This document outlines the existing conditions of school buildings and their vulnerability to natural hazards on the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, and makes recommendations on how to better protect them from these hazards. Profiles of the schools are detailed and the roles and responsibilities of the various organizations concerning…

First reviews four representative theoretical studies in the history of urban education, calling for detailed case studies of particular schools and school systems to supplement theoretical analyses; and then, as an example of such a case study, discusses the school system of Gary, Indiana, focusing on the Gary Plan. (JM)

Talbott Springs Elementary School (Columbia, Maryland) has lots of open space and cheerful colors and growing pains. (Author)

Discusses the growing range of alternative solutions to provide school space in the most economical fashion as being explored by many school systems. (Author/JM)

AS&U interviews architect Edward Larrabee Barnes, who discusses two basic mistakes made by high schools and colleges in planning performing arts facilities. He explains that (1) they try to build flexibility into formal theaters and (2) they emphasize loads of seating, but leave little space for experimental work. (Author)

Near destruction of the city's school plant had a single merit: Londoners could rebuild from scratch. One result is England's highly regarded comprehensive secondary school system. (Author)

Latest ideas include a school with tunnels and slides, aviation training, an outdoor curriculum for campers, and a door-to-door PR campaign. (Author)

When teachers of Village South Elementary School, Centerville, Ohio, planned a program and a school to contain it, the result was open. (Editor/EA)

An experimental study compared 32 architectural design students' academic achievement as influenced by two different environmental variables (conventional learning space and personalized learning space) and two different instructional variables (conventional teaching and team teaching). Personalized learning space and team teaching had positive…

A recent national study of the influence of openness of school buildings on teaching practices and pupil outcomes has found that open area schools were associated with lower scores on basic skills tests. Several possible explanations are suggested based on the history of the open building innovation and observed school use patterns. (MSE)

An elementary school teacher and an architect taught six third graders some principles of designing ideal classrooms. These subjects' ability to observe and design environments was shown to be significantly greater than that of students in an uninstructed control group. (Author/WB)

In Avon (Indiana), a community lacking public buildings, a middle school was built with community uses in mind. The swimming pool, gymnasium, and commons area can be blocked off for community use by using floor-to-ceiling gates. The school's heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems are also energy-efficient. (Author/MLF)

The traditional division of the school into discrete classrooms does not fill today's diverse student and faculty needs. The alternative might be a school divided into 40 individual carrels, 15 project rooms, 5 offices, 2 seminar rooms, and 1 multipurpose room. (Author/JM)