Sekolah Berprestasi Tinggi

Kini Malaysia telah melangkah setapak lagi dalam transformasi pendidikan negara kita. 'SEKOLAH BERPRESTASI TINGGI' (SBT). Mungkin ramai yang berfikiran biasanya terms ini hanya dikenali dalam kalangan ahli sukan iaitu 'high performance sport' atau sukan berprestasi tinggi yang menjengah perjuangan atlit dalam mengharumkan nama negara di persada dunia melalui pertandingan-pertandingan berprestij mengikut sukan pilihan masing-masing. Bagaimana pula dengan sekolah yang berprestasi tinggi ini? Pengetua sekolah saya telah dipanggil menghadiri mesyuarat profil SBT ini dan KPI nya juga telah dibentuk bagi tujuan tersebut.Berikut merupakan penerangan ringkas berkaitan SBT.

High Performance Schools

What are high performance schools?

High performance schools join together the very best of today's design strategies and building technologies, as well as:

• Provide a healthy and comfortable indoor environment.
• Conserve energy, resources, and water.
• Function as a teaching tool.
• Serve as a community resource for neighborhood meetings and functions.
• Ensure easy maintenance and operation.
• Create a safe and a secure educational atmosphere.

Also, high performance schools are cost-effective and help to protect the environment.

K-12 Schools

In 2003, the California Department of Education estimated 35,000 new classrooms or 7,000 classrooms per year (19 per day) are needed to accommodate the projected number of unhoused K-12 students in the state. Over the next five years, $5.2 billion per year in school funding will be needed to design and construct nearly 300 schools annually in California. As school expenses rise, it becomes even more important to find new ways to minimize cost. High performance schools are an innovative and cost-effective alternative in controlling operation and maintenance expenses.

Another challenge facing California's schools is the demand for improved student performance. High performance schools create a better learning environment for children. Recent studies show a direct link between high performance design features and increased test scores. To provide an optimum learning environment, it is necessary to include high performance design concepts in the construction and modernization of California's schools.

Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS)

Organized in 2000, the Collaborative for High Performance Schools is a collaborative of government agencies, utilities, and nonprofits that are working to improve the quality of California's schools. CHPS is developing standards for the design and construction of high performance schools. As a part of the collaborative's activities, CHPS stakeholders provide funding to assist in the implementation of high performance features.

CHPS offers a Best Practices Manual to assist architects, engineers, and school administrators in designing and building schools that offer an enhanced learning environment for children. CHPS Volume III, Criteria, provides a checklist for schools to self-certify that they have achieved "high performance" status. For information on school district's that are using the CHPS guidelines, visit the CHPS website.