of viruses (National Council of Educational Research and Training, 2015) . Floor and wall covers , as well as the use of non-toxic materials, lessen the threat of chemical emissions. It is estimated that improved air quality leads to a 25% decrease in Asthma cases and a 20 percent decline in other viral illnesses like flue (Bangay, 2016) . This means learners and teachers waste little time on sick days.
Academic performance is also enhanced as noise reduces. It is estimated that noise levels are ten times more in old schools compared to green schools (National Council of Educational Research and Training, 2015) . Noise impedes educational outcomes through adverse effects on attention, memory , and speech recognition. Various studies demonstrate that road traffic and aircraft noise lowers cognitive performance and reading comprehension. Green architecture emphasizes daylighting natural outdoor views and high-performance lighting. Good lighting is closely associated with improved test scores and activeness among students (Bangay, 2016) . Accompanied by affordable and yet effective cooling and heating systems, green schools contribute enormously to reduced costs of running schools. These resources can be directed to other academic or student welfare programs that are often neglected due to inadequate resources (American Federation of Teachers, 2008) . In brief, green schools offer what teachers and students alike seek in a learning institution. The only objection that has been raised against green schools is the misguided notion that they are extremely costly to put up. School management and teachers have been led to believe that.
Options
Every educational facility can go green. Even old schools can take gradual steps that lead to a green environment that is healthier, more efficient, and more conducive for learning. The first step for schools is to identify their current standing (Green School Initiative, 2018) . If , for instance, a school wants to establish a composting or recycling program, the initial step is to identify the kind of waste it produces. Information on the current status is also important for sequencing purposes. To do this, it is important for an institution to create a green team consisting of all stakeholders who conduct a comprehensive audit and coordinate the greening activities.
The team needs to adopt a vision statement in which it lays out its vision based on the prevailing situation and intended outcomes. Before the implementation of any single program, it might be important for old schools to benchmark with other institutions that have undergone a similar process (Metzger, 2012) . This offers scope for comparisons based on prevailing circumstances. In certain instances, it might be essential to hire an expert who manages some of the more technical transition aspects.
Capital investments on the transition notwithstanding, changes in occupant behavior is an essential aspect of the transition. This is why it is crucially important that all stakeholder, including teachers, students, parents, and management, are involved in the process from its outset (Green School Initiative, 2018) . The actors are able to spot anomalies or detect harmful aspects. They are also given feedback on whether set out goals are being attained (American Federation of Teachers, 2008) . At times, cultural and attitudinal shifts can only be brought about over time or through elaborate training. No matter the amount of effort put in designing a proper green school, it is not of much value if occupants do not know what is happening around them (Green School Initiative, 2018) . Putting students in charge of projects through green clubs could greatly foster these objectives and help in timely monitoring and evaluation.
Recommendation
Greening programs can be integrated into the prevailing curricula in art, science, humanities, and language. This enables schools to serve as a hands-on laboratory of resolving real-world problems. Students in those areas can study green projects addressing themes like water, energy, waste, and toxic pollution and even by the general school population to enhance experiential learning. The fact that environmental curricula already exists means there is no need to reinvent the wheel.
Explanation
The often cited downside of Green schools is that they are costly to build. Teachers and administrators have, therefore, been led to believe that green schools deprive classrooms of funds. This is, however, not the case. If anything, green schools free-up funds that are redirected into the classroom. This is because they employ locally available materials and do not demand constant repair. Furthermore, schools do not require experts to run green projects in the long-term. Most cost analysis projects reveal green schools are cheaper to build than conventional schools (American Federation of Teachers, 2008) .
Other Views
Schools that have performed very well in greening projects can seek certifications such as the LEED certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). This enables them not just to raise their profile but to also address the special needs of teachers, children, and staff (American Federation of Teachers, 2008) . It also enables them to serve as models for other institutions.
References
American Federation of Teachers. (2008). From building minds, minding buildings: Turning crumbling schools into environments for learning. Green Guide , http://clevelandacts.org/storage/documents/bmmb_greenguide.pdf.
Bangay, C. (2016). Protecting the future: The role of school education in sustainable development – an Indian case study. International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning .
Green School Initiative. (2018). 7 steps to a green school. http://www.greenschools.net/article.php-id=70.html.
Metzger, A. B. (2012). Top 10 ways to transform an existing school into a more green facility. American School & University , https://www.asumag.com/green/green-school-steps.
National Council of Educational Research and Training. (2015). Towards a green school. National Council of Educational Research and Training , http://www.ncert.nic.in/departments/nie/dee/publication/pdf/Towards%20A%20green%20School.pdf.
Ramli, N. H., Masri, M. H., Mohd, M. Z., & Hamid, N. A. (2012). A comparative study of green school guidelines. ASEAN Conference on Environment-Behaviour Studies , 50 , 462-471.
