God's Green America

In 2004 Hugh Harris and his wife Lisa along with 20 families from the Nashville suburb of Franklin, set out to fulfill a vision for a special kind of school that would provide families looking to prepare their families for college in a Christ centered environment that would integrate Christian discipleship and academic excellence that would develop well rounded globally connected graduates that would care for God’s creation by bringing excellence to every pursuit. And the school grew beyond its initial rented spacer in a nearby church...the school that they envisioned would be Green in design, form and function.

What is Green School or High Performance School?

A green school, also known as a high performance school, is a community facility that is designed, built, renovated, operated, or reused in an ecological and resource-efficient manner. Green schools protect occupant health, provide a productive learning environment, connect students to the natural world, increase average daily attendance, reduce operating costs, improve teacher satisfaction and retention, and reduce overall impact to the environment. 

Green schools lessen the impact of building construction on the environment and set an example for future generations that environmental quality is essential to our long-term well being. They also have benefits in several key performance areas:

·         Protect Student and Teacher Health - Schools designed with attention to proper ventilation, material selection, acoustical quality and other indoor environmental factors, can expect improved student and teacher health and higher attendance;

·         Better Student Performance - Attention to site planning and adequate daylighting has been shown to heighten student performance by as much as 25%;

·         Lower Operating Costs - Operating costs for energy and water can be reduced by 20% to 40%, allowing more money to be used for teacher salaries, textbooks and computers;

·         Provide a Unique Educational Opportunity - When advanced technology and design in new schools are made visible, buildings can become teaching tools and important features of science, math, and environmental curriculum.

 Franklin Christian Academy is incorporating this total concept of the green school into the design, and materials that will be used in creating a 21^st center for learning that will be state of the art Green and qualify for LEED Certification. What is LEED?

What is LEED? Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is basically a third-party certification program. It is a nationally accepted organization for design, operation and construction of high performance green buildings. This ensures the buildings are environmentally compatible, provide a healthy work environment and are profitable.

LEED New Construction buildings are awarded points for sustainability for things like energy-efficient lighting, low-flow plumbing fixtures and collection of water to name a few.

Currently Franklin Christian Academy has 80 students using rented space at a nearby church, while they put the finishing touches on a new facility that will ultimately become the education home for 450 students.

And through Mission Trips, sports and the arts, Franklin Christian Academy is bearing witness to their faith and their care for God's Creation. God's Green america is honored to be ready to lend a hand of innovation to make your new school the greenest, coolest home of excellence possible.