Public Schools serve a wide range of students from diverse backgrounds and are a valuable resource to the surrounding community. Early visioning engages a broad base of stakeholders in conversations about how the design of a new building or campus would best serve all students, educators, the community, and the region. Early goal setting and continual cost estimates provided a framework for whole systems thinking. We often think of strategies as achieving one goal; like the impacts of lighting on energy use or impacts of structural systems on cost. We need to expand our thinking to see synergies and opportunities for amplification when we consider goals holistically. As professionals, we need to understand current barriers, methods for overcoming these barriers, and avenues for advocacy and education. With a limited amount of time to impact climate change, designers must work with urgency to introduce holistic design strategies in all buildings. This session will focus on three buildings; the Annie E Fales Elementary School which is the first net positive energy public school constructed in New England, the Bristol Plymouth Technical High School which aims to apply the ILFI’s red list criteria to all touch surfaces with the building, and the Bristol County Agricultural High School which utilizes various water saving technology and is the first publicly funded school building in Massachusetts with composting toilets. Each building as a part of this case study bridges the gap between what’s achievable on a publicly bid and funded project and our industry goals. Focusing on the use of publicly available technology and the education of future leaders by the built environment. To create a just and sustainable future we need accessible and affordable solutions that can be applied to all building types. Public schools are often constructed on a tight timeline with modest budgets. Solutions that can be implemented on these projects have broad applicability. Even if you are not currently working on public school projects, participants will leave with concrete information to apply on current projects, balancing sustainability goals, curriculum needs, and the public perception.