For schools in hot climates like the Inland Empire in California, providing comfortable and usable outdoor spaces for students is a constant challenge, especially during intense heat waves. Students are often looking for shade during recess and lunchtime. Teachers are also not able to take students outdoors during the warmer months.

Paul J. Rogers Elementary School, part of the Colton Joint Unified School District, faced this exact issue. Instead of settling for a simple shade canopy, the district sought to transform the unused space into a state-of-the-art, solar-shaded learning hub. The school had a specific need for a science lab and makerspace classroom and implemented a holistic strategy for an outdoor instructional space.

Instead of addressing these needs piecemeal — a simple shade canopy here, a separate lab modernization there — the district sought a single, integrated solution which could have a number of use cases, such as afterschool programs. school open houses, and science fairs. Construction began in March 2025 and was completed in December 2025.

“What started as a need for shade became an outdoor classroom where our students can explore, create, and learn under the sun — powered by their curiosity and by clean energy,” said Principal Dr. Ligia Puraci.

The answer was a partnership with Constructive Systems Inc. (CSI) to install their NET+ Outdoor Classroom. While it may look like a futuristic pavilion, it functions as a complete, multi-purpose facility designed specifically to combat the elements in hot environments.

This is not a simple canopy. The structure provides true “indoor comforts” in an outdoor setting:

All-weather protection: An 840-square-foot solar roof blocks harsh UV light, wind, and rain.

Cool shade: The design allows for protected, year-round use, creating an “immersive learning environment” that vastly improves ventilation, a critical health consideration.

Usable space: It provides a cool, shaded area the school desperately needed, turning a concrete courtyard into a premier learning hub. It also has several electrical outlets powered by solar to support indoor technology including Wi-Fi, Chromebooks, and TV monitors.

What makes this solution revolutionary is what’s built into the shade structure.

1. A clean energy generator: The pavilion’s roof is the power plant with a 22kW solar roof with battery storage. This structure isn’t just a capital cost; it’s an energy resiliency asset that can continue to generate electricity during power outages. All technology features are controlled by an iPad which shows how much energy is being produced from the sun. In fact, all the energy consumed in the lab from lighting, Wi-Fi, outlets and motorized shade structure is 100 percent solar energy and can be stored within its own battery storage unit.

2. A modern science lab: This single structure is the new Science Lab and Makerspace for Rogers Elementary. Students now use this cool, shaded space for hands-on STEM and ecology lessons, learning about solar power and sustainable technologies right above their heads. This flexible space can also be used as an outdoor reading area on beautiful days and it’s perfect for those “messy” art projects.

A model for a greener future The Rogers solar shade proves that student health, comfort, and sustainable design are one and the same. The building itself has become a “living lab,” a textbook that students can see and touch.

“We are always looking for ways to provide more state-of-the-art facilities for our schools that give teachers and staff greater flexibility and inspiration,” said Colton Joint USD Superintendent Dr. Frank Miranda. “This is an example of collaboration between our Facilities and Energy Program and our schools that leads to innovative solutions and allows our programs to keep moving further into the future.”

This project demonstrates that it is possible to build a science lab that generates more power than it uses and to solve the simple, everyday problem of needing shade with a solution that empowers a new generation of learners. As CJUSD has proven, schools can “save green by going green,” starting with this innovative classroom.

Jay Kim is the Energy Programs, Grant, and Sustainability officer for Colton Joint Unified School District.