Glass L]$~3 ?;/i 3 - ■ djool &rdntecture Containing; Articles attU Sllu^tratfotrs on g>d)O0l ^tount% louses, ®ut-~ ImfUrtng*, Seating, ^ettttlattott, g>d)00l Becoratum, jPurntture, anti fixtures prepared b^ #r* p, g>tjatofeeE £>tate SmpermtenDent of Spools Cljarletfton, 1910. V J ^ THE NEWS-MAIL CO., CHARLESTON, W. VA. FEB 18 Boards op Education of The State of West Virginia. Gentlemen : — Lid you ever think what an important place you occupy in our educational system? Judged from the salary you receive and the number of days you serve each year, your office does not seem very important, but when measured by the powers and opportunities given you, your position is one of the most powerful in the state. Legislators may make laws requiring adequate school houses to be huilt, and kept sanitary and comfortable; educators may go about the state and deliver fine speeches about modern buildings, grounds and equipment, and their influence upon the health and character of the children; teachers and instructors may meet in institutes .and pass resolutions in favor of modern conveniences and higher salaries ; progressive citizens may ask for the best school advantages for their children ; but what does all this amount to when weighed against the brief orders placed upon the record book of a Board of Education? That record of business determines just how much money is available and how it shall be spent. You hold the purse strings of the state and thereby determine the time to which progress in school matters shall march. Occasionally we find a Board of Education that seems to say by its opposition to progressive movements, "West Virginia to the rear;" others, by their opposition to all things new, give their order, "At rest;" while many, in spite of the fire of opposition and criticism, ring •out the command, "Forward, march, West Virginia must have bet- ter school houses, better teachers and a more efficient citizenship." As a rule, the school officers of this state are honestly carrying out the law as they understand it, and this book is put into your hands with the hope that it will give you a keener appreciation of the full meaning of the obligations placed upon you by the law under which you serve. School architecture is an art. Too often we make the mistake of supposing that any architect or carpenter is able to devise a suit- able home for a school and all its activities. Many times our ar- chitects plan school buildings by taking into consideration pro- portions, gables, architectural effects, lumber, brick and stone, and School Architecture. either forget or fail to understand the children and their work — ■ the very things for which the house should be erected. Those with professional knowledge concerning the requirements for a modern school house should prescribe the general standards, and from these let architects determine the other features of school buildings. In this book will be found the principal requirements for school ar- chitecture gathered from reliable sources. It is not desired that boards of education will follow these plans in every detail, but it is fully expected that they will build according to prescribed stan- dards. The county superintendent should not agree to plans that break the well-established laws of school architecture. Some sug- gestions found in this publication will seem like dreams to school officers in regions where public money is scarce, but such officers should take courage, for the time is near at hand when all dis- tricts of West Virginia must, by some means or other, have suffi- cient funds to make school advantages approximately equal throughout the state. We take this means of thanking the architects and business firms for many of the plates used. While we wish to call attention to this material, we wish it understood that no discrimination for or against any reliable firm with which school officers desire to deal is intended. With the hope that school officers may read these pages and examine the pictures carefully, and derive therefrom practical help for practical problems and inspiration to tackle bigger things in the future, I am Very truly, School Architecture. THREE GENERATIONS OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS. Many suggestions and rules set forth in this book may have a tendency to discourage some boards of education and teachers who are unable to comply with them. For this reason, this article with its pictures showing what a wonderful transformation has come about in school architecture in West Virginia is placed first. School officers and teachers have every reason to be proud of the progress we are making, and should give our state due credit for what has been accomplished, yet any halt at this stage would be a great mis- take. The editor of The School Exchange of Newark, N. J., recently said, "Probably no other State in the Union has shown so com- plete transformation in its school architecture in so short a time as "West Virginia." Many years ago Whittier sang; "Still sits the schoolhouse by the road, A ragged beggar sunning; Around it still the sumachs grow, And blackberry vines are running." Although we still have entirely too many dilapidated old, beg- garly, box-schoolhouses, with doors battered almost to destruction, windows small and broken, general appearance ragged, yards cov- ered with a few abused bushes, weeds and "blackberry vines," they are marked for removal just as soon as financial conditions will permit. The "beggars," for the most part have given way to a better type. A brief review of the evolution of our school build- ings should give us intelligent cause for pride and courage for fur- ther efforts in this direction. The First Generation — The Log Schoolhouse. It is not possible to obtain an accurate picture of the earliest pioneer building, but from history we know it was a very crude log structure, generally with but one or two windows, and they made of greased paper, rather than glass, with puncheon floors and desks, and a crude log fire-place in one end of the building. The modesty of this pioneer educational institution, however, is not to be de- spised, for a stalwart commonwealth now points with the greatest pride to the warriors, statesmen, poets, and philosophers whose early education, and is some cases whose entire education, was re- ceived in these humble schools. The development of a country, School Architecture. true to the laws of nature, follows the line of least resistance and as a consequence we find West Virginia, though early explored, ly- ing undeveloped for nearly a century while the great rush of rail- road building and agricultural development was going on in the Mississippi Valley. "When the system of travel and transportation changed from the stage-coach to the steam railway, the numerous colonies and communities among the mountains of West Virginia were left to themselves and for a half a century the resources of the State were unknown to the commercial world. As railroad de- A Pioneer. velopment continued, however, and the country began to pay more attention to commercial industries, investigation began in this State, in nearly all instances to reward the investigators with re- sources beyond their most sanguine dreams. With this commercial awakening came the opportunity which the hardy pioneers had waited for through the years, and with the improved means at their command they soon began the construction of a better type of school buildings. The story of the development is well indicated by the history of the log school house. In 1890, for instance, there School Architecture. were 1,007 such buildings out of a total number of 4,814 school buildings in West Virginia. In 1900 the total number of school houses in the State had increased from 4,814 to 5,916 but the num- ber of log houses had decreased from 1,007 to 345. For this year just ending the number of school houses in this State is a little over 7,000 and there remains something like a score only of the ragged old log house pioneers, grim reminders of a day and con- dition forever past in West Virginia. The Second Generation — The Box Style of Architecture. "A Ragged Beggar Sunning. This log school-house, this grandfather, this pioneer, rough and ready, and harmonious with the home and life of the early settler, passed away and in its stead came the more pretentious box-shaped frame building which still remains in many communities. Break- ing most of the laws of architecture, beauty, heating, lighting, ven- tilation, and sanitation, this style of building served a generation School Architecture. and has to its credit much good work. However, the life and en- vironment compatible with such school homes have disappeared, and such a schoolhouse (we have hundreds of them) and surround- ings stand as convincing evidence that education in some commun- ities has not kept pace with progress. People seem quite ready to abandon old styles in dress; they readily substitute the new and more useful tools for those out of date— the improved drill for the old harrow, the reaper for the sickle, the steam thresher for the windmill — but in many sections they have allowed the old-fashion- ed schoolhouse to remain long after all its companions disappeared. For a dozen or more years the educators of the State have been hammering away at the question of architecture, heating, lighting and ventilating, especially in the County Institutes where all the teachers of the county assemble. As a consequence a more intelli- gent and wholesome sentiment on that question has been developed and there is now more condemnation for that style of structure in most counties of the State than there was for its predecessor, the old log house. Along with this sentiment-making process came a bit of legisla- tion on the subject which as now revised reads as follows: "In the construction of school houses the board of education of each district shall have regard to economy, convenience and dura- bility of structure and the health and comfort of pupils, and no such school house shall be constructed until the location and plans thereof have first been approved by the county superintendent, and in the event the board of education cannot agree upon plans or location, the county superintendent shall select the plans and loca- tion for such house." This legislation backed by professionally inclined county super- intendents and a rapidly improving public sentiment is doing much to remove this second generation of school houses. The store-box type must go. The Third Generation — The Useful- Attractive Type. With the development of the rich resources of our state came much wealth and with the wealth came a desire for higher living. The same sentiment that built the new home and bought the new furniture is demanding new, beautiful, and well-furnished school buildings for the children who come from these attractive homes. Citizens who a few years ago dubbed libraries, slate blackboards, School Architecture. ventilating systems, cloak rooms, and storm porches as "new-fan- gled frills" now look upon these things as necessities. The keener business men of the state are learning that it "pays to advertise" their communities and that a commodious, beautiful school house set on a large, well-kept lot is the neighborhood's best advertiser. The parents are beginning to realize that children are much influ- enced by their school surroundings — that decent outbuildings and school rooms are conducive to decent habits, that beauty of en- vironment begets beauty of life. 51DTS ELFVATlO/3, KEKMAJSM K."R^TT:Z, ATECJrl . A Modern School House. The growing sentiment for better school architecture is well in- dicated by the increase in the number of brick school buildings. In 1890 there were 127 brick school houses in the state; in 1900, 184; in 1910, at least 300. "When we take into consideration the fact that "West Virginia has no large cities, this, is a good showing. Members of boards of education, county superintendents, teach- ers and citizens should look over these pictures and see what gener- ation of school architecture is best represented in their respective communities. If you have not the best, stir up your patriotism, and begin with one accord a campaign for better public school property. 10 School Architecture. ''BEFORE" AND "AFTER." Patent medicine firms are fond of showing the appearance of their patients "before" and "after" taking. Indeed pictures do much to convince us along many lines as they speak their message with a flash. The following contrasts strikingly show several grades of school buildings "before" and "after" taking modern architectural ideas. The old log house of Pocahontas County is worthy careful exam- ination. The firmness of the foundation, the neatness displayed in the chinks, in the gable, on the corners and roof, indicate a taste that the new building has inherited in large measure. "With all its good qualities, the sturdy old house looks as "a thing apart" with no natural connection with life. The hole in the door says that the boys considered the building an enemy rather than a friend. Many men are ever ready to point out the fact that great schol- ars and statesmen come from log houses and log schoolhouses. With- out thinking, they claim this as an argument in favor of these con- ditions. Did you ever hear of these great products of such envir- onment saying, "My greatness is easily explained, I had the ad- vantage of going to an old fashioned school, in a log house"? No, this is not the explanation given by them and their admirers. We always credit them w T ith the ability to succeed in spite of the lack of proper school advantages, and little note the thousands who stop far short of their possibilities because of no proper incentive to push ahead. Geniuses can do unusual things and often break down all barriers between them and success, but we can ill afford to ex- pect so much of the average child. Be he a mediocre or a budding genius, he is safer with conditions that coax the natural powers to proper growth. The next picture shows the neat, artistic building which took the place of the one described above. From foundation to bell-tower, all is neat and substantial. For two small windows we find four large, plain ones; for the chinks and mud mortar, the weather- boarding and paint ; for the exposed puncheon door, a protected en- trance with neat door and transom ; for lack of room and ugliness, we find comfortableness and beauty. With surroundings like these supplemented with good teachers the young mountaineers of Poca- hontas should grow as tall and straight as the trees by the build- ing. School Architecture. 11 Seebert Before Improvement. Seebert After Improvement. 12 School Architecture. The next group of buildings is used to show "before" and "after" consolidation. The Wolf Run School (log house) and the Hoffman School (picture below on the right) of Barker District, Barbour County, were consolidated in 1909. The roomy, attract- ive, two -room building shown in the picture was the result. Coun- ty Superintendent A. F. Shroyer deserves much credit for this and similar movements in his county. Wolf Run School. Hoffman School. New Consolidated School Which Takes the Place of the Ones Above. These buildings stand for another idea worth mentioning here. They represent the "give-and-take" tolerant spirit between two School Architecture. 13 communities which is so necessary to the successful working out of large school questions. Each neighborhood naturally wished to retain its own school or have the new one in its place, but like good citizens, they ignored personal preference and agreed to a location best suited to the largest number. Consolidation of schools is neither possible nor desirable in many parts of West Virginia, but there are scores of places in this state where consolidation would greatly improve the schools. "Where it has been tried, some or all of the following advantages have been secured : 1. Better buildings and furniture. 2. Better attendance. 3. More systematic grading. 4. More efficient supervision. 5. Higher quality of teaching. 6. Better health among pupils. 7. More community school spirit. 8. Greater incentives to reach high school work. 9. Less total running expense. 10. Stronger demand for good roads. The improvement in the town and village schools is even more marked than that in the rural schools. The pictures chosen to represent the old and the new tell their own story. No doubt the patrons, teachers, and pupils thought the barn-like building shown in the first picture was "a thing of beauty and a joy forever" when it was built. I imagine some citizens complained of the extrava- gance of the board of education for building beyond the needs of the time. But the progressive people of Williamstown soon out-grew the old shell. They grew weary of its staring appearance, its rickety steps, scattered chopped-up windows, its meaningless gables, and accusing bell-tower. They sought something to show their pros- perity, their pride and their faith in schools. The new building was the result. In 1890 West Virginia had not a single building erected for high school purposes exclusively. For this reason most of our high school architecture has been good from the start. At the present time there are a score or more of towns and cities with commodious high school buildings and many others are either erecting new ones or planning to do so in the near future. 14 School Architecture. Tin: Gi.u and the New at Williams rows. School Architecture. 15 Old High School— Wheeling. New High School — Wheeling. The "old" and the "new" in Wheeling shows the same forward movement from the make-shift to the school building erected for a purpose. The new building at "Wheeling is one of the finest in the South. It costs the city $225,000 and will pay large dividends. 16 School Architecture. Courtesy Ohio Agricultural College. What Can Be Done Here? CARE AND IMPROVEMENT OF SCHOOL PROPERTY. In many sections of our state boards of education have much rea- son for a lack of pride in providing attractive school property, for many teachers fail to give such property careful protection. Too often new, well-painted school houses soon show the marks of lead pencils, chalk, knives, and mud. Sometimes a careless janitor or pupil thoughtlessly damages the appearance of the building by sweeping in a way that throws muddy water against the weather boarding about the door ; sometimes muddy balls are bounced against a white gable until it is as spotted as a leopard. New locks are broken; window lights and shades are neglected; newly var- nished seats are carved by the jack-knife; dictionaries are torn up, and library books lost; charts and other apparatus are left to the dominion of the dust. This is not the rule, but is too true for a number of our schools. Boards of education should call atten- tion of the teacher to these matters and teachers in turn should take much pride in preserving in good order the property entrusted to their care. Indeed more than mere preservation is required of teachers — they should in many respects improve the school outfit. Plenty of hot water and washing powd- der will remove many ugly spots. A well organized "Clean-up Band" will make the school yard shine in a few noon periods. The writer knew one energetic rural teacher who planed from the old desks the dirt and carvings and bright- ened them up with a few cents worth of paint. We use many fine phrases about patriotism, but fail to make the children understand that Uncle Sam is represented just as much by public property as he is by flags and band music. F^om both the standpoint of economy and good teaching, it is incumbent upon those in charge of school buildings and school children not only to preserve but to improve what the public has provided. Courtesy O. J. Kern. It Needs the Doctor. School Architecture. Yi Courtesy Supt Edward Hyatt, Cal. Before Improvement. "Isn't this desolation and hopelessness? Look at the closets! What kind of children would you expect to raise in such a place as this?" Courtesy Supt. Edward Hyatt, Cal. After Improvement. 'This is the same schoolhouse, but has been born again. 18 School Architecture. However, all the blame and responsibility must not fall upon teachers, who many times wish to improve the condition of school property, but are handicapped for want of a small appropriation. When the meagerness of the salary and the multitudinous duties of the common school teacher are considered, we do not wonder that they refuse to spend extra time and money to do just w T hat should be done by boards of education by direct order. Besides the annual inspection and overhauling of school houses, there should be occasional visits for the purpose of taking stock of school conditions. To allow a window shade to go to ruin for want of an opportune tack; to allow the stove and plastering to be ruined for want of a few shingles placed in the right way at the right time ; to allow property to rust out and rot out for want of care — this, all this, is poor economy. In this connection, boards of education should remember that a district superintendent is the ideal officer to act as property manager for the Board. Let us, in the name of good business, in the name of our state pride, in the name and for the good of West Virginia's best crop - — our boys and girls — preserve and improve what school property we have and plan to build better in the future. School Architecture. 19 REMODELING SCHOOL BUILDINGS. There are many well-built, old-fashioned school buildings which can be remodeled and made more useful and attractive at small cost. Boards of education that do not have sufficient funds for building new houses should seek ways of bringing buildings al- ready constructed up-to-date. This is being done in many places in West Virginia, especially in small towns. Cuts of such improve- ments could not be secured, hence we present suggestions for re- modeling obtained through the kindness of the State Superinten- dent of California. JOLON SCHOOL REMODELED. The first plate (Jolon School) shows the floor plan of an old style, cne-room building with windows on both sides. Below it is shov.n the same building with a new porch added, a small library room partitioned off, and the doors and windows rearranged. But few of our one-room buildings are large enough to allow partitions, but many of them can be much improved by adding a substantial porch where the children may step outside the school room without being in the storm. 20 School Architecture. Te.aC.hzT * JoZon School, b*. fore, rem ocle.(i'iij fJeLon . oafiooL cxf-t-t.-i' rem o c7 e I t»t q L/8V4«y ./re. u> T\-rti~t''o"~ CLASS 'Room /rciu liter- ?ra«t ««' J Ki^dawi ** NewPoRch Courtesy Supt. Edward IIya.lt, California. The above cuts are self-explanatory, showing in detail what can be accomplished by a little expense and ingenuity. School Architecture. 21 a. o CD PtAM O F OKDiM^s P* *Y ONE ROOM SCHOOL BUILDlMG J.H Feut^rcmitec- KAN5ASC ITY S/^ME PU-zAtS REMODELED, Corutdii 8upt. Howard A. Oajs, Missouri. In many places the window spaces on the right of pupils can be closed and weatherboarded, and some extra windows placed on the left side with about two half windows placed high in the rear end of the building. Painting outside and in, and new furnishings are always in order. This repairing will cost some money, but if a reasonable expenditure will make old buildings ''as good as new" school officers should feel satisfied. The two floor plans on this page show the kind of remodeling that is being done in Missouri. The old, poorly planned building was turned around and greatly improved in appearance and use- fulness by adding addition in front. More complete directions con- cerning windows, stoves, decorations, etc., will be found in other articles. 22 School Architecture. Courtesy Supt. Howard A. Gass, Missouri. An ordinary school house of the older type — windows all around at regular intervals. Courtesy Supt. Howard A. Gass, Missouri. Same ouildiug remodeled, with windows banked on one side. See floor plans on another page, showing detailed changes. School Architecture. 23 CHOOSING A SITE. The Laiv. Sec. 13 of the School Law says, "The board of educa- tion of every district shall provide by purchase, condemnation, leasing, building or otherwise, suitable school houses, and grounds in their districts, in such locations as will best accommodate the pu- pils thereof." Sec. 14 states, "No school house shall be constructed until the location and plan thereof have first been approved by the county superintendent, and in the event the board of education cannot agree upon plans or location, the county superintendent shall select the plans and location for such house." Consideration for Community. Those who select sites should note that the law says, ' ' suitable ' ' site that ' ' will best accommodate the pupils" of the district. In the spirit of this law the first thing to consider is the approximate center of the school population. Many times influential citizens or special interests use their influ- ence to take the school far from its natural location for selfish or business interests. Those to whom the people intrust their rights should be courageous and absolutely impartial in determining the location of a school building. It often happens that the topog- raphy of the land or the distribution of the population would make it advisable to determine upon a location some distance from the geographical center of the district. However, the probability of future development should be taken into consideration. If a choice must be made between a small amount of convenience of some pupils and an opportunity to secure a large, suitable lot, the latter should rule. It often happens in towns and cities that in order to secure a place quiet and roomy a site far from the center of popu- lation should be chosen. The school deserves the choicest location in the community. Size. We hear on every side words of condemnation for the small, unsightly lots surrounding our rural schools, yet mr.ny new school houses are being built on lots that will seem just as inade- quate to those who live a quarter of a century from now. Some boards of education that have sufficient of the people 's money, pur- chase for a rural school a little, irregular, stony lot from on3-eighth to one-fourth acre in size. Such purchases are a very poor use of public money, in spite of the fact that some unthinking tax-payers will praise the board for its economy. Before the location is made, land can be bought or condemned at reasonable rates, but when 24 School Architecture. the house is built it takes much money to push back the school lot's boundary lines. Some time in the future our rural schools Avill be in session nine months and school gardens and simple experi- ments in agriculture will be in demand. When such time comes, imagine how we shall bewail the shortsightedness of school officers who think that room for eave projection and foot paths around a school house is about all the ground necessary! L. To be more definite, a rural school should have at least one acre of smooth, tillable land. Two acres make a much better lot. When two acres can be secured, the building should occupy the center of the front acre. This will leave a grassy lawn in front for trees, shrubbery and flowers. The acre to the rear will provide sufficient room for playgrounds so necessary to any good school. Authorities agree that in towns or cities all school lots should be large enough to afford thirty square feet of ground for each pupil in school. Soil and Exposure. It is a well recognized rule that clay and loam are not suitable soils for building sites as they (especially the clay) retain too much moisture. Although the parable tells of a wise man that builded his house upon a rock, that practice is not always wise as many solid-rock locations have such strata and drainage as to hold dampness and cause an unusual amount of water to appear during wet weather. However, when other consid- erations make it desirable to build on such soil, good conditions School Architecture. 25 can be secured by proper drainage. Gravel and sandy soils are best suited for school houses as they allow even distribution and quick disappearance of moisture. "Filled in" soil, especially ar- tificial soil containing any decaying matter should be avoided. If possible the lot should be in an open, airy place with a southern exposure. Plenty of sunshine is a very essential consideration in •determining the location of a school. Surroundings. Many school houses in "West Virginia are nearby mills, factories, mines, railroad sidings, street car lines, pumping •stations, et cetera, These annoyances make normal, quiet school work impossible. They injure the hearing, the nervous system and the general health of the teacher and pupils. Such locations do much to waste the money appropriated for school purposes. While trees are much recommended for school yards, too many of them near the building work injury by retaining too much dampness and shutting out too much light and sunshine. Hills, however beau- tiful, should not crowd too close to the school windows and thus shut off the light and view. Let there be light, sunshine, and quiet in and about our school buildings. TYPES OF RURAL SCHOOL BUILDINGS. Some General Standards. These topics are well discussed in some of the other articles of this book, but are placed here in outline form to call attention to them in connection with the plans for buildings. These require- ments are generally accepted as standard by those who have made 'Careful study of school architecture and economy. Size. Floor space should be sufficient to provide at least 15 sq. ft. of floor space for each student and length and breadth should he in about the proportion of 32 ft. to 24 ft. No room should be more than 32 ft. long and 26 ft. wide. The height should be suf- ficient to allow each pupil about 200 cu. ft. of air volume. That would require a height of about 13 ft., although a very slight re- duction of this is permissible in some types of buildings. Floors. Maple in widths not to exceed 3 in. makes the best wood floor. Deadening material of some kind should be used. Some good authorities recommend very coarse cheap cement a few inches thick as a cheap deadening material. It can be put between joists on a rough false floor made from waste lumber. Floors should be 26 School Architecture. blind nailed and free from cracks or flaws. There should be no el- evated platform in the school room. Walls. There should be wainscoating of tile, hardwood, or hard plaster thoroughly painted in darker color than the rest of the wall. Plaster, painted and stippled to prevent a glaring light, makes a satisfactory wall. If wood is used, the boards should be very closely fitted to prevent accumulation of dust. (See other articles for com- plete directions for color of walls). Picture moulding in harmony with rest of woodwork should extend around the room. Windows. The window space should equal one-fifth to one- fourth floor space. The bi-lateral arrangement, that is, windows- banked on the left with a few smaller ones placed higher in the rear will be considered the rule in West Virginia. Windows on one side only is advocated by many, but there is danger that this arrangement will not give sufficient light. The windows in the rear can be covered by shades except on dark days or under con- ditions demanding the light they afford. This will prevent cross- shadows and injury to the teacher's eyes. The bottom of the win- dows should be level with the pupils' eyes, 3 to 4 ft. high general- ly, and the top should reach near the ceiling. Pupils in all parts- of the room should be able to see a large area of the sky. The win- dows should be plain, not having more than two glasses in each sash, and should never be curved at top as this cuts off some light and makes mending difficult. A good authority says, ' ' The best light for a school room is north ; next best northeast; then south, then east, and lastly west." Window Shades. The shades should harmonize with the color of the wall. A soft green is a good color. There are several ways of fastening shades. (1) The most common and poorest plan is to fasten them at the top of the window, thus making it impossible to shut off a glare of light at bottom of window without pulling the shade over the whole window. (2) The use of two shades fastened in the middle of each win- dow is highly recommended. This makes it possible to cover or ex- pose the upper or lower part at pleasure. (3) The shade may be fastened at bottom and run upward by using the cord over a small spool or pulley at top of window. This' is a good plan as it provides for cutting off the direct light at bot- tom and exposing the sky through the upper part of window. School Architecture. 27 (4) The best method of ad- l ^m^g^ &&m justing shades to suit all con- ditions is shown in the accom- panying cut. This simple ad- juster allows the whole shade to be pulled up or down at will. By this ingenious con- trivance any portion of the window can be shaded without obstructing the light above and below. Blackboards. Blackboard should extend along side and end not occupied by windows. It should be placed low enough to be easily used by pupils (2 or 2y 2 ft. above floor accord- ing to grade of pupils, top never more than 6y 2 ft. above „ . „ w .. , „ "" ' * Courtesy Van Bolt & Co. floor). Natural slate is the best material, though dull Window Shade Adjuster. black finish pulp is good and much cheaper. Blackboard with shining surface should not be used. A chalk trough open at the ends and covered with hinged wire netting should be placed below blackboards. ONE ROOM SCHOOL BUILDINGS. The first three plans of one-room buildings are taken from a pamphlet on school buildings by the Smith System Heating Com- pany, Indianapolis, Ind. If the boards of education wish to use this system of heating, the company will furnish free of charge large blue-prints of the plans selected with complete details and specifications. If the heating system is not desired, the plans and specifications will be furnished at a small price. As a general rule, stock plans should not be used, for they do not provide for peculiar local conditions and the individuality which school buildings should possess. However, in some cases, boards may be able to economize by purchasing such a plan and adapting it to their needs. 28 School Architecture. Plan No. 1. FRONT ELEVATION. Teachers desk- School Room £1 xfSYsrenr FLOOR PLAN. This is a very simple inexpensive plan suitable for an ordinary rural school where funds are not available for a more elaborate building. Separate cloak rooms for boys and girls are provided and so arranged that pupils pass through the cloak rooms when en- tering. "Where buildings have no water system, the room marked School Architecture. 29 "closet" can be included in a small library room, or a main en- trance can be substituted for the place marked "cupboard" and "book-case." Plan No. 2. This plan speaks for itself. The time has come for the country schools to break away from the one-room tradition and add some conveniences that the town and city schools have had for many years. A neatly furnished library room with a case or two of good books is a profitable investment which every community should possess. The room marked for fuel can be used for a shop for manual training. "What district or county will have the honor to lead in providing for some manual training in rural schools? A FRONT ELEVATION. room like this can be supplied at small expense with a work-bench and a few tools. Indeed there are but few neighborhoods in West Virginia that would not make or donate this material if the teach- er or some other leader would explain the usefulness of this kind of work. Such work is worth all it costs in the training it gives the 30 School Architecture. pupils and if properly directed will return to the school and neigh- borhod material equal in value to the amount expended for this purpose. The pupils can make desks, shelves, mathematical blocks, picture frames, et cetera, for use in the school or home, and who will deny that such work affords better education than much of the meaningless drill given on topics that bear no relation to country life ? If a board of education has not sufficient funds for providing these extra rooms, they can be left out of this plan without injury. FLOOR PLAN X)F NO. 2. Especial attention should be called to the appearance of this school building as shown in the front elevation. In the first place, its well-balanced, substantial appearance attracts notice. The med- ium pitch of the roof is a great improvement on the steep stock ap- pearance of most of our typical school buildings. The broad eaves, the neatly finished cornice work, the well-protected corners and door-ways, are worthy of the consideration of boards of education. School Architecture. 31 Plan No. 3. This plan shows the plan of a more expensive building than 1 and 2, but when we consider the fact that the same foundation and roof are required for all buildings of the same size, we will see that it is good economy to add modern conveniences, as such ad- ditions increase but little the total cost. Many new school buildings in West Virginia provide but one cloak room. Besides being a source of disorder, this arrangement does not give privacy to girl FRONT ELEVATION. students which the best training requires. As suggested in Plan No. 2, the room marked "fuel room" may be used for laboratory work or manual training. Especial attention is called to the well-proportioned, roomy porch. A porch of this width and length seems to be a natural part of the building to which it belongs, while the small store-box porches tacked to many of our school buildings seem to hold their places under protest. If the funds of the district will not justify a 32 School Architecture. board of education in carrying out this complete plan, the extra rooms in front may be started and cloak rooms provided in the wings of the porch. This will necessitate changing the entrance to the center. FLOOR PLAN OF NO. 3. This plan differs from the others by providing for bi-lateral light- ing, that is, windows on two sides. Many object to windows in the rear, claiming that they make cross shadows on the pupils' work and injure the eyes of the teacher who must face them. These ob- jections can be overcome by a proper adjustment of the window shades. School Architecture. 33 Plan No. 4. Coiirtesy Holmboe & Lafferty, Architects. This is an ideal one room building, complete with one room^ heating and ventilating apparatus, as successfully used at Perry Hollow, Lambert's Run, Garretts Run, "W. Va., etc. The windows are grouped, a library and storage room are supplied, and the ex- terior design lifts the building from the commonplace, making it an ornament to any village or farming district. "While the porch can be eliminated without seriously affecting the plan, it is not to be rec- ommended, as the shelter provided is a convenience to early arrivals in inclement weather. Large and well placed black-board space is provided. A building like this one may seem expensive, but when its dura- bility, convenience and influence are considered, it gives more for each dollar invested than does a cheap, unattractive, uncomfort- able house. The beauty and comfortableness of such a school home will cause better attendance on the part of the pupils and better wo] k on the part of the teacher. A farmer, carpenter, clerk, or any other workman cannot do a good day's work without proper tools and equipment. The same is true of pupils and teachers. Lack of proper light, heat, desks, blackboard, and equipment will make the most effective work impossible. However, the chance to do more work which such a building affords, is not the chief reason for its construction. The influence it has upon the habits and character of the pupils is well worth the extra money expended. In many communities the boys and girls look upon the school building as a dingy prison and they take as much delight in abusing it with knives, chalk and mud balls, as they would in hurting an enemy. When the tax payers prove their faith in boys and girls by provid- ing so liberally for them, the pupils are sure, under the guidance of a sensible teacher, to look with disapproval upon any careless one who abuses the school house, the pride of the school. Most crimes are committed in dark and dirty places; filthy habits are natural in filthy places. People do not clean the mud from their shoes when entering a muddy street or an unkept barn. They do not feel at ease with soiled clothes or rude habits in a fine church or home. Neither do boys and girls have any inclination to be neat in appearance when they must step directly from the road into a school room that is as dirty as the road. The outside beauty, the walk, the porch, the vestibule and the final cosy class room of the house pictured under No. 4 will invite cleanliness and neatness. Such habits will be so deeply impressed during school years that they will be carried through life. How important then it is to cast such uplifting influences about the youth of the country while their minds and souls are sensitive alike to good and bad impressions. Such a building and grounds stand as constant reminders of the business judgment, the belief in schools, the neighborhood pride, and the liberality of the communities which provide them. Let us have more of them in West Virginia. School Architecture. 35 Plan No. 5. This simple plan is submitted for the consideration of boards of education who wish to provide modern conveniences with as little cost as possible. It presents one important feature that should be much used in school houses, viz., straight lines and plain corners. The small room on the front where steps are indicated may be used as a kind of porch or vestibule, and the rest of the extra room on side may be used for cloak room and library or supply room. A porch in front would add much to this building. This plan is almost identical with the one used by Supt. Shroyer in giving his specifications on another page. 36 School Architecture. This plan, as will be seen at a glance, is intended for communities where water pressure is available. This condition often prevails on the outskirts of towns and cities where a one-room school is needed. In many places in West Virginia water pressure could be secured for homes and schools by utilizing large springs or mountain streams that could be piped into the buildings. Under this a small cellar, about 6 x 14 feet in size, holds the pressure tank and force pump for the water supply. The big boys will take delight in pumping up the pressure for each day, — it requires but a few min- utes. It is surrounded by a 12-inch concrete wall and has a cement floor. The tank has a capacity of about 350 gallons, and is connect- ed with a well through underground pipes. Plan No. 6. MODEL RURAL SCHOOL HOUSE 2d'- J 6' Direct sunlight enters the class-room through the entry doors in the morning and through the rear ground glass in the afternoon. The children face the east with the light from the left. The fresh air vent is directly opposite the windows, so that the current follows the natural direction across the rooin, down in front of the windows and back across the floor to the foul air vent. This latter has beep arranged into a small fireplace, where a fire may be built on wet, mmky days to draw off the chill and damp and aid ventilation. Ordinal y jacketed stove or small furnace may be used to heat such a building. This modern building cost about $1,400. School Architecture. 37 DESIGN -for-a -TWO-ROOM •SCHOOL -H0V5E- This plan provides for a convenient arrangement of hall and cloak rooms. The plan for lighting the cloak rooms is worthy of notice. A well constructed, well-kept two-room building at Metz, W. Va. As will be seen, this building is not constructed according to the floor plan above. 38 School Architecture. TWO ROOM BUILDINGS. Two-room buildings present a few new problems which should be considered. The community should feel that the school house is the center of community interest and for that reason provision should be made for handling good-sized audiences, unless the neighborhood is otherwise provided with a suitable hall. Plan No. 2 shows how folding or sliding doors make it possible to throw two rooms together when the occasion demands. If the building is placed in a growing village or community, the plan should provide for the possibility of adding more room. Inasmuch as no windows are placed in the rear of Plan No. 1, an addition could be made without shutting off any light. The porch and some of the partitions shown in No. 1 can be omitted if lack of funds or local needs make such change advisable. The general class-room standards explained on another page should be adhered to in planning two-room buildings. Plan No. 1. TWO ROOM FRAME SCHOOL BUILDING, DOLA, W. VA., HEPZIBAH, W. VA., ST. PAUL, VA., ETC. A well-desisn°d lay-out, provided with excellent heating and ventilating ar- rangement, rne fresh air being brought from the outside under the floor as in the one-room building?. Convenient cloak rooms, library and storage rooms are pro- vided. The heat and vent rtncks are used on the exterior to produce a very pleasing architectural effect. The gables are shingled and the roofs are of slate. The colonial design is appropriate in almost any community. School Architecture. 39 2r&DOI&- :FRA2Z\3E1 saE-ioor. sxjdg Courtesy Holmboe & Lafferty, Architects. Floor Plan of Building Described on Opposite Page. SCHOOL 61D$ /iAffSHf/l.tE WVA, M+naot* frame. SCHOOL, 0X.0i3 Courtesy Holmboe & Lafferty, Architects. TWO ROOM FRAME SCHOOL BUILDING, MARSHVILLE, W. VA. Designed to meet a peculiar condition, where it was desirable that the rooms be thrown togethor when the occasion demanded a large meeting. A very economi- cal plan, one flue accommodating the two rooms. The windows are grouped, and store room is provided, also large blackboard spaces and folding doors to separate the rooms. The bell tower gives a decided school house effect. rian No. 3. Courtesy Holmboe & Lafferty, Architects. Tv/o room, brick, stone foundation, fiat built-up composition roof, school building. Very complete gravity warm air heating and ventilating plant, girls' and boys' toilets in basement, a"d separate play rooms. Basement p^cessible from within and from the outside. Octagon school rooms to facilitate heating and ventilating, obviating sharp corners in which the air may clog. Modern lighting, six windows placed on the left side of school rooms', giving maximum black-board space, and very con- veniently arranged cloak rooms. Supply closet for teacher in each room. Hand- some, dignified exterior, with brick center feature for bell. 42 School Architecture. THREE AND FOUR ROOM BUILDINGS. By reading the requirements for buildings found in other articles of this book, those who wish to plan buildings of three or more rooms will find sufficient information on most points. No plans for three-room buildings are given, as no ideal ones were available at the time this pamphlet was being prepared. By adding one stand- ard room as a ' ' T " or " L " to one of the plans for two-room build- ings, a suitable plan for three rooms can be easily made. In the construction of four-room buildings of two stories, a few new prob- lems are presented. Entrance. "As a rule it may be said that entrances should be wide, equipped with two doors, and should lead directly to the stair- ways and corridors. Doors should be hung to swing outward and should be equipped with latches that are lockable on the outside only. The Massachusetts law requires twenty inches of door width for every one hundred pupils and not. less than four feet to each entrance." A vestibule cut off by double swinging doors, and pro- vided with tile or cement floor, will accommodate the pupils who chance to arrive ahead of the teacher. Such a vestibule will do much to prevent the ' ' tracking in " of mud and snow. Stairways. Many architects, school officers and teachers seem to disregard the constant danger to pupils, especially girls, in climbing steep stairways with narrow tread. Too much stair climb- ing is likely to cause permanent injury to girls of high school age, hence the building and organization should reduce the danger to the minimum. The staircase should be wide — not less than five feet ; the tread should be about 13 inches wide; the risers should not be more than 6V2 inches in graded schools and 7 inches in high schools. The treads should be provided with rubber or metallic safety pads. The railing should be very simple and thoroughly substantial, as it is constantly subject to some strain. Round oak about 3 inches in diameter makes a railing both beautiful and substantial. Long flights of stairs should be broken by roomy landings which provide for a change of direction or rest. Steep stairways are abominable. Wherever possible there should be a stairway on each side of the hall and the whole staircase should be fireproof. Such buildings need halls wide enough to allow cloak rooms to project into the hall, and open above so that the vapor from damp clothing will not enter the school room. Little rooms and nooks for School Architecture. 43 no purpose, dark basements, and attics stored with trash should be carefully omitted. Courtesy Holmboe & Lafferty, Architects. Fouk Room School Building at Elkhoen, "W. Va. A handsome and much complimented four room brick school building, designed to show the groups of windows on the main front. The corners of these school rooms are clipped to facilitate the heating and ventilating. The girls' and boys' toilets are placed on the second floor over the hallway. This absolutely precludes any possibility of obnoxious odors permeating the building, and does not impose excessive stair climbing on the second story pupils, as would toilets placed in the basement. This equalizes the distance traversed to the toilet rooms, compelling scholars from the first floor to ascend one flight of stairs, while those on the second floor, being already elevated, find it very convenient. Abundant light is furnished by windows grouped at one side of the room, and large black-board spaces are provided. In this building a 12-foot gymnasium occu- pies the entire basement. 44 School Architecture. ^PW^ Courtesy Holmboe & Lafferty, Architects. Floor Plan of Building at Elkhoen. Described on preceding page. / C2.W.1S 7?M. • — Sv/Asre sfc/cf/fren -7* «■ > fes± ZE^ 0--4SS /PAf. }\ \ "FIRST T'l^OCK. ^-ROOM-BRICK. SCHOOL BLDG, Courtesy Holmboe & Lafferty, Architects. Floor Plan of Four Room Building at Morgantown. Described on opposite page. School Architecture. 45 Courtesy Holmboe & Lafferty, Architects. Four Room Building at Morgantown, W. Va. Four Booms, Brick. Warm air heating and ventilating. Octa- gon class rooms, and group window lighting. One of the principal points of advantage in this plan is the heating and ventilating ar- rangement, obviating galvanized iron heat flues to the ventilating stacks. The excellent ventilation secured by this plan is obtained by the aspiration produced by the heat pipes in the vent stacks. This successfully draws the foul air from the floor of the school room. The heat is introduced 6V2 feet above the floor. The conven- ient arrangement of the cloak rooms secures for them excellent ven- tilation, also at the same time adding materially to the architec- tural effect of the frcnt. This building lends itself admirably to the addition of four more rooms of like design in the rear, the octagons giving an ideal place to attach future building by secluding the joint. The same stair- way will answer for the future four rooms. The front is very hand- some and distinguished looking. The stone base up to the window sills adds materially to the appearance. Supplementary exterior treatment is given, showing the slate roof, (Tudor-Gothic design), exactly accommodating the same plan. 46 School Architecture. LARGE SCHOOL BUILDINGS. This book is intended primarily for the guidance of boards of education in the construction of buildings in the rural districts, where but few large buildings are needed. For this reason, no at- tempt will be made to give detailed directions and specifications for large city buildings. However, by reference to the articles on smaller buildings and high schools, those desiring to plan for build- ings of eight or more rooms will find standards by which to measure their fundamental features. One of the most difficult problems in First Ward Building, Elkixs, W. Va. A building with fine architectural lines and artistic substantial appearance. the construction of such buildings is the provision for adequate light. An attempt to make such provision has developed the "L," the "T," the "U," and the "H" styles. The latter shape is es- pecially desirable, as it provides for a great amount of light ex- posure. Too often school officers and architects, in planning school build- ings, plan "from without in" when all school architecture should be planned "from within out," that is, the pupil and class room re- School Architecture. 47 quirements should be units for first consideration. Several West Virginia buildings will be shown on the following pages and will offer many suggestive features. L._ An examination of the floor plans of this building which are found on the following page will reveal many desirable features. As will be seen, the cloak rooms extending into the hall are open above, thus permitting the dampness frcm the clothing to escape into the hallway. Although the building is quite large, the ar- rangement and grouping of windows are such as to give ample lighting in all of the rooms and at the same time preserve the laws of lighting as to the direction frcm which it comes. Attention should be called to the two entrances which makes it possible to empty all class rooms in a very short time and without confusion. On the second floor is a large itudy hall which can be changed into school rooms in case the growth of the school should demand such an arrangement. 48 School Architecture. SC3rtOOY_ :FGK_ 5FCOKD rUSJR: , PLAN. ^fe6:,.tey ?iAN. safe /6.#* at/nth- School Architecture. 49 ■s w 5) fa s» o =8 S 55 (=4 PQ ^ o H o ■4 a © at ft eu P h) D PQ J o o W u 02 fe H £ H a H f)(J School Architecture. Fleer plan of building on page 49, showing cloak-rooms extending into the hall and opening above, thus allowing the dampness from the clothing to escape into the hallway. Other desirable features of this plan are self-evident. Public School, Elm Grove, W. Va. This picture is shown to call attention to the artistic front lawn and the loomy play-ground in the rear. School Architecture. 51 fek], • -*• b±=\ /TV Flip! i Courtesy Holmboe & Lafferty, Architects. Academy High School. Of this building the architects say: "A schcol building with sixteen rooms, having an auditorium on the first floor with balcony opening from the seccnd fiocr. The Auditorium complete with dressing rooms, stage, exits, overhead light, etc. Semi-fireproof construction. All brick bearing partitions, windows grouped for one side lighting, and mechanical sys tern cf heating and ventilating. Manual training rooms in the basement. Girls' and beys' toilets and gLls' and boys' recreation rooms. This school of Tudor-Gothic design lends itself admirably to such a purpose, giving the building a decidedly collegiate appearance, while at the same time being very economical, net requiring a wealth of trimming to obtain a handtcme effect." 52 School Architecture. Public Schocl, Hixton. W. Va. Bigley School, Charleston. W. Va. School Architecture. 53 McKinley School, Paekeesbueg, W. Va. One of the handsomest school buildings in West Virginia. Bu'ifF School, Huntington, W. Va. 54 School Architecture. HIGH SCHOOL BUILDINGS. Special Features. A great many of the high schools of the state have no separate building set apart for the high school work. The plan of combin- ing grades and high school in one building is quite necessary in many communities and in such cases some of the special features mentioned below should be provided. Wherever possible a dis- tinct building for high school use should be constructed, as this will solve many problems of discipline and stand as a constant re- minder to the boys and girls that something higher is in reach. A Well Arranged 3:udy Hall. Assembly Boom. In many of our smaller high schools a preten- tious assembly room would be out of place. In such schools, one class room may be made larger than the regulation size and used as a study hall and assembly room for small audiences. A plan by which two rooms can be thrown together as shown in one of the two-room plans is still better. Where high schools must be placed on sloping ground a part of the basement may be fitted up for a light, roomy assembly hall with entrance on lower side of the School Architecture. 55 building. Such an idea is well illustrated in the First Ward build- ing in Fairmont. "With a little extra expense on some styles of build- ings, a part of the third story may be converted into a good sized hall. Cameron and Adamston have such a plan well worked out. The above suggestions are made to fit peculiar needs. A quota- tion from ''School Architecture", a valuable little book published by the American School Board Journal of Milwaukee, well de- scribes an ideal assembly hall. "The assembly room is intended to accommodate all the pupils of the school at one sitting. The consensus of opinion now favors the ground floor assembly hall. Several advantages are gained by placing the assembly hall on the ground floor. Primarily the hall thus placed is safer in case of Are or danger. Light can be had from above and from either side wall. Stair climbing and unnec- essary disturbance in gathering classes is avoided. It is most con- venient for evening lectures in which the general public may par- take. The stage must be proportionate to the entire whole, with anterooms on either side. At least two exits should be provided." Gymnasiums. Before describing an indoor gymnasium, we wish to call attention to the fact that the best place for a gymnasium is out of doors. In many of the small high schools of this state lack of room and funds makes it impossible to provide a modern gymna- sium, but most of our schools have enough ground for tennis court, running track, basket ball, trapeze, horse, etc., and boards of edu- cation should consider it their duty to assist the school in securing such apparatus. At this point a quotation from Supt. Hyatt of California suggests itself: "It is common nowadays to emphasize the value of plays and sports rather than the more formal gymnastic work. It is well to remember, however, that the exercises of the gymnasium have their place, too. Spontaneous play, for instance, does not straight- en stooped shoulders, give habits of good breathing or correct par- ticular bodily defects. Some such drills as that above are splendid things for young people. The occupations of civilized life seem all conspiring to hamper and contract the lungs. To dig, to study, to read, to wash dishes, to nurse babes, to keep books, to write, to do almost anything, we must droop the shoulders and shrink the chest. Unused organs grow weak and invite disease. Consumption is the disease of civilization. One in seven of us die of it. How neces- 56 School Architecture. sary, then, for the schools to do all they can against this condition. "What a valuable thing for a young person to acquire the habit of deep breathing. How important it is for every teacher to give breathing exercises and to use every other device he can that will broaden the chests, expand the lungs, increase the breathing ca- pacity and form good habits in regard to these things." Some such exercises should be encouraged in the class rooms. Many school buildings in the state have unused, unsanitary base- ments, that could be cleaned out, deepened, lighted and equipped for play room or gymnasium work during bad weather. For the consideration of boards of education that wish to build a modern gymnasium, the following standards are suggested: The gymnasium should not be on the upper floors as the noise is objectionable and the rough play injures plastering and fixtures below. For the same reason, it should not join the laboratories. The first floor, or a simple, separate frame building joining the rear of the main building by a covered porch is the best location, although a well-lighted basement is not objectionable. The plan of the high school building often makes it possible to raise the floor of the assembly hall and thus provide greater height for the gvmnasium below. The gymnasium should be oblong, similar to the regular basket- ball floor. It should be well lighted with windows along the side. The bottom of these windows should be about 6 feet above the floor in order to allow room for wall apparatus and should be ar- ranged for much ventilation. Each student should have about 40 square feet of floor space. This will often necessitate a schedule of hours for different classes. The floor should be of oak or maple in very narrow strips and so fitted and oiled as to prevent accumu- lation of dust. "German authorities recommend a floor of hard asphalt set in concrete and covered with linoleum. This combina- tion is firm and yet elastic, nearly noiseless, dust proof, cheap and easily renewed." Dressing rooms provided with lockers and show- er baths should adjoin the gymnasium. Lat oratories. No high school can make the claim of being stand- ard and up-to-date unless it is provided with some kind of laborato- ries. Such subjects as biology, agriculture, physics and chemistry are of little value unless some provision is made for laboratory work. In the smaller high schools one room will serve most of School Architecture. 57 these purposes. If possible, this room should have a tile floor, and plenty of light including a sky-light. The windows should be pro- vided with shutters or shades capable of shutting out all light when a dark room is needed. Water tanks and gas burners on heavy tables at right angles to the windows are essential, but no at- tempt to describe apparatus is in order here. Cases with locks should be provided for delicate apparatus. Much of the simple -apparatus should be made by pupils, teachers, black-smiths and carpenters. The rest should be purchased for specific purposes -cinder the advice of the science teacher. In no case should large sets of apparatus be purchased. In large high schools the different laboratories should surround the lecture or class room. This sci- ence class room should have raised seats and a well equipped table -where the teacher may make demonstrations before the whole class. There should be a closed case or room for supplies. The -teacher should carry the key for this room. The Principal's Room or Office. To provide for the principal or superintendent a well furnished, large office with desk, filing cases, typewriter, telephone, speaking tubes and other modern •conveniences is one of the best ways for a board of education to economize, for the increase in the amount and kind of work the principal can do under such conditions will soon more than pay for the extra cost. This room should be near the entrance and •command a view of as many halls and stairways as possible. Teachers' lioom. "Where many teachers work in the same build- ing, there should be a cozy room with table, easy chairs, lavato- ries, etc., where teachers may go for rest or consultation. The win- dows of the room should open upon a pleasing view. Other Special Booms. Other special rooms needed according to the size of the school and peculiar local conditions are, art room, library, manual training and domestic science rooms, storage room, and janitor's room. As these require no peculiar architecture, they will not be discussed in this connection. The same reasons that -cause people to provide special rooms in their homes for kitchen, -dining room, library, parlor, etc., should cause school authorities to provide special school rooms and buildings for special purposes. The school has outgrown the idea that it is a place for reciting lessons from books and nothing else. In many places teachers, pupils, and organizations furnish the special rooms without extra cost to the taxpayers. 58 School Architecture. District High School, Fayette County, w • WfkSiE&mim^M ~\M District High School, Mannington, W. Va. School Architecture. 59 The Beaver Pond District High Sciiocl in the City of Bltjefield, W. Va. This is the largest, best equipped and most modern district high school building in the state. A glance at this picture is suff cient to convince the reader that this building conforms to the general standards of school ar- chitecture, although the lack of a suitable lot makes it impossible to show the building to the best advantage. However, the lack of outside play- ground is offset by unusual gymnasium provisions. Almost all the lower story is devoted to a gymnasium containing a standard basket-ball floor, running track, wall and floor apparatus, shower baths, dressing rooms and audience galleries. On the same floor is a commodious room for do- mestic science and manual training. Among other special features are offices for superintendent, princi- pal, stenographer and hoard of education. The building is equipped throughout with classroom telephones which connect with the offices of superintendent and principal. Ample provisions are made for labora- tories, library, special and regular class rooms. The auditorium has a regular seating capacity for nine hundred. 60 School Architecture. SlSTEESVILLE HlGH SCHOOL. Charleston High School. School Architecture. 61 Courtesy Sitpt. Edward Hyatt, California. Kern County High School. Courtesy Supt. Edward Hyatt, California. Proposed Paradise School. Such school buildings as these are in keeping with California's wealth and beauty. 62 School Architecture. SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE -THE CLASS ROOM. F. L. Burdette, Superintendent of Clarksburg Public Schools. In providing school buildings for a community, boards of edu- cation should have in view the immediate needs of the community and the probable demand for additional room for some years to come. The location, size, and arrangements of a building should be such as to make it as nearly ideal as possible for at least a score of years. Should the community be one whose growth would pre- clude the possibility of a building that would accommodate ail the school children for so long a time, at least its location, style and inside arrangements should be as nearly faultless as circumstances will permit. The local school building should embody the best ideas in beauty and dignity of architecture to be found anywhere in the vicinity. The style should be regular, without a mixture of straight and curved lines, rounded and pointed arches, lofty towers, high or Mansard roofs, and many sharply broken Avails. Such things de- tract from the simple dignity of a building, and from its beauty. On the other hand they increase materially the cost and add little or nothing to the utility of a house. A building constructed on the more classic lines costs less, serves better the school's needs, and gives to the public a model of the better style of architecture. No considerable building should ever be erected except after the plans of a competent architect. The immediate and constant advantages of a well constructed school building come especially from the inside arrangements. The size and shape of rooms, amount and arrangement of light, method and efficiency of beating and ventilating, and the general sanitary arrangements in the building, all necessarily to come within a reasonable cost, are the real problems to solve. A suitable plan for a school building embodies the best possible of all these. But the purpose of this article is not to discuss at length any of these important matters. Only the class room and its necessary parts Avill be considered further here. Size of Class Boom. — The class room is where the teacher and pupils sit and work from day to day; it is their constant workshop. II is not possible to foretell at the time of building just how many School Architecture. 63 and what age of pupils must at some time be assigned to a particular room. So the arrangement of the room should bs the best in a gen- eral and special way that circumstances will allow. For general use, rooms should be about 32 feet long, 28 feet wide, and not less than 13 feet high. In rural communities where the number of children will surely be small, the width might be reduced to 24 feet. There is no danger of too much room within these limits, less might lead to over-crowding at any time. Windoivs. — The window space should be from one-fifth to one- fourth the floor space of the room, the windows should be 3 feet from the door, should extend up close to the ceiling, and should be pro- vided with transoms adjustable by strong lifters. If light is provid- ed from only one side of the room, that greater amount of window space is necessary. In order to properly diffuse light throughout the rooms the arrangement of windows on two sides, left and rear, is better. Where a room is provided with windows on these two sides, it is easier to secure enough light at all times without any group of pupils receiving any large amount of it directly in the face. Grouping of windows gives a good architectural effect, but prevents the best distribution of light, and should not be encour- aged. Many persons advocate the arrangement of windows on only th.p left side; but this lighting from only one side generally fails to distribute light evenly to all parts of the room. Blackboards. — Blackboards should be placed in available space on two sides of the room, front and right. For the possible changes in the size of pupils assigned to a room, the blackboards should be 4 feet wide and placed 26 inches from the floor. Natural slate is the best material to use. To increase the available space for the boards, it is advisable to have only one entrance from the school room to the cloak room. Another entrance to the cloak room should then be provided from the hall-way. Cloak Booms. — The cloak rooms should join the class room, should be provided with two entrances, should have ample light, heat and ventilation, and should be separated from both the hall- way and school room by closed doors. Doors into the class rooms should open in, so as to leave them under the control of the teach- er in charge. School room floors should always be of hard wood, which is more sanitary and more easily kept clean. Walls and Ceilings. — The walls and ceilings of school rooms should be smooth, so as to lessen the accumulation of dust, and 64 School Architecture. they should be tinted in a color agreeable to the eye. The best color for the tinting varies somewhat with the amount and kind of light. The time has come when we can and should provide more at- tractive, more serviceable, and more durable school buildings. Toot little has been done and is now being done along these lines for a saner school policy. We should be compelled by the force of public opinion, and by law as in some other states, to awaken to these needs. THE INTERIOR DECORATIONS OF SCHOOLS. (From School Architecture and School Improvement in Cali- fornia. Used by permission of State Supt. Edward Hyatt.) This keen and scholarly article is by Walter J. Kenyan, a Cali- fornia, schoolmaster. It is taken from the School Review, No- vember, 1906. Our graded school requires of its pupils a classroom attendance of eight thousand hours. This is a heavy tribute to levy upon the period of childhood, and it may well purchase other things for the pupil than an acquisition merely of those weapons of traffic dear to the utilitarian's heart — the so-called rudiments. It is the pres- ent purpose to discuss some of those silent influences which, with- out interference with the traditional purpose of the school, make for a richer childhood and a better community. The first of thesp concerns the color effects of the classroom. When a competent architect plans a schoolhouse, he presumes of course that, given due time for drying out, the plaster walls will be appropriately tinted or papered, and in such tones as will give a harmonious color unity to the whole room. It is noticeable, how- ever, that in the average American schoolhouse this ideal is sel- dom consummated. We rush our furnishings in, and the painters and plasterers have hardly packed up their tools before the classes are settled in an established school routine. And as for those glar- ing white walls, we "first endure, then pity, then embrace," finally forgetting that the plan was ever otherwise. There are reasons, however, beyond a mere aesthetic preference, why the schoolroom walls should not be left white. It is the com- mon testimony of physicians that the glaring whitewash aggra- School Architecture. 65 vates nervous afflictions and injures the eyes. Many a mother diagnoses her girl's nervous headache as a case of overstudy, when it is in reality a product of five hours ' exposure to the harsh, blind- ing glare of the schoolroom walls. And many a boy is condemned as a wickedly disposed nuisance, when he merely exhibits a nervous irritation which a proper color scheme will abate. A well-known Massachusetts physician, Dr. Myles Standish, of Boston, says: I have often seen children immediately and permanently recover from a persistent recurring diseased condition of the eyes when re- moved from a school room with white walls, and sent elsewhere to school or kept at home, where the walls are tinted. The principal color of the walls should be of an even tone, so that the amount of light reflected will be the same from all parts of the surface, as waving or clouded effects are very trying to sensitive eyes. Any color may be placed in its proper position with regard to its safety for school room walls by remembering the general rule with regard to the sensitiveness of the eye to the colors of the spectrum, which is, that the nearer the color is to the red end of the spectrum, the more irritating it is to the eyes; and the nearer the color is tc the blue end of the spectrum, the easier it is to the eyes, with the single ex- ception that the extreme violet rays also are irritating. From this it will be seen that red and all its derivatives should be rigidly excluded, and orange also is nearly as bad, while yellow should never be taken by preference. Greens and blues are abso- lutely safe colors, and it is not at all necessary that the colors' should be pronounced. The depth of the color would be made de- pendent upon the amount of light coming in at the windows, and upon its quality, as, for instance, whether the windows have a northern or southern exposure, whether the sun's rays can come directly into the room when the sun sinks low in the heavens in the middle of a winter afternoon, and other surrounding circum- stances of each individual room. The color of the ceiling of a school room is fully as important as the color of the walls, particularly when there is any amount of reflected light. All I have said with regard to the color of the walls is doubly true when applied to the window shades, and this fact should al- ways be taken into consideration in furnishing and decorating a schoolroom. 66 School Architecture. Medical science is constantly finding new and positive evidence of the pathological effects of color. And it rests with any of us to make simple experiments which will show conclusively the influ- ence of color upon the emotions. Look through a blue glass, and we see a sad, unhopeful prospect, in the midst of which only the utmost exertion of will-power can sustain a cheerful mood. Look through a red glass, and the reverse feeling is aroused. Th'e out- look is one of exaggerated sunshine, which stimulates the imagina- tion, induces a sanguine mood, and suggests action. The blue-glass craze of the seventies was an incident which fore-shadowed the wide employment of color as a remedial agent. We are thus in possession of a more or less definite knowledge of the pathology of color. We know that red is stimulating, irritat- ing, unrestful. We know that blue is quieting, but also depressing. Since the pupil of the elementary school spends eight thousand hours in actual attendance in the classroom, it is of the highest importance to give him a color environment which will not, on the one hand, be a source of depression and melancholy, nor, on the other, an agent of excessive nervous stimulation. We have such a color in green of the quieter sort. There is a whole gamut of green, running from light apple down through the stone-greens, or "dried pea," to the deep, rich olives. This se- ries is perfectly adapted to the requirements of interior tinting, either for home or for school. The distinction is often mad-3 be- tween a north and south room, reddish buffs and terra-cottas be- ing recommended for the former. This distinction is not vital, however, and we always approach the danger line as we move to- ward the red end of the spectrum. One of the most delightful school buildings it has been my good fortune to visit is tinted throughout, north and south rooms alike, in low stone-green. An- other building in the same city is tinted in blue — the relic of a former regime — and the effect is so depressing that one experiences a feeling of relief and renewed joy on once regaining the outer air. A combination beyond further desire is to be had by coloring the wainscoting and woodwork a deep olive, the walls up to th-3 mold- ing a middle sage-green, and above that, the walls and ceiling a lighter and neutral stone-green ; this combination, of course, with the real slate board. It goes without saying that this coloring shall be "dull finish". School Architecture. 67 A striking fact is to be noted just here. The blackboard, the recipient of endless obloquy at the hands of the aesthetic, ceases to offend where the walls are rightly tinted. Indeed, the real slate "blackboard" is never black at all, but a pleasing quiet gray that has no quarrels. It is onh r a glaring white wall that thrusts the blackboard into undue prominence, and thus makes it a scapegoat for a fault not its own. Speaking of blackboards, the various ex- periments in tinting the board have proved anything but satisfac- tory. The logical and satisfactory combination is a tinted wall and a board of natural slate-gray. A room thus finished is funda- mentally beautiful and is not in urgent need of any further deco- A SCHOOL ROOM WITH WELL-FINISHED WELL-DECCKATED WALLS. ration. Speaking generally, we may say that a room properly tinted is nine-tenths decorated. I remember one school particularly, in Andover, when George E. Johnson was in charge. It had not exactly the "dim religious light," but a quality of air and color which one's home has, if he has a home. Its rooms were as cool as the aisles of the woods, and as mellow ; rooms that seem to have, in themselves, a personality, and to be sociable when empty. I used to think that not even a Jukes would play truant from such a school as that; and that no teacher, be she over so mediocre, could quite annul the beneficence to the pupil of such a surrounding. 68 School Architecture. WHY WE NEED PURE AIR. Did you ever see a fish out of water? Did you ever watch one wriggle and struggle and gasp as his life slowly slipped away? It is distressing to watch a fine, strong specimen which a few min- utes ago could dart hither and thither through the water with great speed and force, die by degrees when taken from his native realm. "What causes the fish's death? A little study of his make- up will show you that his gills which are lungs to him are made to get oxygen from water, hence when out of water he dies for air although it is all about him in abundant supply. Did you ever step from outside fresh air into a crowded, stuffy, poorly ventilated school room? Did you see the children, some wriggling, some gaping, and others half sleeping because they could not get enough air? What was the matter? The fish had air all about it, but it did not have proper breathing apparatus. The chil- dren in the school room had proper breathing apparatus, but were slowly dying for want of fresh air although a world supply was just outside. It is a shame to catch up a lot of lively rosy-cheeked boys and girls whose lungs were made for out-door fresh air and crowd them into a tight box and compel them to sit still for hours and breathe impure, poison air. School officers and teachers should remember that the blood de- pends upon the air supply for much of its food and that the body depends upon the blood as its great safeguard against disease. In spite of all precautions, school children are subject to many dan- gers from disease germs and it is a grave mistake to force them into the midst of these foes with no means of ample protection. "We readily recognize the effects of the lack of ordinary food upon animals, of a lack of water upon vegetation. Most of us have no- ticed the pale, sickly plant that grows without proper sunlight, but many teachers and members of boards of education fail to recognize the starving condition of children who are robbed of the proper amount of free, fresh air. It is hoped that those concerned will read the following pages carefully and seek in every way possible to know how to provide proper means of ventilation and heating. The cost of proper heat- ing and ventilating systems seems high, but what is a little cost when compared to human life? School Architecture. 69 VENTILATION AND SANITATION. Joseph Rosier, Superintendent Fairmont Public Schools. Boards of education, school superintendents and principals in cur state are just beginning to realize their duty and responsibil- ity in relation to the promotion of public health. It was formerly thought that provision for intellectual training was sufficient, and that it was entirely outside the sphere of the educational authori- ties to give any attention to physical development, and the preser- vation of health, but with the scientific study of education, we have found that physical conditions very materially affect the mental growth of the child. It is now recognized as the imperative duty of school authorities in providing educational equipment to give careful attention to those things that are conducive to healthful physical development, and that will prevent the spread of disease. In olden times it was thought that epidemics of disease that re- sulted in the death of thousands of people were the visitation of an avenging providence, and that the sins of the people were thus being punished, but with the advance of medical and sanitary sci- ence, we know that most of the diseases that destroy mankind are preventable. The great Pasteur has said that it is within the power of men to cause all parasitic diseases to disappear from the world. General knowledge must be the basis of the fight against preventable disease. This involves first of all a widespread ac- quaintance with the germ theory of disease which is a clearly dem- onstrated fact of modern science. In the air we breathe and in the food we eat, and in the water we drink, are the germs of the many diseases that afflict and destroy mankind. There are two lines of attack in the warfare against disease germs. First we may keep our bodies in such perfect physical condition through the observ- ance of the laws of health that these germ enemies cannot find receptive soil within our bodies. Second we may so purify and cleanse our physical surroundings that the number of germs in air, food and water will be reduced to the minimum, or they may be completely abolished. A recent writer on this subject has given a very vivid picture of what a land without disease germs would be like. It would be a land where there are no colds, catarrh, con- sumption, influenza, diphtheria, or pneumonia ; a land where boils, blood poisoning, and lockjaw are unknown; a land where there is 70 School Architecture. do smallpox, measles, scarlet fever, whooping cough, or mumps; a land free from malaria, cholera, leprosy, yellow fever, and typhoid fever. Our people in general must be educated through the schools con- cerning the ravages of the germ diseases, and the importance of ex- ercising every possible precaution in checking them. In the United States in 1907 there was for each 100,000 population a death rate of .2 from smallpox, 12.2 from whooping cough, 24.3 from diph- theria, and croup. 26.6 from meningitis, 161.2 from pneumonia, and 183.6 from tuberculosis, and 30.3 from typhoid fever. It is a curious fact that in most communities a case of smallpox will cause more concern than a case of any of the other diseases mentioned, aiid yet the cither diseases are far more widespread and disastrous in their results. The leading scourges of the people according to the above figures are typhoid fever, pneumonia, and tuberculosis. These diseases must be conquered largely by proper means of sani- tation and ventilation in the home, in the school and in the commu- nity. In 1907 the death rate from typhoid fever in England and Wales for each 100,000 papulation was 6.7. That is in that year there were nearly five times as many deaths for each 100,000 in- habitants in this country as in those countries from this purely germ disease. Typhoid fever is a much dreaded disease in this country, but more than six times as many people die from tuberculosis. In its relation to the health problem the school must do two things. If must provide ample opportunities for the best possible physical development in playgrounds and in physical exercise, and sensible and practical instruction in physiology and hygiene. It must make its physical environment of such a character that it will be free from disease germs, and from those conditions that breed or scatter disease germs. The first problem to be considered in the light of the foregoing facts in the erection of a school house is the matter of ventilation. That is the furnishing of an abundance of fresh pure air to the chil- dren in the school room for breathing. Let it be understood by every one having the responsibility of erecting a school house that this matter is imperative. In the light of the above knowledge of disease germs it is a crime to house children in a school room that through lack of proper ventilation is a hotbed for the breeding and scattering of deadly germs that may cut short their lives. In School Architecture. 71 the towns and cities this of course calls for gravity systems in smaller buildings, and single and double fan systems in larger buildings. The problem must also be met in the villages and rural districts. There are a number of plans that may be adopted for the rural school building. A MODERN HEATING SYSTEM. Jacketing Stoves. Even the old-fashioned stove may be put in the corner of the room, and be surrounded with a hoed of sheeting a few inches from the stove, and extending to the top with a duct to bring fresh air into the space between the stove and the sheeting. The foul air may be carried out by means of a duct passing from the lower part of the floor, and connecting with thf chimney above. Any intelligent carpenter who has been given a few minutes expla- nation of the laws of room ventilation, can with a few dollars extra expense work out a plan that will be a great improvement over the present lack of ventilation in the one room school house. 72 School Architecture. New Systems of Healing. But no new school house ought to be erected without being equipped with one of the new room furnaces that are now on the market. A stove or furnace of this character will cost two or throe times as much as the old-fashioned kind, but it will provide excellent and sanitary means ccf heating and venti- lating the room. As I write I quote from the circular describing one of these modern heaters. It consists of a sanitary room furnace or convection heater, a patent fresh air intake, patent siphon foul air extractor, and an air humidifier. We are told that the fresh air pours into the convection shield through the fresh air intake. "Within the shield, the air is then warmed quickly to the proper temperature, rises to the ceiling and spreads out over the entire room. In the meantime the pull of the foul air extractor supple- mented by the upward current through the shield, draws the colder heavier air off the floor. The lighter, warmer layers from above gradually settle toward the floor to take the place of the air remov- ed, and are themselves replaced in turn by warm, fresh air. This goes on continuously. As will be seen this is merely the application of the principle of heating and ventilating used in larger buildings to a single room, except that the stove or furnace is placed in the room. No board of education has done its duty to the children and the community that does not make an honest effort to provide some mechanical means of ventilation in every new school house erected, whatever may be the number of rooms, and the county superintendent is not doing his full duty if he approves of a building that has no pro- vision for ventilation excepting the windows. Effects of Bad Air. Modern sanitary science has developed the fact that the enervating, depressing effect of school room air, is not so much due to the excess of carbon dioxide as it is to the low hu- midity, and excessive heat. Some years ago Dr. E. R. Shaw, an authority on this subject, examined a building in which there was a complete heating and ventilating system, as to the condition of the air. At ten o'clock in the morning the temperature was 70 degrees, and the relative humidity 25 per cent. The 700 children in the building breathed this air for three hours, and then passed out into an atmosphere having 80 per cent, of moisture, and they re- turned to go through the same process in the afternoon. Such changes as these pupils underwent must unquestionably result in colds and inflammation of the throat and bronchial passages. On School Architecture. 73 the other hand an excess of humidity together with heat causes a feeling of depression. Dr. Luther Gulick in a recent address .says in speaking on the health of the teacher that it is really true that the men and women who stay in our overheated school rooms for many years literally dry up. Some teachers keep a kettle or pot on the stove. This is good as far as it goes, but the ordinary ves- sel used will not begin to supply the humidity lost in heating the air of the room, even though it be frequently filled. Sanitary ex- perts are of the opinion that a mean relative humidity of not less than 50 per cent is necessary to health. Therefore in dealing with the problem of ventilation provisions must be made to preserve a proper amount of moisture in the air, or to replace that lost by heating. Location of School Buildings. The location of the school build- ing will have much to do with the health of the children. It should be central so that the children in reaching the building will not be unduly exposed. The site should be on a gentle slope, and if it does not naturally drain away from the building on all sides, it should be graded so that it will. All authorities agree that the soil is an important matter in the site. A rich loamy soil should be avoided, as should also a soil of clay. They retain moisture in excess. The site should not be near a swamp, or places where pools of water stand part of the year, and it should have an eastern ex- posure. Soil formed from decayed vegetation, swamps, and stag- nant pools are favorable breeding places for disease germs. Dry soil with perfect drainage, air uncontaminated by filthy surround- ings, and all the sunshine that can be secured, are deadly foes of our germ enemies. In the erection of new buildings whether in town or country no pains should be spared to meet the above re- quirements in a site. In case a dry soil with good drainage cannot be secured in a central location, the site selected should be graded and drained before the building is erected. Too much emphasis cannot be placed upon selecting a site with a view to the health- fulness and the wholesomeness of its surroundings. Outhouses. From the sanitary standpoint the most urgent mat- ter is the construction and the care of the school outhouses. In the cities and towns where there are water and sewer systems this problem must be met by the installation of sanitary closets with first class plumbing. Tn the villages and country districts where there are no sewer and water connections other means must be adopted. School Architecture. The most unsanitary thing imaginable is the water closet connected with the average village and country school. In too many places it is a filthy stench. Bacteriologists agree that disease germs are scattered only through the discharges from the bodies of those who have disease. Therefore proper health conditions require the ut- most precautions in destroying all bodily excreta. The closet should not be located so that water in rainy seasons will drain from it on to the grounds and pollute the soil. It should be constructed with the idea constantly in mind that it may be the abiding place of the most deadly enemies of the community. This means that it should be securely closed in every way. There should be a vault built of stone and cement so that the surrounding soil cannot be contami- nated. This vault should be cleaned three or four times a year. The contents should be taken far from the building and scattered on ground where they will be exposed to the sun which is the best destroyer of disease germs. There is also what is called the "pail system". By this plan galvanized iron pails are placed in the vault, and removed at regular intervals, and replaced by others. The openings in the closets should be covered, and the entire space around the vault made so tight that flies cannot enter. For it is recognized now that the tly is the most common carrier of disease germs. School boards should furnish as a part of their regular supplies an abundant quantity of. lime and fine dry earth which should be used freely each day in the closet. In many sections wood allies can be more easily secured, and they are better than lime. For the preservation of health among school children, the school closet should receive first consideration. School authorities in many localities are criminally negligent in this matter. For the sake of moral decency, the approach and entrance to the closet should be shielded from public view by screens. Water Supply. Another matter of serious importance to the health of the children is that of the supply of drinking water. In the cities where there is a water system, the buildings should be supplied with sanitary drinking fountains, thus doing away with the drinking cup. In village and country neighborhoods there is usually a well on the school grounds. To be safe this should be drilled deep and cased with the best quality of galvanized iron pipe so that there is no possibility of surface drainage getting into it. There should be a cement basin and curbing about the top of the well with a drainage pipe so that all waste water may be carried School Architecture. 75 off quickly. The well should be thoroughly cleaned out at the opening of each term, and the pumping or bailing apparatus should be kept in perfect sanitary condition. Children need to drink an abundance of water and their health demands that it should be pure and free from injurious germs. As soon as possible the common drinking cup should be banished from all our schools. It is believed to be the most fruitful means of communicating dis- ease. The drinking fountain in the city meets the difficulty, and in the village and the country it must be met for the present by the individual drinking cups. These may be furnished by the school board or by the parents of the children. If we are to win in this warfare against disease, the people of every community must awaken to the value and the necessi- ty of sanitation in the school and in the home. Those en- gaged in the cam- paign for better health conditions have declared implacable war against the five D's — dirt, darkness, dampness, dust, and drink. All the dirty, dark and damp places about the school building and grounds should be banished. The outside of the building should be painted regularly, and the inside floors and woodwork should be scrubbed and washed with strong soap and water two or three times a year. School authorities should see to it that no one can justly charge or claim that the school either in town or country is a breeding place of disease and death. Our schools both in precept and in practice should lead in the movement for civic health and cleanliness. . Fresh and uncontami nateo! air to breath day and night, wholesome and unadulterated food to eat, and pure water free from all disease germs to drink, will greath lessen sickness and doctor bills in every commun- ity and every home. I sincerely hope that edu cational authorities everywhere will see to it, that the school and its environment present to the window shade ADTITSTFR community the best possible example of right ^ x Courtesy Montgomery, sanitary conditions. • ward & Co. A New System of Heating. This is one of the enemies of disease referred to in this article. 76 School Architecture. AVATER SUPPLY AND DRINKING CUPS. (Note — See the following- article on ''Drinking Fountains" for a more complete discussion of this question.) Too often school houses are built with no thought of an abundant supply of water. Usually the school children should not be put at the mercy of nearby neighbors for drinking water, although many of our schools are well supplied from springs or wells kept up by neighboring citizens. If spring water is used care should be taken to keep the spring free from incoming or decaying filth. Some schools within the knowledge of the writer get their drink- ing water from streams that receive the drainage of many stables and closets. Such carelessness indicates a very low estimate of life and right habits. Where funds are available, the school should be furnished with a well, properly keated and so cemented as to prevent surface water) and filth from entering. If a well is used, it should be "pumped out" and cleaned before the opening of school each year. These matters should be attended to by official act and not left to good-natured neighobrs, careless boys, or indifferent teachers. Drinking Vessels — I see it now — that old, rusty, dirty water buck- et sitting in the corner of the room catching great quantities of the dust which floats in clouds from a poorly kept floor, or perhaps sitting beneath a shelf covered with hats, clothing, brooms, dust rags and promiscuous dirt, all of which add their quota to the mass of germs found in the water. I see the common dipper also — used day after day and week after week by twenty-five or thirty pupils — some with diseased hands, some with sore lips, others healthy and clean. Many of these children practice economy by pouring what is left of a dipper-full back into the common bucket and thus swell the company of germs. I know some will sneer at so much "fuss about germs," but "hardheaded" medical science says they are there and dangerous too, and good manners protests against such habits on the grounds ctf personal rights and decency. If one bucket and dipper must be used they should be cleaned daily, scalded often and kept in as clean place as possible. At very small cost, boards of education in rural districts can se- School Architecture. 77 cure a closed earthen tank with a faucet for drawing the water when needed. This shuts out dust and prevents the cup or surplus water from being thrown into the water to be used. Individual Drinking Cups. — A great many schools in West Vir- ginia where water systems and drinking fountains are not available are using individual drinking cups. In some schools each child Courtesy O. J. Kern, author of "Among Country Schools." A Plan Which Can Be Used By Any Teachek. keeps a glass or folded cup in the desk and uses same for drinking purposes. "What is probably a better plan is indicated by the pic- ture above, which shows how individual cups may be kept ready for use by the pupils. When such cups are used they should not be dipped into the water bucket, but should be filled with a dipper or still better from the faucet of the water tank described above. DEINKING FOUNTAINS. T. J. Humphrey, Sitpt. Grafton Public Schools. We are no longer at the threshold of the twentieth century, but well within its gates, aud whether we want it or not, our shoulders are resting squarely under the burden it places upon us with no pos- sible way of escape save through the effort to bring twentieth century conditions into harmony with twentieth century demands, which 78 School Architecture. demands are based upon scientific investigations which reveal to an appalling degree, a lack of santitary conditions in our public schools. Since it is my privilege to say a few words concerning one of these Courteny of The Anti-Germ Drinking Fountain Co., Boston. The Anti-Germ Drinking Fountain. burdens, T shall be glad to let them be against the "CUP THAT KILLS" and in favor of its successor, the ''MODERN DRINKING FOUNTAIN. " Indeed I think it almost superfluous to say anything School Architecture. 79 against the common drinking cup in the school house, for surely there are very few who have been elected to manage our public schools who have not been made aware by the newspapers, maga zines, journals, and doctors of the dangers that must attend this method of supplying drinking water to the children in these schools, even though they have gone so far as to supply the individual drink- ing cup. Bacteriologists have shown us too conclusively how the germ of diphtheria, scarlet fever, tonsiiitis, . tuberculosis, yes and those more loathsome diseases, gonorrhea and syphilis have been spread through the drinking cup. We are assured that though a person is perfectly healthy, the mouth is a natural lurking place of all kinds of germs, both dangerous and harmless. We sometimes wonder how certain epidemics get started in our schools when a little investiga- tion shows that it is due to our eternal carelessness and negligence in heeding the demands or observing the sanitary laws which are the common knowledge of almost all. It's too late to plead ignorance; the drinking cup must go, and in its stead where possible, must come the fountain which is absolutely sanitary, easy to keep clean and which will be able to control water pressure. Great care should be exercised in the selection of this fixture, lest you get some- thing that will not prove satisfactory. If this is to be installed in the building where provisions have not already been made for it, you will probably have to use the type with a pedestal base, resting on the floor in the corridor, which is always objectionable in so far that it is in the way and more or less dirt will be let accumulate at the floor. If installed with the building, it is better to have it placed in an arch way recess pre- pared in the wall as this not only takes it out of the way, but the overflow pipes are always hidden, foun- which is more sanitary as will be readily seen. Which ever type is used, however, it should be provided with the recent improvement of regulating the flow of water which will not only save water but prevent it spurting to the ceiling and flood- From "School Sanitation & Decora- tion," D. C. Heath & Co., Pub- lishers. SANITARY DRINKING TAIN. 80 School Architecture. ing the floor. It will likewise insure the one who is drinking from an embarassing situation which may result from a sudden change of pressure. Another recent improvement which should be carefully consider- ed is the displacement of the metal bubbling cup with the vitrous china, thus preventing corrosion, discoloration and other objection- able features. It also offers good protection to the lips and teeth from serious injury which is sometimes caused by children who are over anxious to have a little fun at the expense of some one who is drinking — not infrequently a tooth or two is shattered. We are not talking theory, but from experience, as our board of educa- tion last year placed fountains in all of our schools, and so far as we are concerned, we have seen the passing of the drinking cup, with all its germs, dirt and filth, and are now watching our boys and girls drink from a bubbling fountain with the consciousness that not only doctor bills are being saved, but misery and suffering. JACKETED STOVES. Experience and experiments show that an ordinary stove with- out a jacket gives very unequal distribution of warm and cold air. The picture given herewith shows how pupils who sit near an or- >•/..,,. ••Hi.nool Sanitation and Decoration," D. C. Heath & Co., Publishers. The ordinary unjacketed stove, showing the unequal distribution of warm and cold air. Think of the number of little children who sit day after day in the region of "cold and foul air." dinary stove suffer with too much heat, while those farther away are too cold. Such diagrams as the one given here are not mere guesswork, but are made from thermometer readings and other School Architecture. 81 accurate observations. Some such system as the Smith or Water- man-Waterbury. which are explained on the following pages, should be used where possible. For the benefit of boards of edu- cation without sufficient funds for purchasing such elaborate sys- tems the following directions are given : In some states heating systems have been installed in the base- ment of rural school buildings. This method has been found un- satisfactory in most cases because proper plumbing and janitor service can not be secured or afforded in such places. Therefore some system of jacketing the stoves must be adopted. I quote from an article which says, ' ' The stove should be surrounded by a Frcm ''School Sanitation and Decoration," D. C. Heath & Co., Publishers. Gravity system, with inlet near the floor and outlet near the ceiling on the opposite side, indicating- a very poor distribution of warm air. sheet or plate of some kind, set a few inches from the stove; so that the air between the stove and jacket may be heated to make it rise and circulate through the rooms instead of scorching the faces of the youngsters who sit nearest. This jacket may be a wooden frame covered with sheets of as- bestos ; it may be of tin or galvanized iron. It may be put around any stove no matter what its size and shape, and may be done by a tinner, a carpenter, a blacksmith or any ordinary handy man. It is very greatly improved when a hole is cut through the floor under the stove, so as to draw in fresh air from out of doors to pass up between the stove and the jacket. This hole should be large, and should be controlled by a slide or register of some kind. "When connected with the outdoor air in this way, the jacketed stove is a ventilating as well as a heating device, bringing in fresh 82 School Architecture. air, warming it and distributing it through the room. It should be balanced by providing a large outlet for foul air, at the floor level and near the stove. This foul air outlet may be a small fireplace ; or a large pipe going into the chimney and up the chimney. Thus it is surrounded and heated by the smoke from the stove, which produces an upward suction in the pipe, drawing off bad air from the room below." From "School Sanitation and Decoration," D. C. Heath & Co., Publishers. Gravity system, with inlet and outlet on opposite sides and near the floor. The current of warm air indicated by the arrows goes too near the ceiling and thus fails to reach the pupils. From '•'School Sanitation and Decoration," D. C. Heath & Co., Publishers. Gravity system, with inlet and outlet on the same side of the room. This shows the best method of gravity distribution. School Architecture. 83 THE SMITH SYSTEM FOR HEATING AND VENTILATING SCHOOLS. Courtesy of the Manuel-Smith Co., Manufacturers, Minneapolis. The above cut shows the distribution of warm air in a school room equipped with the Smith System. Courtesy of the Manuel- Smith Co., Manufacturers, Minneapolis. The Smith System Complete. 84 School Architecture. School Architecture. 85 WHAT THE WATERBURY SYSTEM OF HEATING AND VENTILATION DOES WHEN INSTALLED IN A SCHOOL ROOM. First — Supplies large volumes of fresh air rich in oxygen, and thoroughly warms and distributes this air over the entire room. Second — Removes from the room an equal volume of air which has been depleted of its life-sustaining element and has become poisoned by large quantities of carbonic acid gas and organic im- purities. In short, completely renews the air of the room from five to eight times per hour. Third— Does away with window ventilation, which is almost as great an evil as impure air, admitting as it does, cold draughts to the school room, causing colds, coughs, and kindred ailments. Fourth — Maintains a uniform temperature all over the room. Fifth— Absolutely eliminates the cold floor problem and "dreaded hot stove." Sixth — Adds 25 per cent to the seating capacity by removing the plant to the o.nrner of the room; changes unsightly heater to a heating plant of pleasing design. Seventh — Reduces amount of district's fuel bill by utilizing the heat that is usually wasted in overheating the upper portion of the room and that part immediately surrounding the stove. Eighth — Saves the people of the district many times the cost of the plant in doctor bills, to say nothing of the many days' absence on account of illness. Ninth — Adds 25 per cent to the efficiency of the school because of the better work accomplished under improved conditions. Tenth — The whole apparatus is under the direct supervision of the teachers, who can attend to it without leaving the room. Eleventh — Its operation is so simple that any person with ordi- nary intelligence can secure perfect results. Twelfth — It can be installed in old schools as well as new and at any time of the year. It costs only one-fourth (^4) as much as a basement furnace and will give decidedly better results. Does not require a basement. 86 School Architkoturk. The Watekbuby Heatee and its Appliances. School Architecture. 87 Raleigh, N. C, Feb. 21-1910. Hon J Y Joyner, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Raleigh. N. C. Dear Sir:- At your request, we have carefully examined several systems of heating and ventilation for the purpose of ascertain- ing, as best we could, the system that in- our opinion would be most satisfactory and best adapted in all respects for the public Schools of this State, and especially for use in the school houses built in accordance with the State plans. We have examined and applied the scientific tests to plants installed in school rooms by the two systems that we con- sidered, after investigation, the best, one of which was the Waterbury System, manufactured by the Waterman-Waterbury Company We recommend this system as the best that we ave been able to find for the public schools of this State, after careful examina- tion into the merits OjP various systems, and after these personal examinations and tests of the best systems in the country. We are satisfied that the adoption and installation of this system of heating and ventilation in the schools, of the State, will greatly contribute to the comfort, the health, the discipline and the intellectual activity of the children Very truly yours, \&&jl 88 School Architecture. SEATS AND SEATING. This subject is one of very great importance as it has to do with a part of the school equipment with which the pupils literally come in daily contact. The slope of the roof may have some effect upon the wear of the roofing, the outside color of the house may add to or detract from the attractiveness of the general appearance, but these considerations are small when compared to over strained nerves, mis-shapen bones and permanent deformities caused by improper seats. From "School Hygiene," Courtesy The Macmillan Company., Publishers. The above picture shows an adjustable desk improperly adjusted. The chair is too high, lifting thei boy's heels from the floor; the height of the desk throws his arms uncomfortably high and makes an im- proper angle for the eyes. School Architecture. 89 Some Bad Conditions. — Although most of the schools in West Virginia are supplied with pat- ent seats, there are vet some that have the old, clumsy, home-made seats and desks. The writer has seen within the last year, rural school houses furnished with nothing but long, plain, home- made benches with no backs. On each of these seats were about half a dozen pupils, some large ones with no room for their long legs, and some small ones, whose feet were dangling in the air. A glance at a row of. such pupils bent over in rainbow-fashion with books in their laps excites a visitor's pity for the children and wonder that the eomro unity would be content with such con- ditions. From School niene " Courtesy The Macmillan Compa- ny, Publishers. A pic+ure showing th«. effect of impro- ' per posture. Where such conditions exist and lack of funds will not permit the board of education to buy new seats, the teacher should rise to the occasion. If he or she is enthusiastic the large boys and probably some patrons can be induced to help put on back rests, saw off seats that are too high and put blocks under ones too low. Many teachers read books and inquire at institutes to find out how to secure order and cooperation, when sensible, vigorous dealing with such situations as described above will win the love of the pupils and the confidence of the patrons. Qualities to Consider When Buying Desks. The Pupils. — Boards of education and teachers should ever re- member that the child is the first and final consideration in all school matters. Before placing an order for desks a careful study of the size of the children for whom the desks are intended should be made. Of course pupils shift from year to year but an order for a third grade room, based upon actual measurements of the children found in that room now, will likely fit the needs of the children promoted to such room. The mistake of supposing that children of the same grade are the same size is often made. School statistics show that children of the same school grade vary several 90 School Architecture. years in age and that children of the same age vary as much as eight inches in height. Thus it will be seen that the seats for any grade must represent great variety of sizes. //< ight of Scats. — This should be determined by the distance from the heel to the underside of the angle at the knee. When the pupil sits on the seat with his feet squarely on the floor the angle at the knee should be a right angle, in other words, the upper part of the leg should be about parallel with the floor. A seat that is too high may injure the soft thigh bones in little children or cause The Logan Adjustable School Desk. Manufactured by the W. Ya. School Furniture Co., Logan, W. Va. These desks and chairs can be easily adjusted to any height to suit the pupil, therefore giving the pupil an upright and healthful position at all times. School Architecture. 91 weariness and nervousness by pressing too hard on the underside of the leg. A seat that is too low throws the body in an uncom- fortable, awkward position, especially when the pupil leans for- ward to write or do other work. Adjustable chairs are very desir- able if funds and space make possible their use. As stated above, boxes and foot rests should be used if seats are too high and blocks should be placed under those too low. Other Qualities of Seats.— The seat should be fastened with very strong, simple, noiseless hinges and should be so arranged as to eliminate much opening between back and seat. The curve in the The Logan Automatic School Desk. Manufactured by the W. Va. School Furniture Co., Logan, W. Va. This desk is so constructed mechanically as to be noiseless and automat- ic, the back curved to fit the back of the student, and is sanitary in every respect. 92 School Architecture. bottom of the seat should not be more than an inch to one and one- half inches deep. Single seats should be just wide enough for comfort and to prevent moving back and forth, as too much room will allow pupils to take injurious positions at desk. In inspecting a seat with a view to purchasing, note should be taken to see that the curve in the back fits the natural position of the spinal column. When chairs are purchased they should have an adjustable back rest. The Desk. — The desk should be strong and plain with as much slope as safety to articles left upon it will permit. AVhen working at the desk the pupil should view the work at a right angle. Desks that are too level and too high cause children to look obliquely at work and thus injure their eyes. The desk should be high enough to prevent stooping which curves the spine and cramps the vital organs, and low enough to allow the arm to rest upon the desk in a natural position with the elbow not more than 5 or 6 inches from the body. Color. — If the school room is properly finished the desks should suit the color scheme. Extreme or bright colors should be avoided. Desks should not have a gloss finish as the reflection from such a surface injures the eyes. The color should be restful and the finish dull. How to Place Seats. Aisles. — There should be sufficient space between the seats and walls to allow pu- pils to pass each other without difficulty. Con- siderable vacant space for recitations, and tables, charts, and other appara- tus should be left in front of room. This applies especially to primary rooms. The aisles between the seats should be made as wide as conditions will per- mit. From "School Hygiene." Courtesy The Macmil- lan Company, Publishers. Adjustable desk and chair placed so as to leave plus distance between them, as shown by dotted lines. Unless the desk is adjusta- ble back and forth plus distance should be avoided. School Architecture. 93 Position of Seats. — A chalk line should be used to aid in plac- ing seats in straight lines. The seat and the desk should be far! enough apart to allow the child to take the seat or stand in front of it with ease. Accompanying cuts show the improper and proper relative positions of seat and desk. Adjustable desks are preferable, but as long as others must be used, the edge of the desk should overlap the front of seat about one to two inches as shown in picture. Light should come from left and rear of pupils. Space Required. — Au- thorities agree that the to- tal floor space should be sufficient to allow at least 15 square ft. of floor and 200 cu. feet of air space to each pupil. From "School Hygiene." Courtesy The Macmil- lan Company, Publishers An adjustable desk and chair in position to show 'minus distance as indicated by the dot- ted lines. This is about the correct position for non-adjustable seats. Note the adjust- able back rest on the chair. WATER-CLOSETS IN RURAL SCHOOLS. At last, people are beginning to understand that all of education does not come from books. Sur- roundings may do much for or' against the kind of education which results in proper habits and good character. Directly opposed to the efforts of teachers and books for health, purity and decency is the average filthy water-closet for rural schools. Courtesy Ohio Agricultural College. There are several such closets as this in West Virginia. This is used by both sexes. It is a reproach 1 upon common decency and should be pre- vented by law. 94 School Architecture. State Superintendent, Edward Hyatt, of California, speaks the plain truth when he says, "And look once more; Don't you know some school water-closet which you are ashamed to enter? There the floors are wet and filthy, the air polluted, the walls putrid c® > a © J $ § er? ft S a 5 C3 lb ^ P « J 3 © a S? $ §> Gfl §> Q I ■•S J . o t * r £ r o 3 1 j o u o D z "!! o G o » ? Br E. £ IT o 3 e? JillCJ >*