EDUCATIONAL SPECIFICATIONS
 The most successful school projects evolve from collaboration between designers and educators. Ideally, then, schools literally take their shape from the programs envisioned within them, which must be specified prior to any consideration of physical planning. These educational specifications provide an invaluable link between school programming and school design, between the activities of education and the facilities that support them.
In practice, educational specifications assist the school district first to conceive of a vision for its educational program, and second to identify the space and equipment required to realize it. Additionally, a complete set of educational specifications keeps the educator in charge of design and ensures communication within the project stakeholder group.
Educational Specifiations are typically prepared by the design team as a list of equipment requirements, with reference to the educational program excluded, typically prepares educational specifications. However, a comprehensive set of specifications must include both physical and educational program requirements. Listing each separately will ensure that nothing is overlooked.
The educational program includes:
- curriculum objectives
- facility philosophy and goals
- demographics of the population served
- number of students to be served
- number and kind of spaces required
- analysis of the relationship of spaces
- analysis of school-administration relationship
- teachers' professional environment
- support programs
- community use and priorities
The physical requirements include:
- daylight requirements
- acoustic requirements
- air quality
- energy efficiency
- equipment storage
- technology
- furniture types
- telephones
- security
- food service
- maintenance'
- parking
- student pick-up and drop-off
Developing educational specifications is not a simple task. First, the specifications will include statements describing the types of educational activities to be located in the proposed facility. For any school, this alone requires a great deal of thought and community debate. The document must then detail, as thoroughly as possible, the amount and type of space required for each educational program, including equipment, furniture, and program adjacency requirements.
It is important to address each of these issues in order to avoid confusion and contradiction. Recommended procedure for developing educational specifications is included below, followed by outlines to assist with the collection of information. Each school community may edit these lists as necessary to address the issues specifically facing its facility.
Process for Developing Educational Specifications
- Step 1 – Develop a Representative Planning Team
- School-board representative
- Superintendent
- Assistant superintendent of curriculum
- Classified and certificated employee representatives
- Parent representatives
- Student representatives
- Community representatives
- Step 2 – Identify Goals
- Mission
- Curriculum
- Teaching styles
- Program adjacency
- Staff support
- Budget
- Schedule
- Step 3 – Determine Building Objectives
- Single-story versus multistory buildings
- Campus style (single-building or clustered, open or closed)
- Phasing needs
- Enrollment
- Activity areas
- Site considerations
- Building concept implementation
- Energy systems
- Climate controls
- Daylighting strategy
- Relationship with outdoor environment
- Acoustical criteria
- Materials selection
- Accessibility
- Step 4 – Determine Facility Use
- Community use
- Joint use
- 1Multi-track or year-round scheduling
Outline for Educational Specifications: Educational Program
- Project Description
- Introduction
- Community vision
- School-board policy
- Site and building area
- Expansion capacity
- Building objectives
- Curriculum and Instruction
- Future trends
- Curriculum goals
- Educational programs
- Teaching concepts
- Technology goals
- Community Interaction
- Business partnerships
- Community internships
- Support foundations
- Community use of facilities
- Adult classes
- Recreation
- Library and media center
- Aesthetics and Flexibility
- Curriculum-driven environments
- Passive and active space
- Space flexibility
- Multi-use space
- Outdoor environments
- Furniture use
- Storage issues
- Activity Areas
- Circulation
- Moveable walls
- Flexible furniture
- Pods, clusters, houses, and families
- Teacher preparation areas
- Conference rooms
- Food-service type and provision
- Administration's relationship to academic space
- Library and media center use
Outline for Educational Specifications: Physical Requirements
- Site
- Site size
- Site planning goals
- Site restrictions
- Governing agencies
- Easements
- Utilities
- Parking
- Storm water
- Traffic flow
- Delivery
- Building Requirements
- Orientation
- Size and height
- Setbacks
- Mechanical systems
- Heating
- Air conditioning
- Ventilation
- Technology
- Security
- Materials
- Exterior finish
- Interior finish
- Glazing
- Flooring
- Ceiling
- Roofing
- Program Requirements
- Classrooms and learning spaces
- Size and number
- Adjacency requirements
- Teacher work areas
- Offices
- Workrooms
- Lounges
- Administrative areas
- Offices
- Reception
- Nurse
- Office support
- Record storage
- Supply storage
- Specialty spaces
- Music
- Art
- Science
- Drama
- Dance
- Storage
- Lighting
- Task
- Overhead
- Wall-mounted
- Teaching support
- Teaching wall
- Equipment
- Storage
- Communication
- Telephone
- Internet
- Intercom
- Community Use
- Shared space and types of use
- Separation requirements
- Hours
- Activity Areas
- Hallways
- Lockers
- Kitchens
- Serving kitchen
- Full kitchen
- Food Storage
- Cafeterias and lunch shelters
- Food pick-up
- Furniture
- Number served
- Conference rooms
- Locations and sizes
- Technology needs
- Libraries
- Volumes
- Study carrels
- Copy equipment
- Technology needs
- Check-out system
- Multi-purpose and auditorium spaces
- Seat number and type
- Stage
- Technology needs
- Storage
- Fly
- Lobby
- JoAnn Koplin
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