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Neptune Twp., (March 4, 2008)
- New Jersey Schools Development Authority (SDA) and Neptune Township School District representatives joined DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson, local officials, staff and students at a ceremony celebrating the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification of Summerfield Elementary School.
The USGBC LEED Green Building Rating SystemTM is a voluntary standard that defines high- performance buildings, which are healthier, more environmentally responsible, and more efficient and sustainable structures. The high-performance features of the Summerfield School qualify it for the LEED Gold certification. Summerfield is the first public school in New Jersey to receive the award, one received by only a few other public schools in the country.
| "Neptune Summerfield Elementary is to be congratulated for achieving LEED Gold certification," said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO, Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council. "Green schools provide the healthiest, safest environments for learning and growing – all while saving money, contributing toward mitigating climate change and improving our environment."
Scott Weiner, CEO of the SDA, said, "On behalf of the SDA, we are very proud of the productive collaboration with the Neptune School District, school board and community that has resulted in this award-winning school. The LEED Gold achievement is more than an award. It is a core mission of the SDA to build high-performance schools that are energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. Through its design, this building meets those goals and promotes better student performance."
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The 105,000-square-foot Summerfield School offers a modern, efficient learning environment to 656 students in grades K to 5. Among the Summerfield School’s features is a cutting edge geothermal design. To increase comfort, improve air quality and meet LEED standards, a ventilation system was installed that discharges fresh air through floor registers at very low velocity, creating a layer of heated or cooled air right where students sit.
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The school design incorporates other elements that connect to the environment including a daylight-filled solarium corridor, a music room that opens to an amphitheater, a cafeteria that features a fireplace and opens to an environmental patio, and a nature trail. The facility’s design reduces energy and water consumption by one-third compared with a aditionally designed facility.
"The same features that contributed to the Summerfield School achieving the Gold LEED designation are the very same features that create and sustain an optimal healthy learning environment for the students,” said David Mooij, Neptune Superintendent. “Add to this the curriculum opportunities and experiences derived from these features and the students will benefit many times over."
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"Just as a grade school can provide a solid foundation for a child’s lifelong love of learning, green design can serve as an essential framework for a new generation of school-construction projects," said Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa P. Jackson. "Summerfield Elementary School serves as a model for future school building projects."
As directed by Executive Order No. 24 of 2002, the SDA designs all of its projects to meet the six LEED building criteria: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality and innovation and design process. All SDA schools are designed to meet LEED standards, although projects are not required to go through the formal process of certification. The 21st Century Schools Design Manual released by the SDA in May 2007 incorporates LEED standards to build schools that utilize high-performance standards and renewable and durable materials.
Summerfield Elementary School is the first new-from-the-ground facility built in Neptune. Other SDA-completed projects include: Neptune Early Childhood Center, Neptune High School Annex, and the expansion of Neptune High School and Shark River Elementary School. The new Midtown Community Elementary School is scheduled for a Fall 2008 opening.
Overall, the SDA has completed 41 schools and 28 major renovations and additions, and nearly 400 health, safety and other projects in Abbott districts. An additional 26 are under construction.
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