At Pine Grove Middle School in East Syracuse, New York, traditional buildings limited flexibility and efficiency. Siemens technology improves performance, saving US$500,000 each year for reinvestment in learning environments.
Education is changing. Learning spaces need to change with it. At Pine Grove Middle School, Siemens technology helps create a more flexible and energy-efficient environment that supports new ways of teaching and learning.
Pine Grove Middle School is one of seven schools in East Syracuse Minoa Central School District (ESM) in New York, educating 3,750 students every year. With a realization that the world has undergone dramatic changes – not least in the world of employment, and the skills required – the educators at Pine Grove made a decision that education needed to change: Less instruction. More imagination. Less repetition. More collaboration. Less memorizing. More creativity. Siemens building technology supports this new approach.
Preparing students for a changing world
At Pine Grove Middle School, education is focused on preparing students for the world they will enter after school. As that world changes, the school adapts how students learn and which skills they build, creating a stronger foundation for collaboration, creativity, and problem-solving.
The world has changed, and education needed to change, too. We changed how the students learn. We changed what they learn. That meant changing where they learn.
Central New York is known for its extremes of temperature with burning hot summers and nine-foot snowdrifts in the winter. To ensure that the students are comfortable and focused, temperature control is an important element. And as a state-funded educational institution, energy efficiency is just as important to the school. Because the US$500,000 saved on energy every year can be invested directly into improving the educational environment.
East Syracuse Minoa School District (ESM) prioritizes enhancing the educational environment for students and partnered with Siemens to achieve energy-efficient facility improvements. This collaboration has not only saved money but also allowed ESM to implement a new teaching and learning model.
By adopting an integrated learning approach, ESM focuses on teaching subjects collaboratively to develop students' STREAM knowledge and problem-solving skills. Siemens assisted ESM in transforming the curriculum across all grade levels, facilitating transdisciplinary projects through consultative support and symposiums.
In 2008, ESM sought a partner to improve energy efficiency in its eight buildings. They wanted a solution that would benefit ESM students and staff while raising community awareness of their environmentally responsible programs.
Siemens upgraded lighting, installed efficient motors, pumps, and fans, and implemented an energy management system. New windows, doors, and boiler plants were also installed, resulting in monthly electricity savings equivalent to 6.2 American homes' annual consumption. Furthermore, a 25 kW solar power system was installed to showcase ESM's sustainability efforts.
ESM aimed to achieve multiple objectives alongside reducing energy costs. They sought to fund building and energy efficiency improvements, promote energy conservation, and provide energy awareness and education. Through Siemens' energy-saving solutions, ESM expects annual savings of US $500,000 over the 18-year Energy Performance Contracting term.
These savings have funded significant, energy-efficient building improvements without burdening local taxpayers. The district has already observed utility cost savings and implemented a measurement and verification program to ensure continued energy savings.
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