National Advisory Council On School Building Problems PDF Download

The present study of school building construction and school building needs was made at the request of school building experts from all parts of the country who urged the need of detailed data by cities as well as by counties and States, as to the types of schools for which buildings had been constructed during the past 3 years, the kinds of facilities provided in them, and the costs for the different types. It was decided to secure the data direct from the superintendents of schools in cities of 10,000 population and over, and from State superintendents of public instruction. It is gratifying to report that the replies received covered more than two-thirds of the cities of 10,000 population and over, which contained 69 percent of the total population in cities of this group. Replies were also received from nearly half the State departments of education. The results of this study on school building construction and school building needs should be of interest not only to school superintendents and educators generally, but to all those interested in long-range planning for community needs. Two conclusions to which the study points are worthy of particular consideration: First, that school housing is vitally important from an educational and social as well as from a constructional standpoint because a school building program can be the lever by means of which a school system reorganizes along modern progressive lines; and second, that school buildings should be constructed only where needed, and that such need cannot be determined except on the basis of comprehensive long-range surveys which take into consideration population trends, economic and social trends, and the educational program needed for the children, youth, and adults of a given community. National Advisory Council on School Building Problems is appended. (Contains 16 tables and 4 charts. Individual chapters contain footnotes.) [Best copy available has been provided.].