T.C. Williams Among Rising Number of ‘Green’ Schools

At the brand-new T.C. Williams High in Alexandria, 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. And in another tectonic shift in student mentality, the urge to scrawl graffiti appears to have vanished.

It’s so nice right now that everyone would feel guilty making a mark on the desks,” Grace Goodwin, 16, a junior, said while eating lunch last week in a cafeteria with four skylights and exposed ductwork. “Everyone in Alexandria, even people who don’t have kids in school, paid for this.” 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.

Full Story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/10/AR2007091002310.html