Bill Orr: Back to School, Back to Work

Bill Orr, CHPS Executive Director
August CHPS E-bulletin Column

Has it really been a year since I became Executive Director of CHPS? We have accomplished so much and have so much more to do. Rather than dwell on accomplishments this month, I would like to highlight some of the activities from the new annual CHPS Program Plan and Budget, which went into effect on July 1.

I am very excited about the new CHPS Operations Report Card (ORC) is catching on in a big way. Not only is the ORC an outstanding standalone tool for the benchmarking and continual improvement of existing schools, it also can serve as the centerpiece of efforts to substantiate the value of high performance schools which is CHPS top research priority. CHPS is looking to undertake a major, multi-year study of the actual performance of high performance schools compared to their design performance and to standard schools. The study will establish a standard metrics for use in school post-occupancy studies going forward; use the ORC for energy efficiency, thermal comfort, lighting/daylighting, acoustics, and indoor air quality; and develop supplemental methodologies to quantify waste and water reduction, student performance, and health that then can be incorporated as enhancements in the ORC.

CHPS has had an enthusiastic response to adapting the ORC for student and teacher implementation in the classroom. This ORC student engagement effort includes customizing by grade level the post-occupancy surveys to be answered by students, providing tools so that students can conduct the field data, developing a mobile software capability for data input, allowing for use of mobile devices for certain field measures, and developing the associated curriculum. By early next year there should be an app for that.

Building on the new CHPS Core Criteria and National Credit Library, CHPS will be undertaking local pilots of this new process developing and implementing four regional adaptations (states, provinces, and/or large school systems). Additional enhancements to the Core Criteria are in store for modernization and renovation projects. Look for updates on these pilots by following CHPS on Facebook and Twitter.

CHPS has had a number of inquiries recently from manufacturers of modular, factory-built classroom. Simultaneously, with funding from the California Energy Commission, CHPS will be broadening and converting the Relocatables Criteria developed last year into a new CHPS Verified offering and program, as well as a new High Performance Product database category. Contact the CHPS office right away if you are interested in getting involved in this process.

Finally, CHPS is looking to diversify its funding this year to ensure a balanced and sustainable fundraising portfolio to meet our programmatic and organizational growth objectives. To that end CHPS is seeking a dynamic, experienced, and creative individual to usher CHPS into the “brave new world” of corporate and foundation fundraising and grow CHPS’ membership. I found my dream green job with CHPS. Maybe you or someone you know can too! To view the posting, visit CHPS Jobs.