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OPTIMIZE 2026 Recap:
Watch Every Session On Demand
Thank you to everyone who joined us for OPTIMIZE 2026, our virtual conference for K-12 and Higher Ed facilities leaders. Missed a session, or want to revisit one? All five recordings are below.
Session Recordings
Real experts, real stories, real results — catch up on every session from the day.
Breaking the "Do More with Less" Cycle: Welcome to OPTIMIZE
Eric Graham opens the conference with a transparent look at the state of education facilities management, challenging the unsustainable mandate of "doing more with less" and setting the framework for the day: using innovation and real-time data to close the gap between ideal scopes and daily operational reality.
School Building & Environmental Health Trends: Navigating the New Education Landscape
Sara Porter explores the macro trends transforming K-12 and Higher Ed campus operations nationwide, and how leading institutions are shifting toward sustainable, healthy building practices that support attendance, retention, and community perception.
Fireside Chat: People First, Data Closely Second
Rob Lamecker breaks down how Stillwater Public Schools uses frictionless, mobile data collection and routing optimization to protect frontline staff from burnout while arming head custodians with objective data.
The Enrollment & Budget Crisis: Redefining Capital Footprints When Funding Drops
Chris Brablc analyzes the economic pressures facing K-12 and Higher Ed institutions and provides a playbook for aligning operational capacity with real building utilization data without overextending labor budgets.
Embracing Technology & AI: How to Improve Your Team's Effectiveness and Efficiency
Ryan Alu walks through the latest tools, platforms, and AI capabilities that streamline operations, automate routine work, and help teams respond faster — building a more productive, responsive facilities team.
Resources Behind OPTIMIZE 2026
Every data point, report, and framework referenced across the five OPTIMIZE 2026 sessions — organized by topic so you can dig into the primary sources yourself.
Research & Data Sources
Grouped by the themes each speaker covered, from enrollment trends to facility funding to environmental health.
K-12 Enrollment & Demographics Data
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National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
Primary source for the 3.8% drop (~1.5M students) and long-term national public school enrollment projections.
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Brookings Institution
Data tracking national fertility declines, COVID birth trends (~1.6 births per woman), and regional demographic shifts.
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RAND Corporation
Source for urban vs. rural vs. suburban district budget impacts and enrollment strain metrics.
Chronic Absenteeism & Attendance Data
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Attendance Works
National benchmarks on post-pandemic chronic absenteeism rates (rising to 24%+ nationally).
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Return to Learn Tracker (AEI)
Data mapping chronic absenteeism directly to district Average Daily Attendance (ADA) revenue losses.
Public vs. Charter/Private Student Movement
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National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
Source for the post-2020 7%–9% enrollment growth in charter schools relative to district public schools.
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U.S. Census Bureau
Tracking household education choices and long-term homeschool adoption baselines.
School Facilities, Capital Deficits & Maintenance Backlogs
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21st Century School Fund & IWBI
Authoritative source for the national $90 Billion annual facilities spending shortfall ($56B capital / $34B maintenance).
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APPA (Leadership in Educational Facilities)
Industry benchmarks for custodial square-footage-per-FTE ratios (20,000 sq. ft. standard vs. 35,000+ sq. ft. stretched) and Facility Condition Index (FCI) models.
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Council of the Great City Schools
Frameworks for school consolidation, route optimization, and operational efficiency.
Environmental Health & Keynote Frameworks
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Healthy Green Schools & Colleges (HGSC)
Reference framework for Sara Porter's keynote on indoor air quality, healthy cleaning standards, and retention.
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U.S. EPA
Scientific findings linking indoor air quality and cleanliness to student attendance and academic outcome metrics.
Academic Performance, Health Outcomes & Workforce Data
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U.S. EPA
Synthesizes empirical data showing schools without major maintenance backlogs have higher Average Daily Attendance (4–5 more students per 1,000), and that improving facility conditions drives a 3%–17% lift in standardized test scores.
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U.S. EPA
Research on environmental management in K-12 facilities, showing targeted building health/hygiene interventions reduce illness-related student absenteeism by up to 35%.
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Schneider, Mark (2002) — National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities (ERIC)
Landmark Chicago & Washington, D.C. study finding 80% of teachers consider facility conditions crucial to teaching quality, and 48% of teachers grading their school a "C or below" would consider leaving.
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CrowdComfort
CrowdComfort's primary research on custodial operational impacts on health, attendance, and educational outcomes.
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Zippia
National labor demographic analysis putting the average age of U.S. custodial workers at 48, underscoring recruitment and labor pipeline challenges for operations.
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