School administrators should view site acquisition, development, and maintenance as an investment, not a cost. (Author/MLF)

This publication is concerned with the selection, development, and utilization of school sites in regard to both long-range and functional planning. Recommendations are presented to aid in the selection and development of more adequate and functional school grounds. Procedures illustrate approaches which may be used to determine school site…

A collaborative effort is desirable in the design of school buildings and grounds. In site development of school grounds, effective school board work not only requires a workable plan but good construction details and proper specifications which will result in a first-class job and insure minimum maintenance costs. The most effective way to…

Realizing that school sites can play an important role in enhancing the educational process, guidelines dealing with the development of a school site for environmental education purposes are presented. First, the roles of this site for environmental studies are explained as: (1) an ecology laboratory, (2) an environmental management laboratory,…

A guide for school board members to use in evaluating the development potential of school sites with respect to the construction budget, the design of the school building and its functional operation and maintenance. Fifteen factors are suggested for evaluative criteria and each is briefly discussed. (FPO)

The main trends are summarized of the current practices in the design and planning of modern primary schools. Several of the recent developments in design are--(1) the educational approach to design, (2) new plan forms, (3) new methods of plan analysis, (4) site analysis and design, and (5) new attitudes toward the design of communal spaces,…

An outline of the factors and conditions affecting the desirability of a specific building site. The primary factor headings are--(1) availability, (2) location, (3) environment, (4) accessibility, (5) size, (6) shape, (7) topography, (8) acquisition, (9) cost of land, (10) soil condition, (11) sub-surface condition, (12) site preparation, (13)…

This guide to basic principles of school design presents diagrammatic explanation of various developed standards and planning suggestions. The first section schematically develops patterns of school activity for primary, elementary, and high schools. The second discusses organization of activities--(1) contour adjustment, (2) landscaping, (3)…

Sufficient research has been generated to economically justify the necessary capital investment expenditures in developing the public school site into a community land asset. Open space school sites designed, developed, and maintained as community land reserves are self-liquidating economic land units because they contribute significantly to the…

This study attempted to determine the factors and procedures used by school administrators and school boards in Bucks and Montgomery Counties, Pennsylvania, when school sites were selected and developed; as well as to find the extent to which these sites were being utilized by school and community groups. Specifically, the study strove to…

Few school leaders and school architects have recognized or comprehended the potential symbiosis between school site resources and the enrichment of the instructional program, the urgency of repairing and improving the biosphere, the broadening of community life onto school sites, and the recognition of the responsibility role of stewardship of…

The purpose of this study was to develop land-utilization options for the present holdings of the Berrien Springs Public Schools. In order to base these proposed options on facts and observable evidence, substudies of educational goals, enrollment projections, present school site, and the educational program were conducted. On the basis of the…

The school site can become a resource capable of enriching both the educational and community environment. However, many different local and regional factors must be identified and interactions studied in order to develop a sound basis for effective school site selection, planning, and development. This document provides background material about…

Three papers, each with an extensive bibliography, advance arguments concerning (1) the school site as a public land resource, (2) school board policy as related to economic alternatives for open space school site planning, and (3) the establishment of outdoor classrooms on school sites as public policy. In the first paper, the author contends…