The high-performing Eastside Early College High School building incorporates historic materials that were salvaged and re-integrated.听触 Photo Credit (all): Dror Baldinger听
By Darien Clary听
It鈥檚 a late afternoon in May, and the Texas heat settles over the city like a heavy blanket, taxing aging HVAC systems. Inside, students collaborate on projects, teachers guide discussions, and campuses work hard to maintain the comfortable learning environments as rising temperatures place growing demands on buildings and infrastructure. The Austin Independent School District (Austin ISD) is working to ensure these environmental factors do not limit a student鈥檚 potential. Through its bond programs, the district isn鈥檛 just building classrooms, it鈥檚 creating sustainable learning environments with clean air, efficient cooling, natural light, and shaded outdoor areas so students can stay focused and ready to thrive.听
Sustainability is a driving force behind Austin ISD鈥檚 mission to prepare every student with the knowledge and skills to thrive in college, career and life. The district鈥檚 schools sit at the center of Austin鈥檚 most pressing environmental challenges, including extreme heat, air quality, equitable access to green space and the responsible use of limited public resources. Austin ISD approaches sustainability as a shared responsibility 鈥� one that supports student learning, environmental stewardship and community well-being.听
Make Sustainability a Non-Negotiable听
Too often, sustainability is approached as a 鈥渘ice-to-have鈥� instead of a fundamental part of building performance, which can make features targets for cuts with tight budgets. A solution to this can be found in Austin ISD鈥檚 Educational Specifications (Ed Specs), a board-approved document defining what every modernized campus must be. Every major construction project under the 2017 and 2022 Bond Programs must pursue Austin Energy Green Building (AEGB) and/or LEED certification. Additionally, the Ed Specs mandate 100% LED lighting with daylight sensors, energy-efficient HVAC, water-efficient fixtures, solar-ready roofs, and outdoor learning environments. When board members approved the Ed Specs, they made sustainability non-negotiable.听
Let the Community Define Sustainability听
Green building standards set the bar for resource efficiency and building performance, but sustainability is ultimately about people. Austin ISD centers a simple question: sustainable for whom? By working with the community, the district ensures every student has access to healthy, high-performing and inspiring learning environments that work for them.听
To do this, Austin ISD convenes a Campus Architectural Team (CAT) composed of teachers, parents, students and community members for every modernization project. They are co-designers, and what they know about their community shapes decisions no energy model can account for: which outdoor spaces will actually be used for learning, how a building should feel to the people spending their days inside it and what community values can be reflected in the design.听
An example of this process is designed by Perkins&Will. From the beginning, the CAT brought together staff, students, families, and alumni of the original L.C. Anderson High School, a cornerstone of East Austin鈥檚 African American community until its closure in 1971. What emerged is more than a high-performing building. Historic materials were salvaged and re-integrated, spaces like the original cafetorium were reimagined for modern learning, and the story of L.C. Anderson lives on through galleries. Paired with daylighting, efficient systems and reduced water use, the result is a school that reflects environmental responsibility and sustains cultural continuity.听
What It Looks Like in Practice听
At , designed by PBK Architects and modernized as part of the 2017 Bond Program, every dollar saved on energy is a dollar that stays focused on students, inside the classroom. Govalle now uses less energy per square foot than 95% of schools in the nation, according to data collected by the . That performance is driven by high-efficiency HVAC, a well-insulated building envelope and LED lighting paired with daylighting sensors. Heritage trees were preserved to cool the schoolyard and also help mitigate heat-island effect. Enhanced ventilation, high-efficiency air filtration, and low-emitting materials support strong indoor air quality, ensuring that efficiency gains also translate into healthier spaces.听听
Govalle鈥檚 results are not isolated. Across the district, Austin ISD has avoided $15.4 million in energy costs and $6.7 million in water and wastewater costs since 2017 through sustainable design and resource conservation.听
Darien Clary is the Director of Sustainability, Energy & Environment at Austin ISD.