Let the sun shine in. Windows in schools are offering insights into academic success and each year, Idaho Lottery dividend dollars are supporting their achievements.
Windows generally offer a view from the world we are in to the world on the other side of the glass pane. They offer us visions of snowflakes falling from the sky on a winter afternoon or the crisp freshness of a sunrise to start a new day. They brighten classrooms and have been known on more than one occasion to be the cause of daydreaming among students who wonder when recess begins.
Windows, for all the daydreaming, are proving essential to academic success. Studies have shown there is a positive link between increased sunlight and a student’s academic success. One study chronicled in Scientific American showed that of 21,000 U.S. elementary students over a single year, those who were exposed to more sunlight during the school day had 26% higher reading outcomes and 20% higher math outcomes than those in less sunny classrooms (Scientific American, April 2019). Another study done by the University of Georgia College of Education (Tanner, 2009) showed that fifth grade students in schools with unrestricted views of nature tested higher in reading, math, and language arts than students in schools with urban, or no, views at all.
Windows are just one item schools routinely replace and repair routinely with dividends from the Idaho Lottery. Seeing the light is not only good for the spirit (or daydreaming) it is good for creating a quality education experience for Idaho’s future leaders.
So, let in the light and join us in celebrating Happy Sunshiney New Window Upgrades Day. These school districts recently updated, repaired, or replaced their windows at select schools:
Bear Lake School District
Butte County School District
Cambridge Joint School District
Challis Joint School District
Filer School District
Hansen School District
Kendrick Joint School District
Lake Pend Oreille School District
Madison School District
Monticello Montessori School
Nez Perce Joint School District
Notus School District
Three Creek Joint Elementary
Twin Falls School District
Village Charter School
West Side Joint School District
Whitepine Joint School District
Xavier Charter School
