Three effects school facilities have on academic achievement

A great school facility is more than just an immaculate environment. A great school is purposefully designed at every level to promote the ideal environment for student achievement.

A school that invests in its facilities indicates an understanding that one of the best ways to help students succeed is to allocate money into resources that benefit them. This type of facility shows students that the administrators around them have taken the utmost care to ensure they have everything they need to succeed.

But how do exceptional facilities actually help students? In the list below, you’ll discover three ways a purposefully built school can help your child.

1. Purposefully built schools attract top-tier teachers

Excellent teaching staff can provide irreplaceable experiences for your child. One way to make sure a school can bring in and retain top-tier teachers is by providing access to resources and a world-class facility to work in.

School facilities that do not meet the necessary standards have been shown to negatively impact teacher performances.

Not only will a well-built facility provide a safe working environment for teachers and students alike, it will also entice teachers to join the teaching staff and to stay. Proper facilities give teachers and students a safe space to teach as well as one that is beneficial for their physical and emotional health.

2. Purposefully built schools help student health

Some schools lack the basic necessities of a safe learning environment. And this, according to academic studies, negatively affects students.

According to these studies, research-based facilities that consider air quality, acoustics and noise, access to natural lighting, temperature control, flexible and open workspaces, building condition and aesthetics, and classroom size positively affect academic performance in children.

Studies into the effect air quality has in an academic environment have shown that when the air quality in a building has less carbon dioxide and volatile organic compounds, individuals perform 61 percent better on cognitive tests. Poor air quality has been found to increase absenteeism in students.

When schools invest in air quality measures, such as the International School of Beijing’s (ISB) state-of-the-art air purification system, the academic performance of children will be positively affected.

Natural lighting has also been proven to positively impact academic performance. Many designers wrongfully believed for a period of time that windows provided too much of a distraction to students. Now, studies have found, for example, that the reading test performance of students with the most amount of natural light in their classrooms can progress up to 26 percent faster than those with the least.

Taking these studies into consideration, ISB designed buildings with large windows and outdoor learning environments.

An open and flexible learning space has also been found to benefit academic performance. Classrooms that have been thoughtfully designed to be adjustable have been shown to increase student engagement.

ISB has also incorporated this piece of research into the design of its facilities. Classrooms include moveable walls, large windows, indoor plant features, rolling tables, and chairs.

3. Purposefully built schools lead to positive behavioral changes in students

Thoughtfully designed facilities are proven to positively impact academic performance, and at the same time impact the behavior of students.

When students are engaged in their education, they are more likely to remain focused and act out less in class. Purposefully built facilities will remove any barriers that could prevent your child from reaching their academic goals.

Helping build your child’s successful future

By going above and beyond to meet the requirements in facilities that are proven again and again to positively affect student success in school, schools like ISB make sure to invest in the facilities your child needs.

Now that you know how purposefully built facilities positively affect your children’s academic success, it’s important to understand what exactly makes up an exceptional school. Click here to discover six characteristics of an innovative school campus.