DOCUMENT RESUME ED 434 494 EF 005 549 TITLE Educational Specifications: Linking Design of School Facilities to Educational Program. INSTITUTION California State Dept. of Education, Sacramento. Div. of School Facilities Planning. ISBN ISBN-0-8011-1352-0 PUB DATE 1997-00-00 NOTE 118p. AVAILABLE FROM California Department of Education, Publications Division, P.O. Box 271, Sacramento, CA 95812-0271 ($18.50). Fax: 916-323-0823. PUB TYPE Guides Non-Classroom (055) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC05 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Curriculum; *Educational Facilities Design; *Educational Facilities Planning; Elementary Secondary Education; *Guidelines; Public Schools; *School Construction; School Districts IDENTIFIERS *California ABSTRACT The California Department of Education, directed to formalize regulations governing standards for new school design and construction, has prepared a guide to help school districts develop specifications based on the architectural principle that form follows function. This guide discusses the meaning of educational specifications and their development, delineates the role of these specifications in facility planning and the effects of a restructured curriculum on those specifications, and suggests a format for an educational specifications document. An annotated outline of an educational specifications document is also presented providing a more detailed picture of the complete format and the items to be included. Appendices contain short articles providing background information in such areas as the organization of a new school Master Plan; selection of an architect and site; public relations; school disaster preparedness planning; and facility activation, orientation, and postoccupancy evaluation. (GR) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** Educational :ecifications Linking Design of School Facilities to Educational 7 Program U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND ED CATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS CENTER (ERIC) BEEN GRANTED BY This document has been reproduced as L___ received from the person or organization originating it. C. Robinson Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES document do not necessarily represent INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) official OERI position or policy. 1 CI) CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Sacramento, 1997 0 r 111 BESTCOPYAVAILABLE 2 Educational Specifications Linking Design of School Facilities to Educational Program Prepared by School Facilities Planning Division California Department of Education 3 Publishing Information Educational Specifications was developed by the School Facilities Planning Division, California Department of Education, and was published by the Department, 721 Capitol Mall, Sacramento, California (mailing address: P.O. Box 944272, Sacramento, CA 94244-2720). It was distributed under the provisions of the Library Distribution Act and Government Code Section 11096. Questions on the content of this publication should be directed to the School Facilities Planning Division at the address given above; telephone (916) 322-2470; FAX (916) 327-3954. © 1997 by the California Department of Education All rights reserved ISBN 0-8011-1352-0 Ordering Information Copies of this publication are available for $18.50 each, plus shipping and handling charges. California residents are charged sales tax. Orders may be sent to the Publications Division, Sales Office, California Department of Education, P.O. Box 271, Sacramento, CA 95812-0271; FAX (916) 323-0823. An illustrated Educational Resources Catalog describing publications, videos, and other instructional media available from the Departmentcan be obtained without charge by writing to the address given above or by calling the Sales Office at (916) 445-1260. Notice The guidance in this publication is not binding on local educational agencies or other entities. Except for the statutes, regulations, and court decisions that are referenced herein, the document is exemplary, and compliance with it is not mandatory. (See Education Code Section 33308.5.) Prepared for publication by CSEA members Contents Page Foreword iv Preface Acknowledgments vi Introduction: How to Use This Document vii Chapter 1The Meaning of Educational Specifications 1 Chapter 2The Role of Educational Specifications in Facility Planning 4 Chapter 3Development of Educational Specifications 8 Chapter 4Suggested Format for Educational Specifications 20 Chapter 5Annotated Outline for an Educational Specifications Document: Parts I and II 24 Chapter 6Part III of the Annotated Outline: Activity-Area Requirements 37 Chapter 7Parts IV and V of the Annotated Outline: Summaries of Area Relationships and Space Requirements 49 Conclusion 57 Appendixes Appendix 1:Master Planning and Overall Goals 60 Appendix 2:Remodeling Facilities 63 Appendix 3:Public Relations 65 Appendix 4:Selecting the Architect 69 Appendix 5:Project Delivery 73 Appendix 6:Site Selection 79 Appendix 7:Safe Architecture for Schools 81 Appendix 8:School Disaster Preparedness Plan 88 Appendix 9:Facility Activation, Orientation, and Postoccupancy Evaluation 92 Appendix 10:Sample Form ES-3: Facilities Inspection Summary 95 Appendix 11:Constructibility Reviews 99 Selected References 103 Foreword The shape of our students' learning environment must be carefully planned to support our educational objectives as well as to provide safe, clean, and technologically up-to-date facilities. The planning process begins with the definition of educational goals and the develop- ment of educational specifications. The California Department of Education has prepared this document, Educational Specifications: Linking Design of School Facilities to Educational Program, to help school districts develop specifications based on a fundamental principle of modern architecture: form follows function. Educationally effective facilities must correspond to and support the curriculum function they are designed to house. The facilities should reflect the belief of adults in our society that education is important. Our students are young, but they are not stupid. They have been to the mall. They know what buildings look like when adults are serious, caring, and engaged about the purpose of those buildings. As new educational concepts emerge, school design must follow those concepts. Until recently, educational reform has understandably been focused primarily on developing high-quality teachers and promoting excellence in instructional methods and technology. Recent research, however, has revealed a critical relationship between learning and the physical environment in which it occurs. An awareness is growing that a school facility may do more than simply house the instructional program. The facility is a part of the program. Educating our diverse student population presents challenges that can be met only by carefully defining each community's needs and designing a curriculum to meet those needs. The educational specification becomes the vehicle the architect uses to translate the curriculum and the instruc- tional program into a beautiful, economical, and functional educational environment that can help shape the way our communities enter the twenty-first century and influence the quality of life in our neighbor- hoods thereafter. This document is intended to be a guide in that process. I hope that you will find it useful. DELAINE EASTIN 6 State Superintendent of Public Instruction iv Preface In 1994 the California Department of Education was directed by the Legislature to formalize regulations governing standards for the design and construction of new school facilities. Included with those standards are requirements for the submittal of educational specifications. (See the California Code of Regulations, Title 5, Section 14034, on the application of standards to locally funded school districts.) Those requirements are delineated in Education Code Section 39101(c). They are also listed in the California Code of Regulations, Title 5, Section 14030(a), as follows: Educational specifications for school design shall be prepared based on the district's goals, objectives, policies, and community input that determine the educational program and define the following: Enrollment of the school and the grade-level configuration Emphasis in curriculum content or teaching methodology that influ- ences school design Type, number, size, function, special characteristics of each space, and spatial relationships of the instructional area that are consistent with the educational program Community functions that may affect the school design To implement the regulations and assist school districts in preparing educational specifications, the Department has provided two options for districts to consider when requesting plan approvals. Districts may submit (1) complete educational specifications as suggested in this document; or (2) minimum specifications. Copies of the forms to be submitted and advice on their use can be obtained from the School Facilities Planning Division, California Department of Education; telephone (916) 322-2470. In most cases, especially for large projects, school districts will submit the complete educational specifications rather than the minimal