CHPS has developed a Best Practices Manual (BPM) to help schools, districts, and practitioners to achieve high performance design, construction, and operation.
Accessing the CHPS Best Practices Manual
All CHPS resources are available free for download. We are no longer selling copies of the CHPS Best Practices Manuals.
Volume I: Planning for High Performance Schools addresses the needs of school districts, including superintendents, parents, teachers, school board members, administrators, and those persons in the school district that are responsible for facilities. These may include the assistant superintendent for facilities (in large districts), buildings and grounds committees, energy managers, and new construction project managers. Volume I describes why high performance schools are important, what components are involved in their design, and how to navigate the design and construction process to ensure that they are built.
Volume II: Design for High Performance Schools is a reference guide for design and construction professionals. Volume II contains design guidelines for high performance schools. These are tailored for California climates and are written for the architects and engineers who are responsible for designing schools as well as the project managers who work with the design teams. Organized by design discipline, the guidelines present effective strategies for the design of schools that meet the CHPS high performance school criteria.
The CHPS Core Criteria, formerly Volume III of the Best Practices Manual, is a benchmarking system created to help schools, districts, and design teams prioritize and achieve green, healthy school buildings. Originally developed for the state of CA, today there are seven state and region-specific versions adapted for use in 12 states, as well as a national version, US-CHPS Criteria, that can be used in the rest of the US. These criteria are designed to help school districts in every community across the country reduce operating costs, achieve higher student performance, increase daily attendance, retain quality teachers and staff, and minimize environmental impact.
The CHPS National Core Criteria is the basis for new regional adaptations to and updates of existing versions of the CHPS Criteria.
Volume IV: Maintenance and Operations of High Performance Schools is intended for school facilities personnel to operate their schools as their designers intended and provide continued optimal health, efficiency, and sustainability. Volume IV presents high performance guidelines for the maintenance and operation of schools. Information in this volume will help ensure that high performance school buildings continue to operate as their designers intended, providing optimal health, efficiency, and sustainability.
Volume V: Commissioning of High Performance Schools is a guide to the process of commissioning school equipment. Volume V provides important information on commissioning high performance schools—a critical step in ensuring that the technologies and high performance elements are actually built and tested to meet specifications.
CHPS is pleased to announce the updating of the CHPS Criteria and Best Practices for prefabricated modular classrooms (also known as relocatable classrooms) thanks to the generous support of American Modular Systems (AMS) and Bard Manufacturing Company, as Presenting Sponsors. The update is guided by an ad hoc subcommittee of the CHPS National Technical Committee.
Volume VI: Relocatable Classrooms for High Performance Schools was developed in 2006 and last updated in 2009. Over the past decade, high performance, prefabricated school construction has evolved and made major strides. Prefabricated classrooms and school buildings have emerged as a practical alternative to the school construction/procurement method. Numerous production models are readily available over a continuum of prefabrication and various construction materials and several multi-story, specialty space, and sustainable options have been introduced.
