By Ben Cox
Jacksonville School District 117 recently partnered with Windex on a national advertising campaign highlighting the need for windows in schools.
JSD 117 Superintendent Steve Ptacek says that film crews visited the district multiple times during the Eisenhower Elementary School renovation process, “Originally, they were going to highlight new windows across our multiple construction projects, so they filmed at many locations. I am guessing that in order to make a more concise message, they edited the film so it appears that all of these shots are from Eisenhower. Only our local community will know these shots are from different schools. Regardless, the importance of the message remains intact.”
The message, according to Windex, is that more windows and natural light in the classroom improves student learning and attendance, as well as teacher and staff wellbeing. During the 1960s and 1970s, American schools were designed without windows because they were viewed as a distraction to learning. Windex is highlighting the elementary schools in the district for piloting a program of more natural light, citing a Eneref Institute study showing that students who have more natural light in the classroom progressed 20% faster on math tests and 26% faster on reading tests in one year.
Eisenhower Elementary School, which was built in 1971, was part of the post-World War II era “open classroom concept” that had limited windows in the building. The 40,000 square-foot building initially had three noisy, windowless “areas” separated by makeshift walls of Rubbermaid containers and shelves.
With the new renovation, Graham & Hyde Architects completely transformed the school design with a new exterior, windows in every classroom thanks to Windex’s Windows of Opportunity program, two classrooms per grade level, additional bonus classrooms and a special education suite. “We are very thankful to Windex for highlighting our community in a national campaign and [for] providing [the money] toward the new Eisenhower windows,” Ptacek said.
Windex hopes that sharing the story of Eisenhower Elementary School’s transformation will highlight the importance of natural light in classrooms and spark further conversation in American education.
