Class L £ $*,> % _ Book ^3 //T , UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS BULLETIN Vol. VI. No. 1 [Entered Feb. 14. 1902, at Urbana, 111., as second-class matter under Act of Congress July 16, 1894] BULLETIN NO. 1 PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND THEIR EQUIPMENT, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO HIGH SCHOOLS BY HORACE A. HOLLISTER. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS SCHOOL OF EDUCATION. URBANA, ILLINOIS PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY «? Gift o o W o QQ a M W tn — c t-5 O « O pq CO IJ M w a a h CONTENTS. Page Frontispiece 2 Prefatory Statement 4 List of Illustrations with notes 5 Introductory 6 The School Site 12 General Features of the High School Building 12 Planning and Arrangement of School Rooms 21 Furnishing and Equipping the High School Building 26 Laboratories in Small High Schools 28 Artistic Effect in High School Architecture 28 Heating and Ventilation 32 Provisions for Safety in Case of Fire 35 The School Janitor and Engineer 37 References .... 37 PREFATORY STATEMENT. This bulletin is the first of a proposed series to be issued under the auspices of the School of Education of the University of Illinois. The aim of these bulletins is to furnish to the teachers and school authorities of the State such information of practical significance on educational matters as the University through experimentation and observation may be able to gather from time to time. At present the departments of education and, of psychol- ogy, as well as the various departments that offer the subject mat- ter for the training of secondary teachers and supervisors, are engaged in work that has a direct bearing on the general problems of education and the application of methods and principles to exist- ing needs. It is hoped that from time to time bulletins setting forth the work and results obtained by such departments may be issued and that they may prove of benefit to those interested in the practical and theoretical aspects of secondary education. The present bulletin, by Professor Hollister, embodies the observations gained by a wide experience as High School Visitor in the State. S. S. C. March 15, 1909. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. I. Frontispiece, The Hillsboro, 111., High School. This is a type of school worthy of imitation. It is modern in construction, and is located in a natural grove at one side of the town. The site was selected for its fitness rather than as a central location. II. Highland Park Township High School. This building cost $52,000. The entire cost, including grounds and equipment, was $87,759.30. It will accommodate about 400 pupils. Ill, IV, and V. Floor plans of Highland Park High School. VI. Commercial Room, LaSalle-Peru Township High School. VII. Mt. Vernon Township High School. This is one of our best smaller high schools. It will seat 225 pupils. The cost was $47,000 including the lot which is 200 ft. by 325 feet. VIII, IX, and X. Floor plans of the Mt. Vernon High School. XI. Biological laboratory, LaSalle-Peru Township High School. XII. Laboratories of the Quincy, 111., High School. This is given because of the excellent arrangement of these laboratories. XIII. High school library room, Minonk. This shows what may be done in a small town. A wealthy citizen established this library. XIV. Principal's office, Murphysboro Township High School, suggesting a suitable equipment for such a room. XV. Cut showing entrance to Evanston Township High School, illustrating effective architectural decoration for the exterior. XVI. Cut showing wood- working and machine shop, LaSalle- Peru Township High School. XVII. Cut of John Swaney Consolidated School, McNabb, Illi- nois. This is a country school containing, besides school rooms, laboratories, a wood-shop, an assembly hall, its own water and gas plant. It has a campus of 24 acres. INTRODUCTORY. Our public high schools are of such recent development that we still have much of crudity and incompleteness in them. Per- haps at no point has this lack been so marked in the past as in the construction and equipment of buildings for high school pur- poses. It has been quite the fashion, indeed, to consider all school buildings as of a common type in their interior arrange- ments, whether they were to be used for elementary or high school work. In very recent years, however, there is evidence of a marked change favoring a better type of buildings as well as more attention to their proper adaptation to the nature and organization of the school. This change manifests itself in a majority of cases where new buildings are being constructed, although not always in a satisfactory way. The rapid growth of the schools and the wider range and variety of work undertaken by them is one cause of the unsatisfactory results. Lack of a sufficiently comprehen- sive view of the scope of modern high school work on the part of architects who plan the new structures is another cause. The educational officer or expert employed to supervise the school is too frequently not consulted in the preparation of plans. In a majority of cases, perhaps, even if consulted, he would be found wanting. He has devoted his whole time and preparation to the problems more directly connected with the instructional and disciplinary work of the school. At the present time the conditions existing in the United States are such as to call for increased attention to the material surroundings and equipment of schools on the part of principals, superintendents and all school officials. According to data com- piled in 1893*, only three or four of the states make any thing like a resonable provision for conditions of safety and sanitation for school buildings and grounds. Among these Massachusetts may fairly be said to lead. A reasonably good system of inspec- tion is provided for, and buildings are pretty carefully guarded with reference to ventilation and the safety of steam boilers and ♦Sanitary Legislation Respecting Schools. Commissioner of Education Report, 1893-4. pp. 1301-1349. PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND THEIR EQUIPMENT 7 tire escapes. At the date above given one third of the states took some precaution against fire. Some great disasters since have caused a decided increase in this number. One fourth of the states guarded against contagion; one sixth required suitable sanitaries, although often the specifications were vague; two, Massachusetts and Connecticut, insisted on proper ventilation; while only one, and that Kentucky, prescribed the space to be alloted each pupil and made some provision in regard to proper lighting and adjustable seats. But little advance, outside of the large cities, has since been made, except in the matter of fire escapes. Thus far comparatively few architects in this country seem to have made a thorough study of the problems of school architec- ture. Foremost among these are Wheelwright of Boston and Briggs of Connecticut. Felix Clay of England has given us a work on Modern School Buildings that is a decided addition to good literature on this subject. Students in other fields of educa- tion have made some valuable contributions on the subject. Among these are Edward R. Shaw in his work on School Hygiene, and Dr. W. H. Burnham of the Department of Education at Clark University. The situation in our own state is far from ideal. While we have a number of architectural firms and some city architects who have achieved some success, yet there are very few buildings even among the best where serious flaws are not to be found when these structures are measured by the highest standards to be attained under modern conditions of school administration. We are entirely lacking in any efficient system of inspection of school buildings. It is in view of such conditions that the School of Education of the University of Illinois offers to school officials and others interested this bulletin on the subject of public high school build- ings. This is done not with the thought that the last word is here presented on the subject, but that sufficient suggestions may be given to lead toward better results in this very important phase of our educational development. Note.— Much of the material here used was first prepared by the author in a book on High School Administration now in press, — D. C. Heath & Co., Boston. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND THEIR EQUIPMENT T! r > H B HI — — *I F o o w 1— 1 ro F *s > o 73 ^ o U -r >s en - Cl 1— 1 lo w CD F 5 w m c 3 T3 > a « — Q Cj 173 M = ^ 1/5 10 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND THEIR EQUIPMENT 11 en 5 o o 1 ? 2j- 12 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS THE SCHOOL SITE. In making provision for the proper home of a high school or other secondary institution the primary consideration is the school site. In determining a location it very frequently happens that the chief consideration is to find a point near the center of the population which is to be tributary to this particular building. While a location that is readily and about equally accessible from all points in a given school district is a very important matter, yet it is not so vitally important as to be allowed to outweigh all other considerations. The general surroundings need also to be taken into account, as well as the approaches to the school. All authorities on the subject agree that a slightly elevated ground, with a natural rather than a made soil, free from organic impurities, and well drained, is most desirable. Modern tendencies of secondary education also call for large grounds, with room for athletic sports and a school garden, as well as shade trees, grass, shrubs and flowers. Where conditions require it, however, school garden and athletic grounds may be detached from the school site proper without serious loss in effectiveness. Another point emphasized by all is that the neighborhood of the building should be free from noisy, dirty or ill-smelling indus- tries. High buildings should not stand so near as to cut off light and air nor echo the sounds of the street back to the class rooms. Care should be taken that pupils be not required to pass danger- ous crossings, or places of resort for immoral or boisterous classes of people. The building should be set well back on the grounds, or at least so as to permit the best possible arrangement of the remaining space in adapting it to its proper uses; and as far as practicable it should be protected from cold winds. GENERAL FEATURES OF THE HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING. The building itself should be the very best which the finan- cial ability of the district will permit. The following description of an ideal house given by Dr. William H. Burnham in World's Work, Vol. II. pp. 866 to 871, and also quoted in the report of the Committee on School Hygiene of the Worcester Public Educa- tional Association, in Pedagogical Seminary,* Vol. XIII, pp. 230 to 244, will serve to get before us the chief points to be considered *Source of present quotation PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND THEIR EQUIPMENT 13 in planning a building: "The building is entirely of masonry and steel construction, built of the best glazed brick and practically fireproof. It is two stories high and built in the form of the letter K. Heating and ventilation are by a combination of the so-called plenum and exhaust systems. Two hundred and fifty cubic feet of air space is provided for each pupil, and thirty-five cubic feet of fresh air suitably warmed and moistened is supplied each pupil per minute. Distribution of the warm air and ventilation are en- sured by exhaust fans placed near the top of ventilating shafts, and foul air is drawn from each apartment. The arrangement of the warm air registers and the foul air outlets in each room is made with regard to the best distribution of the fresh air, in the recita- tion rooms the inlets being placed eight feet above the floor, usual- ly on an interior wall, and the outlets near the floor on the same side. The main horizontal duct for warm air extends under the whole of the assembly room, and fresh air is introduced by a reg- ister under each seat, while the outlets are at the top of the room. In the basement, besides the heating and ventilating appara- tus, are storerooms, lunch room, playrooms, gymnasium, shower baths, toilet rooms, and ventilated lockers for the wraps of each pupil. The plumbing is all open, the sanitaries of the best modern style and ventilated through a special exhaust duct. The light in the classrooms comes from the left or from the left and rear, and is regulated by curtains of neutral gray green running up from the bottom as well as letting down from the top. The ratio of window surface to floor surface is 1 to 4. All the exit doors open outward. Especially noteworthy are the arrangements for cleanliness. The fresh air introduced to the heating apparatus is filtered through a screen of cheese cloth so that dust and other impuri- ties are removed before it enters the fan room. The school-rooms are really cleaned every day. There is no sweeping or dry dust- ing. The hardwood floors are cleaned every night by a carpet brush dipped in a special oil preparation. The oil makes the dust adhere to the brush, and in this way it is not stirred up, but re- moved from the room, and the floor is improved each time it is cleaned so that once a week it can be washed thoroughly without injury. Or the simpler and more practical method of using a small amount of kerosene oil with a so-called "dustless brush" is 14 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS adopted. At intervals the rooms are disinfected. The furniture is wiped off with a moist cloth. The chalk dust is reduced to a minimum by the use of the best crayons and by cleaning the black- boards, and the little dust made is caught in removable troughs. Thus each morning the children come into a schoolroom actually clean. There are no free text-books used promiscuously, no slates, and no drinking cups; but on each floor is a drinking fountain where the children can drink from a continuous stream of water without the need of cups. Wire matting at the doors, individual lockers for wraps, and the facilities for bathing do much to insure clean clothing and clean children." We are told by Dr. Burnham that each of the points men- tioned as making up this ideal structure is to be found actually exemplified in some building now in use, although no one build- ing may be said to embody them all. Of course it is not to be expected that all these conditions will be attained, even imperfectly, in very many buildings; but they indicate the points to be looked after in connection with the planning and construction of school buildings. The importance of this phase of our educational work can hardly be overestimated. The well known relationship of good sanitary and otherwise whole- some conditions and surroundings to physical and moral health- fulness is sufficient reason to justify such outlay of public funds as may be necessary in order to minimize, to the greatest possible extent, such possible evils. To do this there must be expert supervision and inspection with authority to enforce reasonable compliance with necessary standards. In this respect, as we have seen, the United States has done but little as yet. European States are considerably in advance of us. During the Russo-Japa- nese war the attention of the world was forcibly attracted to the important bearing which proper sanitary engineering has on the success of an army in the field. How much more must it be true that in a great and prosperous nation the real perpetuation of greatness is to depend upon the conditions with regard to sanita- tion and moral atmosphere under which the education of our youth is to be conducted. Among other important matters is the question of building materials. It is generally agreed among experts that school buildings should be as nearly fireproof as possible, hence masonry and steel are considered ideal materials. The educational officer PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND THEIR EQUIPMENT 15 16 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS having the supervision of these things will need to know defi- nitely what is to enter into the building plan both as to materials and as to floor space. In the interests of safety he will insist on ample and well lighted corridors; two stairways at opposite ends of the corridors and of ample width, with landings half way up, to be constructed of metal or at least of oak; no closets under stairways to become receptacles for combustible matter; in case a third story is necessary, two stairways all the way up, and a fire escape at an intermediate point, and readily accessible from the second and third floors. In the interests of good sanitation he will want to be sure of good drainage; of the most approved con- struction of closets, lavatories and baths, with a separate system of ventilation for closets; of a system of heating and ventilating which will insure plenty of pure air properly tempered and of the right degree of humidity; of lighting facilities adequate for gloomy days and for rooms in all parts of the building which are to be used for study or recitation and laboratory work; of venti- lated metal lockers to be placed, when practicable, in basement rooms provided with means of heating in order to dry wet cloth- ing, the latter arrangement including floor grates or heated plat- forms where wet shoes and skirts may be dried; of the proper means for removing dust, cleansing floors and disinfecting. He will see that there are emergency or retiring rooms for the use of pupils or teachers who are ill; and in districts where distance makes it desirable he will be able to see that proper lunch facilities are provided and operated in a strictly hygienic manner. In the interests of physical training he should know what is best in athletics, the necessary arrangement of grounds, the equipment of a gymnasium and the best kind of training in it, the advantages and proper use of the swimming pool if such a thing is practicable. Some of the facts in regard to high school buildings which should be impressed upon the public mind are: 1. That the building should be planned for the specific work of the school which is to use it. 2. That whenever practicable a separate building should be assigned to the use of the high school, or at least to the high school and grammar grades. 3. That a sanitarily heated and ventilated building is a mat- ter of real economy. PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND THEIR EQUIPMENT 17 < Ed O 2! O 3 18 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS F# r± -3'- GYMMA51UM T3CV3 T01L.&T t<>" T "BOYS /VUX fl 4, BOILER. ■ - ->* £3 '5" l<^lieL3 tSKESSI/Aq -eoorv I Li ^*q"eEPfiRTK£/fT Ql/JJYCr HIGH SCHOOL li=Lfc^U IF=fl e *i p=r ^ Plate XII. Laboratory Plans of Quincy, Illinois, High School. these materials. Usually the special teachers of these depart- ments should be freely consulted as to the best interior construc- tion and arrangement of such rooms. In the larger high schools a very economic arrangement of laboratory and lecture rooms is to put them in suites for the physical and biological sciences and the geography work, respectively. In this case a very satisfactory arrangement for the physical science suite is a tandem effect, with the lecture room between the two laboratories, store rooms opening off from each laboratory, a work room opening off from the physical laboratory. In the store room connected with the chemical laboratory it may be found desirable to construct a fire - proof closet for the safe keeping of such chemical supplies as may be liable to cause combustion. PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND THEIR EQUIPMENT 25 r > > o o 26 university of illinois Furnishing and Equipping the High School Building. The furnishing and equipping of a high school building is in itself a complex undertaking. As in planning the building so the furnishings for each room should be determined by the use that is to be made of it. Where school desks are used they should be, preferably, the adjustable desks; for there is no regulation size of school desks that is suitable for all the pupils of high school age. As well expect that a suit of ready made number ten Knicker- bockers would fit any boy ten years of age. These desks should always be those set on what is known as the jury base for conven- ience in cleaning floors. Some of the class rooms will be better adapted to their use if seated with chairs equipped with writing tablets; others will need tables and common chairs; and others still would better be seated with desks. In the case of laborator- ies, studio, and business rooms, specially adapted furniture will be called for. In all these particulars it will be worth while to examine carefully into the different types of furnishings before the contracts are made; and in every case the best constructed furniture as to materials and finish will be found most economical as well as most satisfactory. The furnishings of laboratories, such as tables, lockers, baths, lantern, gas and electricity should be such as are found in the best schools equipped especially for high school work. The lantern, indeed, may well be provided for in several of the high school rooms, and especially in the assembly hall. It pays to put good cases in the physical laboratory for the keeping of apparatus, and to get a good grade when purchasing the apparatus to fill them. These laboratories are usually expen- sive factors in the equipment of the school and no pains should be spared in providing for their proper care and use. For sugges- tive lists of apparatus and also lists of reliable houses furnishing apparatus see the High School Conference reports in the High School Manual published by the University. In the drawing studio there should be properly constructed desks and adjustable tables. An adjacent store room should con- tain such materials, models, etc., as may be supplied. Metal lockers should also be provided for the materials and instruments of individual pupils. For library purposes it will probably be found best in a large PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND THEIR EQUIPMENT 27 28 UNIVERSITY OP ILLINOIS high school to have a central library room with full cataloging facilities, and book shelves distributed through the various class rooms or study rooms where such books as are needed for refer- ence in particular departments may be sent out properly recorded from the central library room. Reading tables for newspapers and magazines may be either in the central library room or the study rooms, as convenience may indicate. A very important consideration in carrying on the daily work of a high school is a system of signals for the movement of classes according to the daily program. The best systems that have thus far been devised are the self-winding pneumatic and the electric program clocks which may be connected up with separate clocks in the various class rooms or adjusted so as to ring signal bells simultaneously in all parts of the building. The advantages of the pneumatic clock are believed to surpass those of the electric. Laboratories in Small High Schools. In smaller high schools one room will have to serve for all laboratory and lecture work in science. This room should be fit- ted with a teacher's demonstration table, supplied with gas, water and electricity where these are available. The room should contain, besides, one good sink, tables enough for the experimental work of the pupils, a work bench with a kit of the more common tools for working in wood, an assortment of files, a pair of good pliers and a small iron vice and anvil. There should be cases with good closefitting doors for storing apparatus. An aquarium will add greatly to the interest in biology work. Common chairs may be used for seating. Besides the usual apparatus, which should be selected chiefly for individual work by the pupils, the room should have, if possible, a stereopticon and screen with lens attachments for microscopic work. ARTISTIC EFFECT IN HIGH SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE. One of the difficult problems in all architecture is how to com- bine complete adaptation to purpose with symmetry and harmony of construction. Judging from what we most often see it would seem that our architects have been very slow in solving this pro- blem in connection with the building of school houses. The ap- pearance of such a building is bound to exercise considerable in- fluence upon the artistic tastes of a community. This has refer- PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND TEEIR EQUIPMENT 29 Plate XV. Entrance to Evanston Township High School. 30 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS eDce both to the exterior effect as determined by the style of arch- itecture and to the interior finish and decoration. We may all agree that it is desirable to have a building possess a sort of in- dividuality even to the extent of reflecting its purpose; but there is a growing feeling that we have had enough of that general institutional type of architecture which has long been considered the proper thing in buildings of a large, general class to which school houses have been assumed to belong. Yet this modifying contingency occurs in the case of school architecture: Educa- tional work is in such a state of flux and evolution as to make it uncertain as to what type of building may be needed twenty or twenty-five years hence. It is evidently not desirable, therefore, that buildings intended to out- last the century should be erected. For this reason, perhaps, a rather severe type externally may well be adhered to, the chief considerations being sufficient sta- bility for present purposes, and the maximum of safety. Expen- sive cupolas and towers, for instance, may well be dispensed with along with the ponderous school bell of the past. However, the architect may still easily introduce some elements of ornamenta- tion in connection with entrances, windows, cornices or other ex- ternal features. It is the interior of the building, however, which offers most in the way of decorative effort. The stairways, corridors and as- sembly room, as well as the various class rooms, offer ample op- portunity for the presentation of artistic effects. From the tint-, ing or decorating of the walls and ceilings, the finishings of the wood casings, to the hanging of pictures and the placing of statu- ary, strength, beauty and refinement of taste may combine in such a manner as to add greatly to the wholesome influence of the school building, not only upon the pupils but upon the community at large. These also are things which someone who has to do with the fitting up of the school should understand and insist upon to the extent of the ability of the district to provide. In the matter of class rooms, for instance, undoubtedly the scheme which gives to each room a certain individuality should prevail. The psychological effect of such a change, as classes pass from room to room, and the advantages of it over a general monotony of color and effect is readily appreciable even to the casual observer. In some of our high school buildings the movement has begun PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND THEIll EQUIPMENT 31 32 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS of decorating corridors with mural paintings. In the Joliet high school these paintings are of historic scenes connected with the notable series of explorations in which the man whose name the city bears was prominent. The DeKalb Township high school has also recently added some very attractive mural decorations and tablets of a symbolic character to the decorations of its main corridors. These beginnings suggest at once great possibilities in the way of making art a powerful reinforcement in the educa- tional work of the school. Quite a number of Illinois high schools have placed in corri- dors or in the assembly hall fine prints, paintings and statuary, the influence of which must become lasting as giving a distinct uplift to the character of the pupils brought daily in contact with them. HEATING AND VENTILATION. One of the most fundamental problems in the construction of a school building is that of its proper warming and ventilation. This is a problem all the more difficult to meet because few archi- tects can be considered technically expert enough to make suit- able provision for the necessary conditions. On the other hand those commercially interested in a given system of heating and ventilating are not the ones from whom such technical advice is to be expected. For even if they know the truth they are usually bound to represent their own interests in making a sale rather than the interests of the school community and the thousands of children who are to be affected by the construction of the high school building. If we put with this the mistakes which school officials make in the interests of what they wrongly believe to be economy it is easy to understand how readily a building may prove a dismal failure in these very important matters. The problem involves three points: Pure air, normal temper- ature, and the right degree of humidity. Of these three the matter of temperature is too apt to be the sole consideration in the placing of a heating plant. In these days of the demonstra- tion of the advantages of pure air as a means of curing some of the most malignant diseases it is not so difficult to convince people of the need of good ventilation for schools; but even now reform seems to come slowly. For purposes of heating there are in use, today, furnace heat; PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND THEIR EQUIPMENT 33 direct radiation from coils heated by steam or by water; indirect radiation by which air warmed by passing over steam heated coils is introduced, properly tempered, into the rooms of the building; and direct- indirect radiation, which is a combination, in some form, of the second and third types. Furnace heating does very well for a small building of four to six rooms: but even then it should be reinforced by steam or water coils for corridors, and for por- tions of the building farthest from the furnace or liable to suffer by reason of adverse winds which affect the flow of heat through the hot air ducts when the pressure caused by inward leakage through windows, doors and walls becomes too great. Direct radiation may be very successfully employed in build- ings up to ten or twelve rooms in size if only some provision is made for ventilating the rooms. Such provision should also be made, of course, in the case of smaller buildings heated by fur- nace and coil combinations. The direct- indirect radiation system has some advantages as combining both the heating and ventil- ating. This is sometimes managed by placing the radiating coils near openings for the ingress of fresh air. In this case dampers or valves are provided for regulating the amount of cold air admitted; otherwise a strong wind would send draughts through the rooms on the side of the building exposed to its force. In connection with this plan also there must be some egress provided for the vitiated air. Another method of combining direct and indirect radiation is by placing coils around the rooms near the windows to take up the in-leakage of cold air, and at the same time introducing into the rooms air properly tempered by passing it over steam coils placed in the chamber or ducts through which the fresh air is received. This has been found to be a very economical plan of heating, and, when combined with proper vent-flues, it is a very satisfactory method of warming a school building. There are three general methods of securing the ventilation of school rooms: First is the old method of opening windows or doors to let in the fresh air. This does fairly well when the air without is sufficiently warm so as not to cause draughts or sudden chilling of the air within. In cold weather it is always danger- ous and more or less hurtful, and therefore to be used only as a last resort. Second is the gravitation system which is based on the principle which causes warm air to ascend and cold air to 34 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS rush in to vacated space. It is evident here that the variations in temperature between outside and inside air can not be relied upon alone to produce satisfactory results. Heated coils in the vent flues, or fires at the bottom of these flues, will be found neces- sary in order to secure results that are at all satisfactory. This system, used in connection with a combined direct and indirect system of radiation in the form of the second method described above, makes a very good plan of heating and ventilating build- ings that are comparatively small. In such cases the use of the heated coils in vent flues will be found best as a usual thing, al- though a small heater in the flue may serve the purpose better in warm weather. In buildings of more than ten or twelve rooms, however, it will be found best in the long run to adopt what is known as the mechanical system of ventilation by which the tempered pure air is forced into the school rooms by means of fans. At the same time direct radiation should be provided for by coils placed in the rooms. This makes it possible to furnish pure air in season and out of season, and is the only one of the three methods of ven- tilating which is capable of such adjustment as to insure sanitary conditions both as to purity and temperature. There are two ways of using fans for ventilating purposes: For driving pure air in or drawing vitiated air out. Of these two the first, known as the plenum system, is the better, because it makes possible an increase of pressure within which tends to check the in- leaking of cold air to the rooms. The exhaust system, on the other hand, tends to lower the inside pressure, relatively, and so increases the in- leakage of cold air, thus causing draughts. In some cases a combination of plenum and exhaust fans is most desirable. The chief additional cost of such a plan is in the original plant, which, if well constructed and operated by a skillful engi neer, will tend to reduce the cost of fuel, to say nothing about the increased healthfulness of the school. Of course it is necessary to see that the vent ducts are properly arranged so as to take off the impure air and yet not cause draughts in the room. This should be done under the direction of a skilled engineer other than any one commercially interested in the installment of the plant. For regulating temperatures there should be a thermostatic system connected with the heating and ventilating plant. The PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND THEIR EQUIPMENT 35 temperature should be kept at from 68° to 70° and as nearly con- stant in this respect as possible. Some provision will also be found necessary with any system of heating for keeping the air supplied with the proper degree of ^n~ ; . ■ ■ ;■ ;_ ' ■ hiBhI EEShSnI .|"*S. WW., ,«w 1 ■ "•■ . Plate XVII. John Swaney Consolidated School, McNabb, Illinois. moisture. For this a skilled engineer will also be able to arrange; and the engineer who operates the plant should be able to test the efficiency of the plant from time to time. The best average saturation or humidity for a school room has been found to be 50 to 60 per cent. The amount of fresh air per minute for each pu- pil should be 30 to 40 cubic feet. In order properly to test the humidity of the air the engineer or school principal should be provided with some proper instru- ment. For determining the purity of the air a Wolpert's Air Tester will be found very satisfactory. For testing the amount of fresh air supply a Byram's four-inch anemometer with two index hands is highly recommended. If possible, especially in large cities, some device for screen- ing or washing the air admitted through the intakes should also be provided in order to remove dust and soot from the air which the children are to breathe. PROVISIONS FOR SAFETY IN CASE OF FIRE. The importance of this subject as emphasized by the fearful disasters of the past few years calls for special treatment here. 36 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS The desirability of constructing buildings as nearly lire-proof as possible has already been spoken of in discussing the school build- ing. Where it is not practicable to have a tire-proof building there is all the more reason for such other precautions as are possi- ble. Where furnace heat is used the furnace should be placed as far as practicable from the stairways, and all woodwork in the basement should be carefully covered with some non combustible material. A steel ceiling for the basement, or for the furnace room will be a great preventative in case of fire. Nothing but metal or brick should be used in the construction of vent flues and other open connections between floors. In the case of larger buildings the heating plant should be in a detached building constructed for the purpose. Stairways should always be constructed with a view to impeding the progress of fire in their direction. Where they are next to partition wails these walls should be of brick, or con- structed so that no air ducts are formed with lath or other wood linings. All doors for exits should swing outward or both ways, and stairways should be so placed with reference to them as to leave no catch-places to become blocked in case of a panic. Where double outer doors are used the one which is bolted should have face bolts easily operated from some point on a level with the door knob or handle. The ordinary iron fire-escapes such as are used on factories and business houses are entirely out of place on a school building Think of a crowd of frightened boys and girls trying to escape by such means! All outside stairways for such purposes should be of about the usual slant for stairways and provided with strong, well braced hand rails on each side. Stairways enclosed in brick walls are to be preferred. Probably the best contrivance of all is the tubular incline escape which is a protection from falling bricks or timbers, and can not easily be blocked in any way. These are matters in which considerations of cost are too often figured even against the value of human lives. No matter what the out- lay involved, the balance should always be on the life side. Besides fire-escapes there should be in all large buildings stand-pipes with hose attachments ready for quick use on each floor. Nothing smaller than two inch hose should be used, and none of the connections leading from the main should be less than two inches inside measure. Other precautions, such as buckets PUBLIC SCHOOL, BUILDINGS AND THEIR EQUIPMENT 37 or barrels of water, where there is no water system, and chemical hand extinguishers, should be kept at convenient points in the building, and all teachers instructed in their use. THE SCHOOL JANITOR AND ENGINEER. It will readily be seen from what has been said in regard to heating, ventilating and sanitary conditions that much of the suc- cess of any plan in operation will depend upon the kind of man employed to supervise these things. As in the case of buildings and equipment, efforts to secure service merely on the ground of cheapness are very likely to prove to be bad economy. Whoever is charged with such weighty matters must be something more than a heaver of coal and a sweeper of floors. The only safe and economic plan is to find the man who is properly qualified as to intelligence, skill and moral character, and then to pay him a fair wage for such service. REFERENCES. Modern School Buildings (English), Felix Clay; School Architecture, E. M. Wheelwright; Modern American School Buildings, Warren R. Briggs; The School House, Moore; School Hygiene, Shaw; The Ideal School House, William H. Burnham, World's Work, Vol. II, pp. 866-71; The Essentials of School Building, American Architect, Vol. LXXX, p. 28.