What is the Smart Growth Schools Report Card?
Many reports, studies and presentations have been produced about smart growth development in relation to K-12 schools. The Smart Growth Schools Report Card is a compilation of the best practices from this body of work — translated into eleven performance-based criteria. The Report Card describes these criteria, then provides four or five options for addressing each of them. Each of the options corresponds to a letter grade that permits a local community to assess its efforts.

Why do we have a Smart Growth Schools Report Card?
Currently, most school planning ignores or undermines a community's efforts to implement smart growth development. The purpose of the Smart Growth Schools Report Card is to provide school districts, municipalities, developers and citizens a helpful, easy-to-use tool that fosters better decision-making by outlining a range of options that take into account issues pertaining to smart growth development. Understanding these options will:

1. Save the community money.
2. Decrease the environmental impact of the schools on the community.
3. Improve the health of students.
4. Increase long-term support for the school system by those who do not have school-aged children.

The Report Card is a living document that is periodically updated, so we encourage you to offer suggested revisions — especially examples of schools that can serve as models on particular issues. Please e-mail those suggestions to info@smartgrowthschools.org.