Bonk JU3 O Y COHOaiGHT DEPOSm BULLETIN OF THE Service Citizens of Delaware VOL. I NUMBER 3 general report on School buildings and Grounds of delaware OCTOBER 15, 1919 Application made for entrance at the post ofSce of Newark, Delaware, as second-class matter under Act of Congress of Julj' 16, 1894. General Report ON School buildings and Grounds OF Delaware 1919 GEORGE D. STRAYER Professor of Educational Administration Teachers' College, Columbia University N. L. ENGELHARDT Associate Professor of Educational Administration Teachers- College, Columbia University F. W. HART Sometime Associate in The Department of Educational Administration Teachers' College. Columbia University 1919 Published by the SERVICE CITIZENS OF DELAWARE Public Library Building Wilmington, Delaware LE3 2,/ ,IJ3|S7 Copyright, 1919 Service Citizens oe Dei^aware OCT 28 1919 «3 CONTENTS PART I page I How Delaware Houses Her School Children 3 II School Buildings of Delaware of More Than Two ' Rooms, Except Special Districts 25 III Representative One-Room Buildings — New Castle County 69 IV Representative Two-Room Buildings — New Castle County 85 V Representative One-Room Buildings — Kent County . . 97 VI Representative Two-Room Buildings — Kent County . . 112 VII Representative One-Room Buildings — Sussex County. . 121 VIII Representative Two-Room Buildings — Sussex County. . 143 IX Representative School Buildings for Colored Children, New Castle County 153 X Representative School Buildings for Colored Children, Kent County 169 XI Representative School Buildings for Colored Children, Sussex County 181 PART II I Measurement of the School Buildings of Delaware .... Tables I to XXI ....:.' 195 PREFACE All real progress must rest upon a solid foundation of fact. This is just as true in education as in business. Educationalists in the past have -been too prone to follow theories, irrespective of the actual local conditions and needs. In August we published a report on the physical condition of the following schools : Alexis I. du Pont, Mt. Pleasant, New Castle, Newark, Middletown, Smyrna, Dover, Caesar Rodney, Harrington, Milford, Seaford, Blades, Laurel, Georgetown and Lewes. The report was made by Dr. George D. Strayer, Professor of Educational Administration, Teachers' College, Columbia University, and Pro- fessor N. L. Engelhardt, Associate Professor of Educational Admin- istration, Teachers' College, Columbia University. They are recog- nized experts in their own field. In making the survey and writing the report they had no motive or purpose other than to give an accu- rate description of conditions as they found them in Delaware. This volume has been prepared by Dr. Strayer and Dr. Engel- hardt in exactly the same way as the former one. It is an account of the majority of our schools in Delaware, with accurate descriptions and photographs of typical instances. Both of these reports are in the possession of the State Board of Education, and they have also been widely distributed throughout the State. The first impression the reader obtains is one of discourage- ment. Conditions are undoubtedly bad, but the people of Delaware today are anxious that things which are wrong should be righted as quickly as possible. If there were no prospect of improving our educational conditions, it would be a cruel humiliation to publish such a record as this. Happily we are in the position of being able not only to make the bad good and the good better in the matter of the physical equipment of our schools, but all over the State the best citizens are anxious that these things should be done and done at once. The cost to the taxpayer is not prohibitive. Generous assistance is also available from the P. S. duPont Fund, which is being administered by the Delaware School Auxiliary Association. In undertaking a very thorough re-building program we are not doing anything unusual. Indeed, we are doing only what other states have been doing for some time past, or are engaged in doing at present. The children of Delaware are its richest assets. In a democracy all the real values are human values. The vital factor of progress is the quality of its citizenship. It is almost impossible to get good teachers or first-class teaching in buildings which are hopelessly out of date, inadequate, insanitary, and detrimental to the health of the pupils. Money spent on education and on educational equipment is the soundest investment a state, a county, or a special district can make for its own financial, social and moral future. We are therefore publishing this report in the firm belief that it will be received with gratitude. In it there is pictured one of the diseases of our social body, but we are not disheartened because we also know that the remedy is available. Delawareans have shown them- selves especially patriotic and progressive all through the desperate days of the war, and the same spirit will guide them forward in pro- viding for their own immediate needs as the new era dawns. Part I How Delaware Houses Her School Children chapter i how delaware houses her school Children A DESCRIPTION of the school building situation in Delaware can be made clear to the reader only by an analysis which will bring into relief the several more important elements which go to make up an ideal school plant. For this reason we shall discuss (1) School grounds; (2) The type of school buildings; (3) The facilities which are provided for the health and comfort of the children and the maintenance of the school program; (4) The class rooms, including a discussion of their construction, lighting and the equipment for school work which is found in them; and (5) The special rooms which permit of a proper program for play, community use, industrial arts, household arts and for the work of administrative officers. In every case, the discussion will present the situation in Dela- ware as compared with the best type of facilities now provided in the more progressive communities of the United States. The oppor- tunity which Delaware has, by reason of the two-million-dollar fund made available to aid in the construction of new buildings, can be thought of as significant only as Delaware provides school facilities for her children equal to the best to be found in any part of the nation. SCHOOL GROUNDS Any discussion of school grounds must take into consideration the location of school buildings with respect to their accessibility and environment, the size of the site upon which the building is placed and the suitability of the particular area used for the purpose for which it has been set aside. (Note: The descriptive treatment given in this section is based upon a careful survey of school grounds, buildings and equipment throughout the State. Every school house was visited and the details recorded on a score card. This detailed scoring, together with a discus- sion of the standards which were used, appears in Part Two.) B It is difficult to express adequately the failure upon the part of local Boards of Education to provide school grounds without being charged by some one with failure to recognize the adequacy of the provision which has been made in a few localities. If one generalizes concerning the whole State, he is compelled to record the fact that school grounds have been provided only in terms of a space big «ettough to accommodate the school building, the fuel house and the toilets. The typical school site in Delaware is a piece of ground, tri- angular or rectangular in form, with an area of less than half an acre, in the angle of the crossroads, on a piece of ground ordinarily not considered suitable for cultivation and not infrequently so low as to make it difficult or impossible of proper drainage. In a great many cases this little plot of ground is either in a densely wooded section or on the edge of a forest or swamp. In the more progressive communities throughout the United States the necessity for providing space enough on the school grounds for play has long been recognized. The standard school site for a one tO' four teacher school should include a minimum of four acres of land, at least three and one-half acres of which is free from buildings, trees or other obstacles which would interfere with the development of a well-equipped playground. Rural school children need, even more than do' the children of our urban commu- nities, an opportunity to learn to play. One of the most pitiful sights to be seen in the rural schools of Delaware is a group of children, during school intermissions, standing around in the yard with no opportunity for play and apparently with no appreciation or under- standing of the games in which children find their most worthwhile recreation. Whether one considers the problem from the standpoint of the physical welfare of children or from the standpoint of their social and moral development, well-organized play must be consid- ered as significant as the study of arithmetic or the learning to read. It is a pleasure to record the fact that in a few instances play- ground space has been provided and that there is evidence that this space has been used. At the same time, it is necessary to call atten- tion to the fact that practically no play apparatus for the smaller children has been installed. Children of the lower grades should have see-saws, swings, giant strides, sa,nd piles, slides and the like, as well as space for ring games, basketball and other group activities. For the older children, sufficient space for regular baseball for the boys and for tennis and outdoor-indoor baseball for the girls has been provided by communities in other states, where they believe that an investment in the physical and social well-being of children pays. For schools having more than four teachers, and especially for the communities which maintain a high school, a minimum of ten acres should be provided in the site. Where children of the element- ary and high schools are brought together on one site, it is essential that larger space be provided in order that all may have an oppor- tunity for play, organized in groups determined by the ages of the children. At Middletown, Harrington, Greenwood, the Alex I. Du Pont School, and in lesser degree in a few of the other communities, this standard has been partially met. It is noteworthy^ that the communities which now have under consideration the building of new school buildings (Claymont, New- ark, Middletown, Dover, Smyrna-Clayton, Laurel, Lewes, Richard- son Park, Seaford) are all planning to secure a site of at least ten acres. In some of these communities the site now under considera- tion contains twelve or more acres. For both the rural school and for the larger community the play space will be available for com- munity use as well as for the school. The modern conception of the function of public education requires that plans for the development of school property recognize the necessity for providing opportunity for recreation for the youth and adults of the community as well as for the children enrolled in the school. Wherever agriculture is included in the curriculum of the school a small part of the school site should be available for demonstration purposes. There are in the United States today rural schools which have had a most marked effect upon the productivity of the farms in their neighborhood through the experimentation and demonstra- tion which have been undertaken on the school grounds and on the home farms. In one instance in an adjoining state an increase of thirty per cent, in the yield of potatoes was brought to pass solely by the experiments undertaken, in the selection of seed and in the culti- vation of this crop, by the agricultural department of the high school. When the education provided deals directly with the most important occupation engaged in by the fathers and mothers of the children, it has the double advantage of securing generous support from the local community and of educating the children with respect to the opportunities for advancement along the lines of work in which they ought normally to engage. Education ought not to seek to train all children for city life. In Delaware, for most children, the greatest opportunity is to be found in an improved and more profitable culti- vation of the soil. When one has in mind the use of the site suggested above he recognizes the necessity for picking out the best piece of land in the community and not an area which is not suited for any other purpose. School grounds, if they are to be used, must be capable of rapid drainage. The site of the school should be located with reference to improved roads. Other things being equal, the school building should be as near as possible to the center of the attendance district, Where the better roads intersect at a point some distance from this central locality, this road intersection, rather than mere centrality, should determine the location of the school building. Every school building should have a flagpole placed in front of the building and high enough to float the flag above the highest point on the building. Many of the flagpoles in Delaware were placed some years ago and are today without halyards and cannot, there- fore, be used. Forty-two per cent, of the school sites in Delaware are today without a flagpole. It is assumed in this discussion of the school site that in a modern school building water supply, toilet facilities and fuel storage will be provided in the building itself. TYPE OF SCHOOL BUILDING If an adequate site has been provided the next problem which confronts the community is the type of building which is to be con- structed and its placement upon the site. The materials used, the height of the building, the foundation and walls, the entrances, corri- dors and basement all in some measure contribute to the develop- ment of an ideal school building. As has already been suggested, the building should be so placed upon the grounds as to permit of a maximum use of the site for play and for school gardens. It is also advisable to put the building far enough back from the street or much-traveled road so as not to have the noises interfere with the work going on in the class room. The building should, of course, be placed SO' as to appear well in the neighborhood. A good school building ought to be the most attractive public building in any com- munity. Where there is a possibility of the school growing larger, either on account of the growth of the community or because of the consolidation of other schools, it will be necessary as well to provide for extensions to the building when locating it on the site. Even in the oiie-teacher school building the direction from which the light enters the class rooms should determine the facing of the building. In many cases in Delaware school rooms were found in which the main source of light was from the north. In this latitude light entering the class room should come from the southeast, east, southwest or west rather than directly from the north or south. The typical school building in Delaware is a most unattractive, store-box type of structure, with windows located at regular inter- vals on two or three sides, with the entrance on the fourth side. In almost no case is there 'any evidence of any attempt to make the school building attractive architecturally. Even the one-teacher school should compare most favorably with the very best type of cottage or dwelling house in the community in which it is placed. It should be an example of good taste and of beauty rather than an eye-sore which is hidden on a by-road. Larger school buildings have been successfully planned and are most attractive when built not on the single rectangular plan, but rather on the T E or U outline. Buildings con- structed with this general contour permit, as well, of additions with- out interfering with the structure already built. No building that has six or fewer class rooms should be more than one story in height. There is absolutely no excuse in the villages of Delaware for the two to four class-room buildings two stories in height. It is sHghtly cheaper to build a two-story structure, but the use to which the build- ing is put and the safety of the children who' are housed in it demand the one-story structure. This is especially true in the communities in which nO' adequate fire protection is available. In the larger build- ings, where on account of economy in building or lack of space over which to spread the larger number of class rooms it is necessary to build a two-story building, the plans must always include fireproof construction if the building is to be considered acceptable from the standpoint of fire risk. School buildings in Delaware are commonly of wood frame con- struction. Thirty per cent, of the one to four teacher schools are of the one-room box type, without vestibule, requiring that this room be utilized as storage place for children's wraps, for the fuel and even for the pump, as well as for the remainder of the school equip- ment. It was surprising to find that in a large number of instances the one-room buildings were mounted on brick, concrete block or even wooden post piers, with spaces between the piers open so that the floors of the school room would of necessity be extremely difficult to heat in the winter months. In other instances these open spaces between the piers had been partially filled in with boards, providing only meager protection against the winter winds. In cases where the floors of these buildings were warped and not closely fitted together, this type of foundation allowed the dust to be blown into the school room, while even in some instances weeds were growing through the cracks. In many instances the roof, sadly in need of repair, had per- mitted enough water to enter the building to damage the plaster, even to the point of having a large part of it fall off the ceiling and off the walls. In some cases a leaky roof resulted in a mouldy interior totally unfit for school purposes. Floors were badly damaged, books were moulded and school furniture discolored and covered with dirt on account of the failure to provide adequate protection against the rain. In cases where vestibules were provided they frequently were without equipment, except a few nails hammered in their wooden walls for the hanging of children's wraps ; while in other instances the studding had not even been covered, so that the vestibule had the appearance of a barn instead of a room in a schoolhouse. It has long been recognized for any type of school that a good school building must provide facilities for some work in the house- hold arts and in manual training, and that indoor space other than the class room for play and for community use is essential. If children in rural communities are to have as adequate provision made for their education as have their more fortunate brothers and sisters of the urban communities, then there can be nO' such thing as a one-room school. Rural school children have a right to a class room that is well equipped. They also should have provided for them a space off one end of the class room in which there is at least an oil stove, a sink, table and chairs, a cupboard, cooking utensils and dishes. This room will be used every day to supplement with hot cocoa or soup the cold lunches which the children bring from home. A capable teacher on certain occasions will use it for demon- strations in cooking, canning and the like. The community will use this space when gatherings are held in the evening, or on special occasions, for the preparation of refreshments which are served to those present. It is quite as important that space be provided, preferably off the other end of the class room and under the control of the teacher, in which at least one carpenter's bench, a grindstone, a harness horse, a cupboard with ordinary carpenter's tools, a long table for agricul- tural experiments and a cobbler's bench are installed. In the one to four teacher schools of Delaware no provision has been made for any work in manual training, agriculture or the home- making arts, although a majority of the children who attend these schools never have any opportunity beyond the education which is provided in them. A good plan for the one to four teacher school will make it possible, by erecting partitions of folding doors, to open a maximum of space into one room' for community meetings. The plan for the one to four teacher school building should, as well, include at least an alcove for books other than the textbooks which children have in their desks. In this library space there should be provided a daily paper, a weekly magazine of current events, a fa^m journal, a children's magazine and one of the better of the monthly magazines. In addition to this current literature, standard reference books, works of history, biography, science, fiction and State and National governmental bulletins and reports should be made avail- able. If children are to be properly cared for and freed from the contaminating influence of the outhouses now found everywhere on the grounds around the smaller school buildings, toilet rooms on the same floor as the class room or class rooms, with sewer connec- tions, sewage disposal or chemical toilet tank should be installed. In these smaller school buildings a play space, as well as a com- partment for the heating plant, can be provided by excavating a basement, the floor of which should not be more than three and a half feet below grade. This room can, as well, be used for com- munity purposes even while the school is in session. In the larger school buildings an auditorium and a gymnasium are commonly provided in more progressive communities throughout the country. Where it is thought desirable tO' minimize the expense, it is possible to provide a combination of auditorium and gymna- sium, although neither will be as satisfactory as where these rooms are built separately. In these larger buildings the equipment for manual training and for the home-making arts will, of course,, be more extensive on account of the greater number of children to be instructed and because of the special teachers who will be employed for this purpose. Even in the one-teacher school a space should be provided for the teacher outside of the class room. This room will be used for the storage of books and supplies, for the school records, for the use of school officials when they come to the school building to consult the teacher or to hold their meetings, for the work of the attendance officer, for the supervisor and for the visiting nurse, who may wish to make careful physical examinations in order to discover defects of hearing, sight and the like. In the larger buildings more than one room for the purposes enumerated above will, of course, have to be provided. It is also to the advantage of teacher and pupils to have the school library within the limits of the school building itself so that it will be readily accessible when needed. The types of building proposed will cost more than has hereto- fore been expended on school buildings commonly found in the State of Delaware. If progress in providing school facilities in Dela- ware keeps step with the developments in other states, the number of one-teacher schools will be diminished very rapidly on account of the consolidation which is effected. There may remain a verv few one-teacher schools, but even in these remote communities adequate facilities should be provided even though the cost be greater, and unusually capable teachers should be provided for them, even though it may be necessary to pay more salary than is ordinarily paid to those who teach in the towns and cities of the State. Doubtless, the people of the State will find in the smaller expense of the larger school, per pupil or per teacher, both for original cost and for main- tenance, one incentive to rapid consolidation. 10 PROVISIONS FOR HEALTH AND COMFORT OF SCHOOL CHILDREN In fortv-six per cent, of the one to four teacher schools now existing in the State of Delaware, no other provision has been made for heating and ventilating the school room than through the agency of the old-fashioned tvpe of wood or coal stove. These stoves are frequently worn out, cracked and battered to such a degree that they should long ago have been discarded. They provide an excess of heat for the children seated in their immediate vicinity. Instances were found where the children's seats were within twelve inches of the fire bowl of the stove. The children sitting on the fringe of the room farthest from the stove receive a minimum of heat, while those nearest to the stove must be most uncomfortable. In fifty-four per cent, of the one to four teacher schools a jacketed, improved type of heater, with provision for fresh air in- take, has been installed. In most cases these are the very acceptable Waterbury heaters. For the one-room school this heater furnishes a fairly satisfactory type of heating and ventilating system, and is a very great improvement over the old type of stove. If the one to four teacher school is enlarged to include the facilities discussed above, this improved type of heater will not be large enough to heat the building. Two or three of these heaters might, however, be installed in such fashion as to satisfactorily heat the larger type of building. In the more modern type of school these heaters are always placed either in a basement or in a special space provided for them outside of- the class room. When new school buildings of the one to four teacher type are erected, a fairly satisfactory heating plant can be provided by install- ing a hot-air furnace in the basement, with . ducts leading to each class room or other space provided for school or community use. Even in some of the school buildings having from four to six rooms the old-fashioned stove was found as the sole means of heat- ing the class rooms. This provides as many sources of fire danger and of dirt as there are individual stoves, and cannot be too seriously condemned. In the larger school buildings, heating by steam will ordinarily be found most satisfactory, and an adequate system of heating and ventilating can be provided by bringing air into the building by means of a stack that reaches above the highest point of the build- 11 ing, through an air chamber in the basement in which the air passes over steam coils and is forced by a fan through ducts which carry it to each class room. From each of these class rooms a ventiduct, taking the foul air from the floor level of the class room, carries it to the roof or to an air chamber immediately under the roof. In order to get a maximum of ventilation, it is necessary to supply a steam coil or other source of heat in the ventiducts or to install a fan in the air chamber in the attic, which has the efifect of exhaust- ing the foul air from the class rooms. When such a system of heat- ing and ventilating is installed, it is customary to place radiators in the class rooms, both for the sake of supplementing the heat supplied by the air which is forced into the class room and for the sake of furnishing all of the heat that is necessary when the building is not in use. In the absence of forced ventilation, such as has been sug- gested, it is possible to heat the room with radiators placed in the room and to provide ventiducts for the removal of foul air, heated with steam coils, in order to accelerate the movement of air, install- ing a screen covered with cloth, through which fresh air may enter the class room, in the window openings. This latter form of ventila- tion will ordinarily be found less satisfactory than is the forced system of ventilation. In the larger school buildings a system of temperature control, which acts automatically to shut off the supply of heat, is commonly installed. In the smaller school building a thermometer should be provided, hung at approximately the breathing level, and the tem^ perature record should be placed on the blackboard in the front of the room at intervals not exceeding one hour during the school session, so that the children and teacher may see that the building is not overheated. In very few Delaware schools were even thermom- eters found whereby the temperature of class rooms might be regu- lated. The people of Delaware will, unless action is taken in the very near future, be shocked some day by the story of a catastrophe resulting in the death of a number of children in a school building fire. There is literally no attempt to protect the children of the State from the danger of fire which is to be found in the highly inflam- mable buildings in which they are housed. In one instance the fur- nace, within three feet of the floor of the class room^ above, had on one side of it a pile of ashes and cinders which had been thrown out, 12 and on the other side a pile of waste paper, boxes and other trash ready to be used for kindhng. In several other buildings trash of various sorts, old furniture, boxes and other containers had been stored under the stairways which provided the only exit for children from the second floor. In one of the best school buildings of the State, built of semi-fireproof construction, the storeroom for the chemical laboratory is placed under the main entrance through which the majority of children would have tO' pass in case a fire broke out during school hours. It is out of just such situations as these, found throughout the United States, that the catastrophes about which one reads every month school is in session have occurred. The most common source of fire in school buildings is the heat- ing plant. In all new buildings which are constructed the heating plant should be separated from the rest of the building with fire- proof walls and should be entered by a self-closing fireproof door. In all buildings more than one story high the stairways should be fireproof and enclosed in fireproof stairwells. In a one or two teacher building one exit wiJl be found sufficient, with an additional exit from the basement if it is used. In buildings housing three or more classes, at least two exits should be provided. In buildings having more than six classes on the second floor, two or three stair- ways from the second floor should be provided. In all buildings a small hand fire extinguisher should be made available for every two thousand square feet of floor space. In all school buildings, doors opening out of class rooms and exits from the corridors of the build- ing should open outward. The doors opening from halls and corri- dors should be provided with panic bolts which permit of their open- ing merely by having children crowd against them. In Delaware, in a great many cases, the class room doors open in, and in some cases even the doors opening off of corridors, cloak rooms and vestibules ofifer obstacles to the escape of children in case of fire. Panic bolts have been supplied in a very few cases, while in other instances snap locks have been installed on doors in such a manner as actually to prevent children from opening them in case of panic. It is surprising tO' find a large number of one-teacher schools in the State of Delaware in which little attempt has been made to provide that cleanliness which is highly essential in the class room. Desks are found which are sadly in need of washing and cleaning, walls and equipment are laden with accumulated dust and mould, 13 while many school rooms have the appearance of having had no ade- quate care over a long period of years. The standard equipment for cleaning school buildings should include oiled brushes, an approved sweeping compound and dustless dust cloths. In the Delaware schools the chief equipment consists of corn brooms, usually in a much worn condition, and no evidence of any provision for dusting was found. In a few instances the floors were found oiled, although the oil was improperly applied, making the coating so thick on the floor that it would adhere to the garments of the older girls and the teacher. Modern school buildings are equipped with means for artificial lighting. Even a rural school may be equipped with acetylene lamps, or, better still, with an electric generator and storage batteries which will provide electricity both for evening meetings and for class room illumination on dark days. It is as important to provide adequate artificial illumination as it is to consider the problem of lighting by sunlight. Every class room should have at least six fixtures in order to distribute the light evenly over the room. These should be located as near the ceiling as is possible, indirect lighting being preferred to the direct light. In the installation of electric wires it is important that the standards establshed by fire underwriters be followed. In two hundred and ninety-three one to four teacher schools for white children in the State of Delaware only four are provided with gas or electric light. In a number of other instances kerosene lamps brack- eted to the walls were supplied. Every class room should be equipped with a clock and bell. Every school building should have telephone connection. In the teacher's office or in the emergency room a complete First Aid equip- ment should be installed. In Delaware most of the schools are with- out clocks. A hand bell, or, in some cases, a bell mounted in a belfry, was found. In none of the smaller schools was telephone connection established. First Aid equipment was almost completely lacking. No one thing is more important for the comfort and welfare of school children than that adequate facilities for drinking and wash- ing be provided. A typical situation in Delaware is one in which a pump is found in the vestibule or in the pump house outside of the building, with a bucket, a common drinking cup and an occa- sional wash basin. The common drinking cup has been outlawed in most of the states because it has been proved to be a source of con- 14 tagion. Facilities for washing, especially where children eat their lunch at school, are of the utmost importance from the standpoint of health of the school children. No child should come in off the play- ground without having an opportunity to cleanse his hands and refresh himself by washing his face. A drinking fountain of the type which does not permit the pupil to touch his mouth to the source of water supply and a sufficient number of wash bowls to make washing a habit for every child every day are not too much to demand. Where any adequate system of heating and a water supply system are installed, hot and cold water should be carried to all wash bowls. The toilet facilities provided for the children of Delaware can- not possibly be described in a manner that will adequately represent the facts. The tumbled-down, foul outbuildings, whose walls are carved and written over with obscene pictures and vicious and immoral statements, are a constant source of physical, social and moral contamination to the children of the State. This problem should be met in all ncAV school buildings that are constructed by pro- viding toilet facilities in the school buildings on the same floor as the class rooms. In every case these rooms should be well lighted and adequately ventilated, their floors and side walls should be of moisture-proof cement or tile, they should in every case be white and should be washed as often as any mark appears upon their sur- face. It is only by such action upon the part of those responsible that this horrible source of contamination can be removed from the lives of the children of the State. The fixtures for toilets, even in the one-teacher school, should be of modern construction. Porcelain seats, cut out in front, with water flush or with connection to a chemical tank or to a sewage disposal plant, should in every case be provided. For boys urinal stalls reaching to the floor, of non-absorbent porcelain, in the ratio of one stall to every twenty-five boys, should be installed. One seat for every twenty-five boys should be provided. In the girls' toilet one seat should be provided for every fifteen girls enrolled. It is, of course, not necessary to insist that approaches to toilet rooms be properly screened and that the rooms for the separate sexes be kept as far apart as possible. Where they must be placed in adjoining, spaces, sound-proof walls should be provided between them. There are a great many outhouses in Delaware today for which 15 no seclusion is provided in the way of screen. In many cases boards have fallen off the sides or backs of these buildings, and in a few cases they are within from ten to fifteen feet of each other. In a few cases only one outhouse is provided in connection with the school, and in five cases it was impossible to discover any toilet facili- ties on the school grounds. In a number of cases the toilets were placed within three to ten feet of the class room windows through which the only ventilation of the building was provided. In one building the fresh air intake for the Waterbury heater was within five feet of a toilet in the filthiest imaginable condition. Instances were found where the school trustees had provided outhouses which were well constructed and well screened, and in as sanitary a condition as such outhouses can be kept. It should be borne in mind, however, that such outhouses should never be made a part of the equipment of any school building which is planned in the future for the State of Delaware. CLASS ROOMS—THEIR CONSTRUCTION, ILLUMINA- TION AND EQUIPMENT The standard size of class room varies with the number of pupils that are to be accommodated. In no progressive communit) are more than forty children ever placed in charge of a single teacher. For this maximumi capacity class room, dimensions of 24x32 feet, approximately, with a ceiling twelve feet above the floor level, are required in order to provide adequate air and floor space. The law in many states requires that eighteen square feet of floor space and two hundred cubic feet of air space be provided for every pupil accommodated. This standard is not too high. In Delaware, especially in the one-room schools, there was evi- dence in terms of seating facilities provided that these standards were not even approached. There was a case in which there was less than ten square feet of floor space per pupil and of less than one hundred and twenty-five cubic feet of air space per pupil, indicated by the number of seats provided. In a very great many cases these class rooms were terribly overcrowded. When one takes into con- sideration a corresponding failure to provide adequate ventilation, one wonders how teacher and children were able to work under these conditions. 16 For class rooms accommodating less than forty pupils, corre- spondingly smaller floor space and cubical contents may be provided, although the per pupil standard must be maintained. Where a one- teacher school is maintained, very much more generous space than the standard suggested must be provided if any attention is to be given to books other than the textbooks or any space provided for the activities in which the several different groups of children should be engaged. It will be found that in buildings constructed to accommodate both elementary and high schools there will be an advantage in divid- ing the building into two parts or wings with the size of class room varied to accommodate the different sized classes which are to be found in the elementary and in the high school. A class room floor should be capable of being cleaned with the least possible effort. The best type of floor is the wood or cement floor covered with battleship linoleum, cemented together so that there are absolutely no crevices for the lodgment of dirt. The second best type of floor is the hardwood, closely joined, well-laid floor, which is treated at least two or three times a year with oil. Every class room should be provided with a closet for the stor- age of books and supplies. Blackboards of high-grade slate should be placed at the front of the room and on the wall opposite the windows, with their chalk rails varying in height from the floor from twenty-four to thirty-six inches. In a one-teacher school it will be necessary to install the blackboards in the same room of varying heights. In a graded school blackboards may be installed of a single standard height for each grade. The walls and ceilings of class rooms should be finished in a smooth, hard plaster, and should be painted, the walls a light buff or very light green, and the ceiling a white or light cream color. In the rural schools of Delaware the class rooms are of varying sizes and shapes, conforming to no standard. The floors are in many instances worn to such a degree that they splinter at the slight- est contact and frequently one finds that boards of the floor have separated in such a way as to become lodging places for dust and dirt. The walls are frequently merely sheathed with boards, of such a color as to absorb a maximum of light. In other instances the walls are. poorly plastered, discolored by water which has leaked 17 through from the roof, and covered with dust and soot. In still other cases wallpaper of a shade so dark as to absorb a large amount of light has been put on the walls to cover up the dirty plaster. The plaster is frequently unpainted and in many rooms has fallen from ceiling and walls. In a number of instances this plaster had apparently fallen years ago and has not been replaced. In many of the one-teacher schools where there was no vesti- bule, a door which consisted of a number of boards held together by two cross-pieces partially covered the opening to the class room. There were literally doors of this barn door type which afforded no more protection against the weather than the ordinary stable door. Slate blackboards of good quality were quite commonly installed in the schools of Delaware, but without regard to the heights of the children using them. It was surprising to find in a number of instances that painted wood, black oilcloth and composition boards were still being used for blackboard purposes. The standard illumination of a closs room requires that the glass area in the windows equal from one-fifth to one-quarter of the floor area. These windows should be placed on one side of the long axis of the class room, and the children should be seated so that the light comes from the left. In order that children looking toward the front of the room may not have to look into the light and suffer from the consequent eye strain, the first window at the front of the room should be from five to seven feet back of the front wall. From that point on, to the back of the room, the windows should be banked as solidly as construction will permit. They should extend to within four to six inches of the ceiling. Window shades should be provided for every window so that they may be pulled up and down from the center of the window. In Delaware fifty per cent, of the class rooms have less than the standard amount of glass area. In a very great majority of the build- ings lighting is from two or three sides. In a few of the buildings light is admitted to the class room even from the front of the room, where children must directly look into the light when they look toward the blackboards. In the few cases in which an attempt has been made to conform to unilateral lighting standards, the desire has been completely defeated by the placement of two small windows high up in the front of the class room, so that children are compelled to directly face this skylight during the entire day. In a number of ]8 buildings the seats were arranged so that the maximum source of Hght was at their back instead of from the left side. The shades in the great majority of Delaware schools are hung from the top and are in very poor condition. The well-equipped school building provides space, under the control of the teacher, for the hanging of children's hats and coats. In the rural school space should be provided as well for the placing of dinner buckets. It is important that this space be well ventilated and lighted and that the racks upon which the clothing is hung be set out from the wall so that damp coats have a chance to dry. In most cases in Delaware, the vestibule or the back of the room is supplied v/ith nails or hooks upon which the clothing is hung against the wall with little or no chance for proper ventilation. In the one-teacher rural school it is even more important that adequate cloakroom and wardrobe space be provided than that similar provi- sion be made for children of urban communities. The standard school building described in the detailed score card in Part Two makes adequate provision for this feature. Modern school buildings provide each child with a seat in which he can sit and work comfortably, with both feet on the floor. This involves single desks or desk chairs, adjustable or of several different sizes, so that the pupil may be placed in the seat which best suits his height. In Delaware, outside of the special school districts, very little attention has been given to these requirements. It is very common to find not more than two sizes of desk in a class room accommodat- ing children of the eight grades. Double seats by far outnumber the single seats now available. Very few adjustable desks have been installed. In very many cases the furniture is of the old uncomfort- able type, carved with the knives of many generations of children. In some cases the obscenity that one associates with the outhouse has been transferred to the school desk. In a few cases the seating sup- plied is of the old home-made board construction — uncomfortable, unsightly and unhygienic. If a teacher is to work in the class room to advantage, she should be provided with a modern, sanitary flat- top desk. In the Delaware schools the equipment for teachers varies from the dilapidated kitchen table, evidently made by the pupils of the school, to the best type of modern desk. There are relatively few 19 of the more modern type and very many of the older and less ade- quate sort. The success of the work of a teacher depends not only upon the desks in which children are seated and the books with which they are supplied, but upon the other facilities for instructional purposes which are provided. In every one-teacher school there should be maps, globes, charts, a sand table for the smaller children, a book- case, a dictionary and dictionary stand, a musical instrument, such as a piano, organ or Victrola, pictures and wall decorations, as well as the equipment for manual training and the homekeeping arts, pro- vided in adjacent spaces. In Delaware there are a few very old and very poor maps. In one case the only map in the class room was printed at a time before the cession from Mexico following the Mexi- can War. One wonders whether the teacher taught that kind of geography. In very many cases the maps were worn out, so that it was almost impossible to trace the outlines of countries or states, or to find the names of the places once indicated. In very few cases was any adequate globe provided. In only a half dozen cases were sand trays for the little children found. A number of organs were found, most of them in such a condition as to make it impossible to consider them as musical instruments. The Victrola was conspicuous in its absence. A few pianos, some of them in good condition, have been installed in the larger schools. The only pictures that deserved rec- ognition were the war posters that had been placed on the walls by enterprising teachers. The few school rooms which gave evidence of thought and care upon the part of the teacher and parents in the community because of the equipment and decorations which were provided stood out in sharp contrast with the poverty and meanness of the great majority of these class rooms. SPECIAL ROOMS In the discussion of a modern school plant, given above, it was suggested that library space, rooms for manual training and the home-making arts, a play and community room and a fuel room within the building were required. In Delaware, outside of the special school districts, there has been very little attention given to these features of school construc- tion. Of two hundred and ninety-three schools for white children 20 of four teachers or less, only four buildings were found to provide play rooms, five buildings had rooms v^hich served the purpose of community centers, one building had a teacher's office, one building a library and one building a lunch room. No single building of the two hundred and ninety-three contained any provision for the indus- trial or home-making arts. It is confidently to be expected that in the program of school construction just ahead Delaware will meet the standards of school building and equipment provided by the more progressive communi- ties of the United States. Surely no other State in the Union has immediately before it a greater possibility of approaching these standards. The welfare of the children of Delaware rests in the hands of those who are responsible for building these modern school houses and providing the opportunity for a modern education. 21 Chapter Two School Buildings in Delaware of More Than Two Rooms, Except Special Districts CHAPTER II School Buildings in Delaware of More Than Two Rooms, Except Special Districts (The Survey Comniission has made a written, detailed report to the Service Citizens on each school building in the State of Dela- ware (exclusive of Wilmington). In the following pages are included descriptions of all school buildings of nwre than two rooms, except those of the special districts.) In order to make more concrete the general discussion given in the preceding pages, there follow descriptions of some of the, poorest, average and best of the one-teacher schools visited by the Survey Commission, and some of the best, average and poorest of the two-teacher schools visited and inspected by them. There also follow the descriptions of all buildings in the State where three or or more teachers teach, which were not included in the report made by the Survey Commission in June, 1919. Because of the great simi- larity of the one and two teacher buildings in the various parts of the State, it was thought desirable to include here only representative types. The Survey Commission has, however, inspected all of the school buildings of the State and has submitted to the Service Citi- zens of Delaware a report on each school building. The tabular summaries of Part Two give the itemized scores for all of the school buildings of the State. In describing school buildings, the scores allotted on each of the five major items of the score card have been given, with the highest score possible on each item for purposes of comparison. Photographs showing the conditions within and around some of the school buildings have also been included, together with a statement of conditions found to exist in these buildings during the period in which they were inspected, July and August, 1919. 25 BETHEL NO. 99, 164, 187 Score Perfect Score 'I. Site 105 160 II. Building 87 200 III. Service Systems 50 250 IV. Class Rooms 90 225 V. Special Rooms 7 165 339 1000 The Bethel School is a two-story, four-room 'frame structure which was planned by those who knew little of school building standards. The building architecturally resembles that of the old- fashioned small factory which is to be found in small communities. Few school architects would have planned this building as a two- story structure. As it stands, the rooms in the second story present fire hazards to the children occupying them which ought not to be tolerated by their parents. An effort has been made to put this build- ing in good condition for school use. The furniture has been painted and the general appearance of the school rooms lead one to com- mend the janitor. The rooms are approximately 30x20 feet in their dimensions, and unfortunately have been lighted along the short side. The approximate ratio between window area and floor area is about ten per cent., while the standard ratio has been set at twenty per cent. Old double seats have been made more presentable in their coat of paint, but still are unsatisfactory from the point of sanita- tion and school discipline. Only a table appears to have been pro- vided the teacher for her needs. The treads on the stairs are 14 inches wide, while the risers are 9, making the stairway an awkward one to use and dangerous in time of haste and fear. To add to the fire dangers in this building, the outer doors all open inward. The rooms are heated with ordinary stoves. One of the two upper class rooms apparently has been utilized as a general play room. This room did not present the tidy appear- ance of the other rooms. There is no reason why a play room should be less tidy and clean than any other room in the building. The importance of education to this community may perhaps be meas- ured by the fact that it was considered proper to place this school building on a very unimportant side street. ,26- BRIDGEVILLE NO. SO. SOX Score Perfect Score I. Site 105 160 II. Building 125 200 III. Service Systems 113 250 IV. Class Rooms 212 225 V. Special Rooms 21 165 576 1000 The Bridgeville School is housed in one of the best buildings in the State of Delaware. It is a comparatively new two-story and basement brick structure of seven rooms. It is a rectangular type, with a flat roof approximately 40x64 in dimensions, located on a site approximately 210 feet square. The environment is made especially attractive by the beautiful trees that surround the build- ing. The site is well drained and the nature of the soil is well adapted to school purposes, but unfortunately the area is entirely too small to allow for recreational activities. To make up for this defect in the original plan an athletic field should be secured in as close proximity to the school as possible. The building throughout evidences excel- lent workmanship and good quality of materials. The basement is high and well lighted and is available for any type of school activity, either recreational or otherwise. A direct system of steam heat is supplied, but no adequate provision has been made for ventilation. This might readily be corrected by the install- ation of individual fans and motors with approved type of hood and forced draft over the radiation now installed in the rooms. The building is not of fireproof construction, but is well suppHed with fire extinguishers of a modern and approved type. Fire escapes have not been provided, and in this respect the building is unsatis- factory. Fire escapes should be installed at the earliest possible date. The furnace room is not cut ofif from the remainder of the building by fire doors or fireproof partitions. The element of risk, therefore, is great, and every possible precaution should be taken against loss of life through fire or panic. The building is clean and well kept throughout and wired for artificial light, but the number and location of lights installed is entirely inadequate. One drinking fountain of an improved type is 27 found on each floor of the building. This is not a sufficient number to serve adequately the needs of the number of children housed in the building. The minimum should be one fountain for every 75 children. Washing facilities are installed, but not in sufficient number to meet standard requirements. Water flush toilets are located in the basement of the building and are in fairly good condition. The seats and bowls are not as clean as this type of equipment should be kept. The walls and fixtures of these rooms were free from obscen- ity and stand as convincing evidence of the fact that when children are provided with the right sort of toilet accommodations they will not abuse them to the extent that they do the unattractive, un- approved toilets. The location and connection of the class rooms are well planned and convenient. They are slightly undersized, but not overcrowded. The condition of the plaster and walls is not all that it should be, only part of the rooms having been tinted„the remainder being left in the rough, unattractive sand plaster finish. The blackboards through- out the building are of excellent quality slate and well installed. The glass area throughout the building is up to standard and fairly well distributed. The light is well banked on the left of the pupils. A single window, however, has been placed in the rear of the room, but near enough to the left-hand wall so as not tO' be seriously objection- able. The cloakrooms and wardrobes are well lighted and well ven- tilated, under teacher control, and add tremendously to the conven- ience of the building. The seats and desks are of the single, non- adjustable type and are not especially well selected to allow for the variation of size in pupils. A considerable part of the large basement is now being utilized for play-room purposes. Part of this space might well be parti- tioned off and equipped for manual training and domestic science. The building scores lowest on the items of special rooms. They receive but 21 out of a possible 140 points. In order for this build- ing to have its full share in the responsibility of educating and train- ing the youth of Bridgeville and the surrounding section, it should have added to it an auditorium and gymnasium of large and ample proportions. Library room, lunch room, officers' room, teachers' room and nurses' room and janitors' room should be provided in this addition. Additional laboratory space should also be included and more provision should be made for store rooms and the like. With 28 this excellent nucleus about which a modern school plant might be constructed, it seems advisable that Bridgeville be made the center of a large consolidated area and that a much more effective educa- tional plant be developed. CHESWOLD NO. 83 Score I. Site 65 II. Building 98 III. Service Systems 43 IV. Class Rooms Ill V. Special Rooms 5 322 Perfect Score 160 200 250 225 165 1000 The Cheswold School is a two-story, four-room building, con- structed about ten years ago. It is 30x45 feet in dimensions and located on a village lot 95x115. The external appearance of the building is not unattractive, but the interior construction evidences not only an extreme lack of knowledge of schoolhouse planning, but 29 a very poor, cheap type of construction as well. Everything about the building is of the poorest type of workmanship. The asbestos roof is of such poor quality as to have permitted leakage to such an extent as to damage the entire interior of the building. The arrangement of the class room corridors, stairways and class rooms could scarcely be planned with less attention to modern standards. The building is heated by direct steam, with the heating plant located in an excavation under the building. Good judgment in plan- ning the building would have provided for a complete, finished base- ment space so as to make it available for school purposes. In the light of every detail it is obvious that the main consideration in the construction of the building was to create an attractive external appearance. The class rooms are lighted on two and three sides, and the meager equipment of the building shows evidence of much abuse. If the children of the Cheswold community are to receive adequate educational preparation for life it is obviously necessary that this comparatively new building be disposed of and a new modern structure provided. DAGSBORO NO. 24. 159 Score Perfect Score I. Site 40 160 II. Building 39 200 III. Service Systems 27 250 IV. Class Rooms 65 225 V. Special Rooms 165 171 1000 The Dagsboro School building is a four-room, two-story, rect- angular type of non-vestibuled, frame structure, standing on an un- improved site bordering upon a deep open ditch. The site of this building is too small to permit of a well-developed school program on the recreational side. It is, however, capable of extension and possible of development if graded and well tiled. A well-ordered 30 grove of trees has been planted and in a comparatively short time will add materially to the attractiveness of the entire situation. Except for minor defacement and a few broken window panes, hanging-down shutters, which can easily be remedied, the exterior of the building is in fair condition, but the interior, in construction WHERE THE PRIMARY CHILDREN OF DAGSBOiRO ARE HOUSED and arrangement, violates every standard of modern school archi- tecture. The rooms are square and lighted from three sides. The floors are in an abominable condition as to wear, repair and dirt ; the blackboards are not provided with chalk rails and the entire appearance of the interior evidences a most niggardly attitude on the part of school authorities. Instead of a modern heating plant, as one would have a right to expect to find in a four-room building, one finds individual stoves in each room. The outdoor toilets are in a very bad condition, and from the amount and character of the obscenity written and pictured upon the walls of these buildings one is compelled to judge the moral standards of the children of this school as being extremely low. This evidence of immorality and low-mindedness carries over from the toilet rooms to the walls of the corridors and stairway of the building proper. It is inconceivable that a father or mother of a 31 pure-minded boy or girl would permit a child to attend a school in which such a condition prevails were they advised of the facts. Only by extensive alteration, addition and renovation can this building be made acceptable as a type of village school. It is to be noted that the school is much crowded, and that in itself justifies the recommendation that extensive alterations and additions be made at once. In order to meet, temporarily at least, the overcrowded con- dition an old abandoned rural school building has been moved and placed upon the site of the main building. No score of this build- ing was made, there being little outside of the ground upon which the building stands that is recognizable as any feature of a school. The accompanying picture of this room is sufficient to justify its immediate condemnation. It has not been within the experience of the Survey Commission to find children housed in a more damnable room. Evidently this district does not regard the education of the very small children as being of any importance, for it is the primary grades which are housed in this room. It is not going beyond a justifiable recommendation to propose that .this building be destroyed. DELAWARE CITY NO. 52, ETC. Score Perfect Score I. Site 85 125 II. Building 69 165 III. Service Systems 55 280 IV. Class Rooms 88 290 V. Special Rooms 7 140 304 1000 Delaware City's school building is a two-story brick structure oi six rooms. It is of the rectangular type embodying no principles of modern schoolhouse construction. At the time of the survey the building was very dirty and every feature, both of the building and of the equipment, evidenced extreme lack of attention, care and supervision. The toilet facilities for the building are located in the 32 basement and are of the water flush type, but extremely inadequate in number and very insanitary in condition. The site upon which the building is located is very unsatisfactory both as to size and loca- tion. In the planning of a new school building for Delaware City an entirely new site should be selected. The building is heated^^by DELAWARE CITY SCHOOL direct steam heat, but in all other respects the service systems of the school are very far below acceptable standards. The class rooms are meagerly furnished, poorly lighted and very undesirable gen- erally. No provision is made in this building for special rooms or any educational program other than the routine textbook -variety. 33 DELMAR NO. 163, 163/? Score Perfect Score I. Site 54 160 II. Building 13 200 III. Service Systems 65 250 IV. Class Rooms 124 225 V. Special Rooms 165 256 1000 No doubt the inhabitants of Delmar are thoroughly dissatisfied with the wretched frame fire trap which is now used as a school building for the white children of this city. No play space is avail- able for children, as the building occupies almost the entire site. The exterior presents a paint worn, shabby, neglected appearance, rather in contrast to many of the pretty homes and well-cared-for yards that are to be found in the city. The description of one room fits that of all. The blackboards are all about the rooms, even between windows, where they are of little use. The natural lighting of the class rooms is according to the following schedule : No. of Windows Class Room on children's A B C D E F G front 111 1 rear 2 12 2 2 1 left 3 3 3 2 13 3 right 3 3 It is evident from the tabulation that any type of lighting is deemed satisfactory, which is quite contrary to the recognized accept- able standards. The situation with respect to artificial lighting is best shown by the situation in a primary room. The room is approx- imately 36x24 feet in its dimensions, and is provided with one forty- watt Mazda lamp suspended from the center of the room. In other words, the artificial lighting is practically worthless. The black- boards in all the rooms are all of one height. That it is undesirable tO' place blackboards in school buildings in this fashion is evident in this building, as it has been necessary to build platforms underneath 34 the blackboards so that the smaller children may actually be able to reach them. There is one stairway leading to the four rooms on the second floor. This is a wooden, open type of stairway with one long ruh without turns. The rear class room would not find this stairway very accessible in case of danger. Underneath this single stairway, which is the only exit for the children of four rooms, is lodged an indiscriminate mass of janitor's suppHes. This situation cannot be too severely condemned. In case a fire occurs in this building it is safe to assume that a number of children will lose their lives. If the citizens of Delaware have little regard for the safety and lives of their children they should continue to send them to this fire trap for their training. Another source of fire danger exists in the fact that each room is heated with its own stove, and that the electric lighting installed does not reach the standard which is set at the present day in most pro- gressive communities. "Sanitor" toilets have been installed in this building. This is commendable in that these toilets are superior to the outhouses that are to be found in the majority of places in Sussex county. In a community of the size of Delmar nothing less than a high-grade water flush toilet should be tolerated. The installation of drinking fountains at varying heights, so that both the large and small children may drink with ease, is to be commended. Speedy action should be taken by the citizens of Del- mar to substitute for this building a modern, high-grade, fireproof building. ELLENDALE NO. 125, 171 Score Perfect Score I. Site 35 160 II. Building 12 ' 200 III. Service Systems 26 250 IV. Class Rooms 61 225 V. Special Rooms 3 165 137 1000 .35 The Ellendale School is housed in a building which is a disgrace to any self-respecting comrnunity. It is a three-room, two-story frame structure, 22x48 in dimensions, standing flush with the alley on the back end of a small village lot. The flagpole is the only feature about the entire situation upon which one can comment favorably. The site is so small and poorly arranged as to be impossible of exten- sion or use as it is. The building scores 12 out of 200 points and is about as near to nothing as is conceivable. It is a dirty, tumbledown wreck, filthy and abused. A child with the highest intelligence and most laudable ambitions could not survive eight years of training in this sort of an institution without acquiring both knowledge of and contact with the lowest type of moral and mental contamination. Nothing commendable is found about this building which would warrant its further use and everything condemns it to speedy aband^ onment for school or any other purposes. Ellendale is so situated as readily tO' form the center of a large consolidation and thereby make possible the erection of a large, effi- cient, influential and prosperous school. FELTON NO. 54 Score Perfect Score I. Site 78 125 II. Building 49 165 III. Service Systems 40 280 IV. Class Rooms 89 290 V. Special Rooms 5 140 261 1000 The Felton School is a two-story frame building which has been added to from time to time to meet the emergency needs of the growing community. As a result of the original plan and the later additions, the building is very poorly arranged, and at the present time extremely unsatisfactory for school purposes. The local school authorities have seen to it that the building is kept in a fair state of preservation, so that its general appearance is somewhat 36 deceptive. The very low score of 261 points is a measure of its effectiveness for school purposes rather than its appearance. The site is so small as to be entirely inadequate to the needs of so large a school, and the building proper, scoring only 49 points out of a pos- sible 165, is sufficient in itself to- condemn the plant. The measure of the building in meeting the problems of the health and comfort of the children is indicated by the score of 40 out of 280 for service systems. The lighting of the class rooms is bad throughout. One FELTON SCHOOL half of the rooms have less than sufficient glass area, and in all cases the rooms are lighted from either two or three sides. This type of construction is not accepted in modern school architecture and is recognized as extremely harmful for the children. The only provi- sion for special rooms in the entire building is a small makeshift of a chemical laboratory. The school building in a community of this size should provide adequately for the teaching of chemistry, physics, manual training, domestic science, agriculture, and provide equally well for the physi- cal training of its children. This program would require an exten- ;r7 sion of the plant to which the present building is in no way adapt- able. It is the recommendation of the Survey Commission that this building be abandoned at the earliest possible date and a new build- ing equal to the community needs be constructed on a new and ade- quate school site. FRANKFORD NO. 97, 97%, 135, 135% Score Perfect Score I. Site , 65 160 II. Building 60 200 III. Service Systems. 17 250 IV. Class Rooms 99 225 V. Special Rooms......... 165 241 1000 The Frankford School is a new six-room, two-story frame structure, located on a small village site in a beautiful grove of oak trees. The location of the building is not unattractive, but unfortu- nately there is little or no .recreational space for the large number of children who attend the school. To remedy the situation the site might be extended, with difficulty, however, to the eastward. But if suitable arrangements could be made it would seem more advisable to secure a larger and better adapted site for recreational purposes across the street to the north of the building. If any adequate rec- reational program is to be carried out, and the physical welfare of the children is to be considered, some steps in this direction must be taken. The windows in some of the rooms have been fairly well banked and adequate glass area has thereby been provided, but apparently the architect or carpenter who drew or executed the plans could not shake himself loose from the tradition that there should be two windows placed in the front of the room. In consequence, an other- wise well-planned room has been made very unsatisfactory. This condition is found in two of the six rooms. The other four rooms do not conform to the standard measurements or shape of accept- 38 able class rooms. They are approximately 18x20 feet, and wider than they are deep. They are lighted from two sides, a considerable portion of the light entering from the rear, thereby placing every pupil's work in his own shadow. A considerable number of new single desks of a good type have been supplied, but the old double seats, which bear abundant evidence of several generations of jack-knives in the hands of pupils, many of whom have had very low moral standards and no respect for their fellow classmates, should be destroyed. The above state- ment is made because of the numerous lewd carvings which are found on the most conspicuous places on the desks. It seems utterly unjustifiable that the pure and respectable children of the com- munity be compelled, year after year, to look upon these carvings made by low-minded students of other years. The heating plant is of a most extraordinary type to be found in a school building of this size. It is a pipeless hot-air furnace, with a single register, about 3^ feet square, located in the corridor in the center of the main floor. The heated air from this register is expected to circulate through the entire building, heating all six rooms by passing through small openings about 6x30 inches in the baseboards. The Survey Commission is not able to state to what degree this system of heating is effective in this particular building, but from the point of view of fresh air and adequate ventilation it does not seem to be a heating system which could be recommended for school properties. The fire hazard in the building is exceedingly great and of such proportions as to justify the belief that should a fire occur, which is altogether possible from the unprotected nature of the floor joists over the furnace, a great many children would lose their lives, either as a result of the fire directly or through panic and trampling. There is no fire escape on the building, and the only means of exit for the entire six rooms is by way of the main front door. In order to escape without congestion an extremely well-ordered fire drill would be necessary. The three upper rooms are required to come down a single wooden stairway, which is directly over the furnace and which would, in all probabiHty, be the first to burn. This situation is made more perilous by the fact that the stairway does not lead directly to the main door, but lands against a blank wall at one side of the main door, requiring two right-angled turns to reach the outside. 39 This is further aggravated by the fact that the stairway itself is much wider than the landing at the base of the stairs, where the children would be required to execute one of these right-angled turns. The treads of the stairway are more than four feet in length, while the opening between the lower post of the banister and the wall is only three feet. This, together with the fact that the children from one room on the ground floor would be required to pass through this opening at the same time, and the children from the two other ground floor rooms would be passing through the main exit, makes it practically certain that any panic in the building would result in the blocking of the exit and the death of many children. Before this building is used a single day for school purposes a fire escape should be provided for the upper floors and a floor level exit should be cut in the rear ground floor room. FREDERICA NO. 32, 75, 76, 78 Score Perfect Score I. Site 108 125 II. Building 102 165 III. Service Systems 75 280 IV. Class Rooms 190 290 V. Special Rooms 15 140 490 1000 The Frederica School is pleasantly situated in an environment of homes, gardens and private yards. The maple trees which line the road in front of the schoolhouse are very attractive and add to the appearance of the plant. Brick and concrete walks in front and rear show a solicitude on the part of the school trustees which does not appear in many other buildings of this kind. This school is a two-story wood and shingle structure, with fairly good-sized play- ground to the rear, which can be adapted for games, though play- ground apparatus is entirely lacking. The interior of the building presents a very disappointing appearance. The original construction of the building was of the very poorest type, and the still unpainted 40 walls have cracked and broken away in so many places that it seems unfortunate that a community should have spent its money in this fashion. The blackboards need replacing throughout with a high grade of slate, since they are merely painted surfaces which have worn away to such a degree that in places they are not usable. The shades are in wretched condition. In some rooms the old double seats look as though they had gone through fire and storm, since they are deprived of all varnish and present a most unattractive appearance. The new single seats installed in one of the upstairs rooms are attractive, but unfortunately only seats of one size have been installed in a room which, without doubt, seats children who have great differences in their heights. If this building is continued as a school building the whole interior needs refinishing. A section of the basement of this building might be utilized for play purposes, though at the time of visitation the one foot of water in the base- ment did not permit one to discover how sections of this basement were being utilized. The fuel room and boiler room are not separate from the rest of the basement. GREENWOOD NO. 91, 9lX Score Perfect Score I. Site 100 125 II. Building Ill 165 III. Service Systems 97 280 IV. Class Rooms 187 290 V. Special Rooms 14 140 509 1000 The Greenwood building is a six-room., two-story brick struct- ure, built in 1915. It is rectangular in type, with a shingle roof and concrete foundation. In external appearance it is an attractive build- ing, but the grounds have not been improved and nothing has been done in the way of planting shade trees or shrubbery which would improve the environment. The site is unusually large for school buildings in Delaware, but still under standard size. It is, however, 41 being put to use, a grandstand having been erected and a baseball field laid out. It has many possibilities of further development. If expert advice had been sought in checking up the educational require- ments upon the building the community of Greenwood would have today a much more efficient school plant than it now has. There is also striking evidence of poor economy both in the quality of work- manship and the material which has been placed in this building. A GREENWOOD SCHOOL direct system of heating has been installed, with the boiler located in the basement. The radiation is apparently adequate, but no provi- sion for ventilation has been made. For a two-story building the fire protection is criminally low. No fire escapes are provided for the pupils on the second floor, and the arrangement of the stairway which leads to the main exits is such as to result in congestion and trampling to death of pupils in the case of panic. The main stairway, which is 92 inches in width, chokes very much at the first landing, where a right angle turn must be executed on either of the two stairs leading down to the main floor. The landing is much less than half of the width of the main 4 '2 stairway, thus making the outlets, even if taken together, much less than the opening on the second floor. The stairways are of the flim- siest, cheapest type of wooden construction, and would obviously be the first part of the building to be destroyed or made impassable should fire occur. The building should not be used for school pur- poses without installation of fire escapes with floor level exits. The building is clean and in good condition. The artificial light- ing which has been iristalled is adequate only for the service of the janitor for cleaning out after dark. Only two drinking fountains have been supplied for the entire school. This is inadequate. As a standard, one fountain should be provided for every 75 children. Water flush toilets have been installed, but are insufficient in number and poorly distributed, since there are none placed on the second floor. Separate toilets are not provided for the teachers nor for the janitor. The class rooms are of standard size and fairly well connected. The glass area is up to standard, but poorly distributed, the rooms being lighted from two sides in some cases. In the unilaterally lighted rooms the windows extend all the way to the front wall. At least the two front windows in these rooms should be heavily cur- tained, if not permanently closed. In the south room on the second floor are two windows on the west wall and movable seats installed to face west instead of north. The blackboards should be moved from their present location to the front wall. The movable seats would allow the use of the room in connection with the auditorium arrange- ment, which is provided for the opening of the partition between this room and the adjoining room. The walls throughout the building are untinted and unattractive. The small investment required for this work would be repaid many times over in the general effect of the building upon its occupants. The building has been planned and constructed without due consider- ation to the demands of modern educational needs. Room space has not been provided for any satisfactory teaching of manual training or domestic science. There is no office, library, gymnasium, teachers' room or nurses' room. All of these very necessary features of the building should be provided by well-planned additions to the building A school architect should be employed to plan these extensions and to tear out and overhaul certain features of the interior of the 43 present building, namely, the stairways and the lighting arrange- ments. The score of the building places it in that group where it is acceptable only on the condition that extensive alterations should be made. The score of 509 for a city school building is not high enough to justify the continued use of the building without such modifica- tions. Greenwood might easily become the consolidation center of no less than four rural school districts, and for high school purposes even a larger number of districts might be included. LINCOLN NO. 3, 175, 175% Score Perfect Score L Site 90 160 , II. Building 55 200 III. Service Systems 22 250 IV. Class Rooms 54 225 V. Special Rooms 165 221 1000 This is a four-room, two-story rectangular structure in which at present only three rooms ar^ being utilized. The building was so poorly constructed that it became necessary, a short time ago, to support the one room which is being used upstairs by having pillars built in the room below. The second upstairs room has floors which bulge, indicating that before this room can be used this floor also must be supported. The plaster is falling in this building. The stairs are in a decrepit condition and without handrails. This building is being heated by stoves, which, according to the advice of young children in the neighborhood, are entirely inadequate in the winter. The class rooms are lighted on three sides and are laid out along the short rather than the long axis. This building should be sup- planted by a high-grade, up-to-date structure. 44 MAGNOLIA, NO. 50--108 Score Perfect Score I. Site 90 125 II. Building 52 165 III. Service Systems 67 280 IV. Class Rooms 110 290 V. Special Rooms . 140 319 1000 The Magnolia School is the only school building for white chil- dren in the prosperous appearing little community of Magnolia. The site is extremely limited and not equipped with any playground appa- ratus. The toilets on the rear of the site are unattractive and ought not to be tolerated as they stand. The environment is rather attract- ive and both the exterior and the interior of the building present the appearance of considerable care on the part of the school authori- ties. The class rooms are very poorly lighted; namely, from three sides. They are somewhat irregular and have exceedingly poor floors which show the wear and tear of many years. In this community one might expect to find better class room equipment than double seats, and also the heater in each of the class rooms. All class room doors, both into the hallways and into the class rooms, open inward. This fault should be remedied immediately. The stairway to the second floor is badly worn and has treads of awkward dimensions so that two handrails are very desirable. The upkeep on this building is a little better than the average which one finds in other schools in the county. MARSHALLTON NO. 77 Score Possible Score :. Site 102 160 II. Building 105 200 III. Service Systems 72 250 IV. Class Rooms 128 225 V. Special Rooms 4 165 411 1000 45 The Marshallton School building is a two-story, four-room brick structure, approximately 26x54 feet in dimensions, in fair condition. It is located on a site entirely too small to accommodate even in a most limited sense the number of children that attend the school. The location, however, is such as tO' make possible the extension of the grounds to a fairly satisfactory standard. The building is heated by a direct system, with heating plant located in the basement. It is wired for electricity, but the number of outlets and degree of illumination are too low to render any service other than to be of assistance to the janitor in cleaning the buildings at night. The toilets are of the outhouse variety and are in a very filthy, vicious and insan- itary condition. The class rooms are of fair size and standard in shape, but poorly equipped and very poorly lighted. The glass area is sufficient, but the windows are distributed on three sides of the room. In meeting the educational needs of the district in which Mar- shallton is located, the Survey Commission would recommend that the present school building be retained as a housing for the children of the first six grades, and that the children above the sixth grade be transported to a consolidated center in which both the districts of Richardson Park and Elsemere participate in the development of an educational program for the larger community. In order that the present building may be made suitable for the housing of the first six grades, extensive alteration and repairs should be carried out. A school building architect should be employed to plan these alterations, and the plans should include a proper distribution of the light within the class rooms, provisions for play rooms, adequate water supply, inside toilets, community room and such other facilities as the stand- ard school plant of this grade should have. MILLSBORO NO. 23, 23^4, 161. 161/^ Score Perfect Score I. Site 85 125 II. Building 38 165 III. Service Systems 14 280 IV. Class Rooms 108 290 V. Special Rooms 140 245 1000 46 The Millsboro School for white children is a positive disgrace to the community. It is composed of six class rooms, some of which are as large as 30x30, and are quite inadequately lighted. The new rooms which have been added provide some advantages that are not found in the old rooms. These rooms are approximately of the proper class room size. Although the long side of these rooms is taken up completely by windows, nevertheless two windows have been placed in back of the teacher's desk so that the children must look directly into the light. Throughout this building dirt and filth prevail. Although attempts are being made to paint and repair the old part of this build- ing, the construction is so cheap and wretched that practically all repair work will be in vain. It is hardly conceivable that a com- munity will be content with the condition in this building when the facts are clearly brought to their attention. The building should be abandoned at the earliest possible moment and a consolidation effected which will permit of the erection of a much larger school and the caring for many more children in a proper building. NEWPORT DISTRICT NO, 21 Score Possible Score I. Site 122 160 II. Building 126 200 III. Service Systems Ill 250 IV. Class Rooms 151 225 V. Special Rooms 28 165 538 1000 Newport School building is a four-room, two-story brick struc- ture, rectangular in type, standing on a site 150x300 feet. The build- ing was constructed in 1895, has been well preserved, and at the time of survey was being thoroughly overhauled and put in excellent con- dition for the opening of school. The site of this building, though still far below the standard set for buildings of this type, is much larger than commonly found in the State of Delaware. 47 The building is clean and well-kept. It is heated by direct steam heating, with heater located in the basement. It is supplied with elec- tric current. Toilet systems are of the outside type, but are supplied with an excellent vault and are well protected. Class rooms are slightly under size and do not conform to standard, but for comparatively small classes will serve adequately. The glass area is up to standard, but the windows are distributed so as to supply light from three sides. The auditorium, which has the possibilities of use as a com- munity room, is made ineffective by the placement of permanent seats facing each other in the two rooms, which can be thrown NEWPORT SCHOOL together by a movable partition. In order to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by this room, movable type of seats should be employed. Two playrooms in the basement of the building were being finished at the time of the survey. These rooms, though poorly lighted, will make a distinct contribution to the usefulness of the building. Should the proposed consolidation be carried out, the Newport School building should be converted into a six-year school. Under these conditions there would be sufficient space to provide for the 48 installation of indoor toilets, adequate play space, auditorium com- munity room. However, before the building* is approved as an accept- able school building-, the lighting arrangements should be of a sort to meet standard conditions. NEWARK GRAMMAR SCHOOL NO. 39, 41% (White) Score Perfect Score I. Site 75 125 II. Building 44 165 III. Service Systems 66 280 IV. Class Rooms 185 290 V. Special Rooms 8 140 378 1000 This building is the most modern of the three that exist in New- ark. It has some attractive features about it and others that are not at all pleasing. The building is better cared for than the average buildings in the State. It apparently was ready for the opening of school on the Saturday before the new year began in 1919. Its rooms are neat in appearance, equipped in most instances with large single seats and with an adequate amount of blackboard space. It has a library room, which has been neatly arranged and set aside appar- ently for library purposes and special class work. This is one of the few buildings in the State in which this particular provision has been made. Some of its faults become evident as one approaches the build- ing. The site is entirely inadequate for this school, and no effort has been expended upon it to make it useful for school purposes. The stairways to the building are unfortunately of wood instead of con- crete and are not provided with proper handrails. On the doors one finds the snap lock, which may readily prevent children from using these passageways in case of danger. Each door should be equipped with a panic bolt, which easily permits the child to open the door by throwing his weight against the bolt. The halls are in a number of instances used as cloakrooms. This adds to the problem 49 of discipline and also decreases the score on sanitation. The school- roomi doors unfortunately open inward. The rooms are very poorly lighted, the arrangement of windows being unnecessarily defective. A table is provided instead of a teacher's desk. The blackboards are not adjusted to the proper heights of the children using them. The floors are oiled, but covered with an excessive amount of oil which has been placed upon the floors in an unscientific manner. The base- ment has no cement floor, so that children using the area devoted to play purposes carry back with them to the upper floors the dirt which they collect below. As no cement walks are provided on the outside, this additional source of dirt and dust must add to the dis- comfort of teachers and children and to the labor of the janitor. The boiler room and the fuel room are not separated from the rest of the basement. The girls' toilet is provided with a minimum of seclusion since it is located immediately adjoining the unenclosed basement play room. The system of artificial ventilation provided is question- able as to its value and hardly understood by the janitor. As far as could be ascertained, no direct beneficial results accrue from this installation. The air intake is wrongly placed off of the ground level. The boys' toilet, located in the basement, is cut off from the rest of the building and yet becomes a source of foul smells because of the absorbent type of material utilized on its walls and floor. Boys would find it difficult to make their exit from this room in case their stair- way was blocked. The interior of the building ofifers no protection against fire. It therefore should have been equipped with outside fire escapes. No doubt the shell of this building could be used as the basis of reconstruction for a modern school plant. It would, however, be inadvisable for Newark to appropriate money for this purpose, since it is far more advisable in this community to have its entire school plant housed in one structure. 50 NEWARK PRIMARY SCHOOL (White) Score Perfect Score I. Site 90 160 II. Building 37 200 III. Service Systems 63 '250 IV. Class Rooms 59 225 V. Special Rooms.... 165 249 1000 It is understood that this community is planning for a school building which will not require the use of this structure over any extended period. Built in 1884, the building as it stands at present has little to commend it. Its faults are many and of such a nature as to provide many obstacles to the best physical and educational devel- opment of the children who are housed therein. Some of the faults of this building may be summarized in the following phrases : The entrance doors are not provided with a vestibule for protection and are not provided with door checks. This means that the stairway and halls are extremely difficult to heat on cold days. The two radiators, cutting off the stairway at the front entrance, are very dangerously placed. At no time should a school stairway be blocked in such a fashion. The stairways are not provided with handrails and are dangerous fire chutes. The doors of class rooms and cloak rooms in a number of instances open inward, which is a condition which has long been corrected in most school buildings, since such doors offer an immediate obstacle to the exit of children when rapid egress is necessary. The rooms are poorly lighted and the seats unscien- tifically arranged. In instances the children are required to sit with their backs toward the maximum source of light, the seats being arranged on the short rather than on the long axis of the room. The rooms are altogether too large for class-room purposes, requiring an over-abundance of heat in the winter months. The toilet arrange- ments are highly unsatisfactory, since the toilet rooms are poorly Hghted and the seats so recessed that no natural light or sunlight reaches them. The ceilings of these toilet rooms are only approxi- mately six feet high. Little provision has been made for the children for washing their hands during school hours. When children go to 51 - the source of water provided, it means that they will wet their feet and clothes regardless of whatever precautions they may take. An insufficient number of toilet seats is furnished in both the boys' and the girls' toilet. The heating apparatus is poorly housed and entirely too small for the building. The arrangement in Newark whereby one janitor takes care of the heating apparatus of three buildings requires an excessive amount of time expenditure on the part of that janitor, and also reduces to a minimum the precautions that such janitor can take for providing against any fire danger in these school buildings. In the new structure this very objectionable situation will, of course, be eliminated. It was pleasing tO' note that the toilet rooms of this school had been whitewashed during the summer vacation, sO' that these rooms did present a wholesome appearance on the Saturday before school opened. It was also pleasing to note that the Newark schools were beginning to utilize the movable adjustable sea^. They had been installed in the primary room. OAK GROVE NO. ISO Score Possible Score I. Site 130 160 II. Building 149 200 III. Service Systems 170 250 IV. Class Rooms 172 225 V. Special Rooms 44 165 665 1000 The Oak Grove School, located in Elsmere, is a new four-room, one-story rectangular type of brick building, with stone foundation, in excellent condition. This building, 46x74 feet in dimensions, located on a site much larger than is commonly found in the State of Delaware, is one of the very best school buildings in the State, and many of the improved standards in schoolhouse construction have been taken into consideration in the planning of the building. The site, though too small to meet the full requirements of modern stand- ards, is capable of extension and is so situated as to be easily devel- 52 oped. The plot is new, and as yet no extensive effort has been made to beautify or improve the grounds, but the situation evidences on the part of the community a disposition to have a very good school and surroundings ; therefore, will undoubtedly continue to improve. Trees should be planted, gardens and lawn plots developed, and walks put in where needed. The present board walks are not in keeping with the buildings and are evidently not intended to be per- manent in character. The building, being new, is in excellent condition and evidences good material and good workmanship throughout its entire construc- OAK GROVE SCHOOL tion. It is heated by direct steam, but no provision has been made for forced ventilation. Class rooms and corridors are lighted by electricity, but the number and arrangement of outlets are not suffi- cient to entirely meet the needs of the building for evening use for school purposes. Adequate provision is made for drinking facilities, but the number of wash basins is below standard and no provision is made for bathing. Indoor toilets, adequate in number, well fitted up, and especially clean and sanitary, were found in this building. In this respect the building stands out in marked contrast to almost every other school building in the State. The class rooms, with respect toi the corridors and entrances, are 53 well arranged. They are not, however, standard in size or shape, being somewhat narrower than is approved, and in the case of two rooms considerably undersized. The general appearance of the in- terior could be much improved by well-selected shades of paint or tinting. At the present time the walls are of new, rough-finish plaster. The glass area throughout the building is up to standard, but unfortunately the window placement has not been given careful consideration. In the case of two rooms, the windows extend entirely too far toward the front wall. This situation could be improved by the permanent closing or curtaining of the window nearest to the front. The small, high windows which are placed in the rear of two of the rooms should be permanently closed. The location of these high windows is extremely objectionable from the standpoint of the strain which it entails upon the teacher, who must face these windows throughout the entire day. Provision has been made for cloak rooms and wardrobes, but not of the approved type of teacher control, nor has each class room its independent coat room. This should have been arranged for in the original plan. Seats and desks are of excellent quality, single type, well selected as to sizes graded for pupils varying in age. Teachers' desks are good in quality, and the entire equipment is in excellent condition. This building is again unusual among those of Delaware in that it provides two excellent play rooms in the basement. The space is large, well lighted and well adapted for the purpose intended. Two of the class rooms are so arranged as to be thrown together by the removal of a folding partition. This arrangement makes a fairly satisfactory community and assembly room for the school. The rather low score on special rooms is due to the absence of library, lunch room, officials' room or any provision for the industrial or home-making arts. Under the contemplated consolidation of the school districts within the vicinity of Elsmere, this school' building should be con- tinued in service as a six-year school, providing very satisfactory accommodations for the first six grades. There is sufficient space within the building which by means of slight alterations could be utilized in such a way as to provide for a full, well-rounded educa- tional program for pupils of the grades named. 54 OCEAN VIEW NO. 28, 121 Score Perfect Score I. Site 65 160 II. Building 61 200 III. Service Systems 24 250 IV. Class Rooms 63 225 V. Special Rooms......... 2 165 ' 215 1000 This building is a four-room, two-story building on a brick foundation, located on a site of approximately half an acre. The site is inadequate and the building impossible of alteration to meet modern school standards. It is heated by comm.on stoves, and both the school building and outhouses are in a filthy and dirty condition. The class rooms are poorly equipped, the only commendable feature being the seats and desks, which are in good condition. The glass area is less than half of what it should be and the light is admitted into the rooms from, three sides. The location of this building with respect to neighboring districts is such that at some desirable point within the district a large consolidated school plant might readily be secured. ODESSA DISTRICT NO. 61, 6I/2 Score Poisible Score I. Site 100 160 II. Building 90 200 III. Service Systems. 39 250 IV. Class Rooms ......:.... 137 225 V. Special Rooms 12 165 378 1000 The school building in Odessa is a two-story, three-teacher school of brick and plaster. It was erected in 1847, and while at that time it must have been an imposing structure, serving well the 55 needs for which it was built, it has outlived its usefulness as a school building and should be closed for such purposes. The grounds upon which the building is located are made ODESSA SCHOOL unusually beautiful by the large number of old maple trees that cover it. It seems a fitting suggestion that this grove be retained as a public park for the village and that a new and adequate school site be selected. REHOBOTH NO. Ill, 226 Score Perfect Score I. Site 50 125 II. Building 92 165 III. Service Systems 68 280 IV. Class Rooms 164 290 V. Special Rooms 10 140 ' 384 1000 50 This building is a six-room, two-story brick structure, built in 1908. It is in good condition externally, but is a cheap type of con- struction, with tin roof and unfinished basement. In planning the interior of the building no consideration has been given to the stand- ards of modern school architecture. The class rooms are irregular in shape, poorly arranged and lighted from two sides. The stairway and corridor arrangement is extremely bad and entails considerable fire risk. The opening through which the occupants of the three upper story rooms would have to pass in case of fire is but 41 inches REHOBOTH SCHOOL in width. This narrow, choked place in the corridor is between the opening into the stairway and the three doors leading from the class rooms. No fire escape is provided, and in consequence the only exit might easily be cut ofif. The building is heated by direct steam, but has no provision for forced ventilation. Electricity is installed, but provision for adequate illumination is not found. The outside toilets are both insanitary in their condition and vicious in their influ- ence through the very great amount of obscenity that has been written and pictured upon their walls. It will, in all probabiHty, be necessary to use this building for school purposes for some time, in 57 which case nothing short of a complete renovation of the building, excavation and improvement of the basement, additions of special robm and the installation of fire escapes will make the building acceptable. RICHARDSON PARK, DISTRICT Score I. Site :...... 68 II. Building 53 III. Service Systems 61 IV. Class Rooms 81 v.. Special Rooms 3 266 NO. 20 Possible Scor€ 160 200 250 225 165 1000 School children of Richardson Park are housed in one of the dirtiest, filthiest, darkest, most unsightly, unattractive old hovels to be found in the State of Delaware. A part of this building was constructed in 1780, and judging from its appearance at the time of the survey it had not been thoroughly cleaned out or repaired since 58 the time of its construction. The additions, which have apparently- been made from time to time, show Httle improvement or apprecia- tion of standards over those used at the time of the original con- struction. The site is a little, triangular spot, scarcely larger than the building itself. The building is heated by hot-air furnace, and throughout the entire structure there is no provision whatsoever against fire or panic disaster. Although a six-room building, hous- ing a comparatively large number of children, the toilet rooms are located outside the building and are comparable in their condition to the building itself. It is understood that plans are already under way whereby the children of Richardson Park will be afforded a modem school plant, in which case the present building will undoubtedly be abandoned, if not destroyed. ROXANA NO. 31, 119, 173 Score Perfect Score I. Site 70 160 II. Building 109 200 III. Service Systems 46 250 IV. Class Rooms 107 225 V. Special Rooms. 3 165 335 1000 This building is a new, one-story, four-room frame structure on a concrete foundation. It is located on a site of an acre and a half to two acres of cleared ground in a beautiful pine forest. The site is not large enough to meet the standards approved for a school of this type, but is nevertheless much larger than is commonly found for the schools of the State of Delaware, and because of its setting is extremely attractive. It is unfortunate in some ways that expert advice was not sought in the planning of the building from the stand- point of its arrangement and lighting. The class rooms approxi- mate 18x22, and are, therefore, under size for the number of pupils 59 that will be required to attend. The lighting is not good, coming as n does from both left and rear of the pupils. The windows might easily have been banked on one side and standard lighting condi- tions met. One especially commendable feature of the building is found in the fact that the partitions between each adjoining pair of class rooms are so arranged as to be lifted, thus throwing the two rooms into one. This makes it possible for the building to render valuable service as a community center and to increase its usefulness in the district. ROXANA SCHOOL In order that the building approach an acceptable score it is recommended that additions be made, providing space for industrial arts, home economics, play room and library facilities. Such addi- tions could easily be made and a modern educational program be carried out. At the same time a heating plant should be installed to supplant the old box stoves which are now utiHzed for heating individual rooms of the building. The present building thus has possibilities of being made intO' a modern school, but only upon the condition that the above recommendations be carried out. 60 SELBYVILLE NO. 32, I08 Score Perfect Score I. Site 75 160 II. Building 79 200 III. Service Systems 63 250 IV. Class Rooms 123 225 V. Special Rooms 7 165 347 1000 The Selbyville School building is a seven-room, two-story frame building, comparatively new and in good condition. It is located on a site of approximately two acres, upon which nothing has been done to improve the general appearance or usefulness for school ends. The number of children attending the school justifies a much larger site, and a modern school program would require extensive development of the present site and proposed additions. The internal structure of the building has not been planned with any view to its use for school purposes. No evidence of modern standards of school building architecture is discernible in the size, shape or lighting of the rooms. Light is admitted from left and rear in some cases and right and rear in others. New single desks of good but non-adjustable type have been provided. Poor judgment. 61 however, has been used in the distribution of thij equipment. There is no variation in size of seats in any given room. Small children, therefore, are required to sit in seats of exactly the same size as average or large size children. This is a very serious criticism and seats should be shifted from one room to another until a sufficiently graded distribution is had to allow each pupil a seat that is adapted to his size. The stairway in the building is unsightly and out of all propor- tions and size to the needs of the building. Although it is not recom- mended that the stairway be changed at this time it seems feasible to point out that a tremendous amount of space was wasted in the construction of this stairway. The building is wired for electricity, but insufficient light is provided for any purpose other than to meet the needs of the janitor in cleaning the building. The building is heated by direct steams and in many respects is superior in service systems. Upon one element, however, it is extremely bad ; namely, that of fire protection. Although the building has a front and rear exit, and the stairway is wide enough to accommodate all the chil- dren if not cut off by fire belo/:, it seems advisable to suggest that a fire escape be placed on the outside of the building to m.eet an emer- gency arising through the blocking or destruction of the stairway. In order for the building to approach an acceptable score, it will be necessary for the community to provide an addition which will accommodate manual training and domestic science courses and indoor play space. This building is distinctive among the Delaware schools in that it has a fairly decent library room and an unusually large collection of good books available for pupils, under conditions which are entirely acceptable. TOWNSEND, DISTRICT NO. 81, 81%, 81% Score Possible Score L Site • 95 160 II. Building 161 200 III. Service Systems 62 250 IV. Class Rooms 173 225 V. Special Rooms 45 165 536 1000 62 The Townsend building is a two-story, four-teacher school, approximately 64 feet x 42 feet, located on a site 150 feet by 135 feet in a village of 500 population. The building is but three years old; is in good condition, and, in so^ far as its external appearance is concerned, it represents an admirable effort on the part of the community to provide a good school building for its children. The commission regrets to announce to the well-intentioned citi--^ zens of Townsend that their new building scores but 536 points out of 1000. While this is one of the highest scores recorded in the county, it might have been 300 to 400 points higher with compara- tively little additional cost. TOWNSEND SCHOOL Site. The school site is too' small to permit anything approach- ing adequate play space. To meet this difficulty, space should be added in two directions by purchasing the adjoining lots. Further addition should be made by securing an athletic field diagonally across the street intersection. This land is at present used as stock pastures. It undoubtedly could be secured at a reasonable cost and cruld be easily adapted for school purposes. 63 Building. On placement and gross structure, the building scores high. Reference to the detail score will show a low score on internal structure. The basement is well planned, being only- three feet below grade and sufficiently well lighted that it might be put to better use than at present. Fairly satisfactory rooms could be arranged for manual training and domestic science, and such action should certainly be taken. Service systems. On this major item the score is exceedingly low for a new building. This is due both to the inadequacy of certain features and the total absence of others. The heating plant (direct) is too small to heat the building, it being found necessary to dismiss school on cold days. The protection against life or property loss by fire is almost zero. There are no fire extinguishers, no fire hose, and only a wooden fire escape placed in an impossible position offers any hope of escape from the second floor should the stairway, which is directly over the boilers, become blocked. The fire box and heating equipment is in no way isolated or safeguarded. The joists are exposed to the heat of the boilers and the stairway is so located as to make rapid spread of fire possible. Although there is electric current in the town, the building is not wired and no means of artificial light is provided. The only water supply is by a well and pump located outside of the building. It was a surprise and disappointment to the commission to find that in a building so recently constructed the traditional policy of placing the toilets outside the building had been pursued. Not only were they outside, but no modern or sanitary measures had been taken in their construction to safeguard the community. No vaults have been provided nor have any chemicals been used. This faci; is all the more distressing when it is observed that the toilets are but 25 feet from the windows of the class rooms, these same windows being the only means of ventilation in the building. Class rooms. The class rooms, satisfactory in size and shape, are without closet space and the walls are badly damaged as the result of very poor quality of plastering having been used. No attempt at tinting or decoration has been undertaken. The rooms 64 are lighted from two sides instead of having the same amount of glass banked on one side. Special rooms. Full credit was given for the auditorium, as it represented an earnest effort on the part of the community to pro- vide a good school and community assembly. The one most serious objection to this room is the absolute inadequacy of the exit. The room will seat comfortably 250 people, and the only means of entrance or exit is by means of a stairway, 39 inches wide, located in the center of one side of the room. A fire or panic in the audi- torium would result in the death of a great many people. The audi- torium should not be used for any purpose until adequate fire escapes are placed on the building, the same having doors cut to the floor level and provided with panic bolts. At present the entire basement is used for a play room. As such it serA-'^s a good purpose, but by proper partitions it could be made to ?prve other purposes as well. THE ONLY EXIT FROM THE AUDITORIUM OF THE TOWNSEND SCHOOL This room, with a seating capacity of 250, is located on the second floor. The exit shown in the picture is 39 inches wide, and through it lies the only means of escape. It was stated locally that it takes froni twenty to thirty minutes to empty a "packed hall." 65 THE HEATING PLANT. SHOWING THE EXPOSED WOODEN JOISTS DIRECTLY UNDER THE STAIRWAY 66 Chapter Three Representative One -Room Buildings New Castle County CHAPTER III REPRESENTATIVE ONE-ROOM BUILDINGS NEW Castle County (The Survey Commission has made a zvritten, detailed report to the Service Citizens on each school building in the State of Dela- ware (exclusive of Wilmington). In the following pages are to be found descriptions of representative one-room buildings of Neiv Castle County.) CLINTON, DISTRICT NO. 28 Score Perfect Score I. Site 71 160 II. Building 63 200 III. Service Systems 50 250 IV. Class Rooms 125 225 V. Special Rooms 3 165 312 1000 C9 The Clinton School is a one-room, cobble-stone structure, 30x33 feet in dimension, standing on a site 150 feet square. It presents a very unattractive external appearance, looks timeworn and gloomy. The addition of a full-length porch in front of the building and the partitioning off of cloak rooms at the entrance has added materially to the usefulness of the building for school purposes. It is, how- ever, both with respect to site, location and building, impossible of adaptation to modern school requirements and should, therefore, be disposed of for some purpose other than that for which it was long ago constructed. NORTH STAR, DISTRICT NO. 30 Score Possible Score Site 95 160 Building 79 200 Service Systems 43 250 Class Rooms 85 225 Special Rooms 1 165 303 70 1000 North Star School is a one-room, brick or stone structure, with outside coat of concrete plaster. It is rectangular in shape and stands on a small plot approximately 60x100 feet in dimension. The build- ing was constructed in 1847, and although the building and grounds evidence considerable interest and attention on the part of the com- munity, it is not possible, because of its type and present condition, for it to be converted by any reasonable amount of alteration into an acceptable schoolhouse. The building is heated by a coal stove located in the center of the room, is not provided with any means of artificial light or drink- ing facilities of any kind. The toilets are extremely poor and are located within 15 feet of the windows of the class room. The equip- ment of the class room is meager and primitive in the extreme. The blackboards, for instance, are made of painted boards, and the windows are placed on three sides of the room. Obviously, this building should not be continued in use as a school. STANTON, DISTRICT NO. 38 Score Possible Score Site 71 160 Building 42 200 Service Systems 50 250 Class Rooms 116 225 Special Rooms 1 165 280 1000 The Stanton School is an old stone, one-room blockhouse of un- known age. It is approximately 30x27 feet in dimension and located on a site 90x180. The outside of this building conforms very closely to that of a large number of like buildings in New Castle County, but the interior of the building stands out in striking contrast to the exterior and in striking contrast, also, to the interior of the majority of buildings like it. It was a pleasant surprise on entering this build- ing to discover that this old cave of a house had been made into a 71 bright, cheerful, livable sort of a schoolroom in which one would not feel adverse to having his own child attend school. Through the individual efforts of a heroically courageous teacher of unusual initi- ative and ability, this class roc in has been thus converted: the walls were beautifully tinted, bo dered and decorated. Good, attractive pictures were on the walls ; the floors were clean and well kept ; new single desks were provided for every child in the room^ and a gen- erous amount of equipmetit of the type possible in this building was at hand. Too much cannot be said in recognition of the kind of energy displayed in making this building come as close to being liv- able as possible. Such energy should be rewarded by a new and modern school building so located as to bring together enough pupils to make possible the development of an adequate school program. OGLETON, DISTRICT NO. 42 Score Possible Score I. Site 65 160 II. Building 63 200 III. Service Systenis 25 250 IV. Class Rooms . .■ 73 225 V. Special Rooms 3 165 229 1000 Ogleton is another of the old, very old, stone blockhouses. It is also located on one of the proverbial triangular sites in the fork of the roads. It possesses no single attribute which justifies its use for housing children. It is dark and depressing on the inside and un- sightly from the outside. The toilets are in a very insanitary condi- tion, vilely defaced and located within ten feet of the class room windows, which are the only source of ventilation. It is a crime 72 OGLETON SCHOOL against innocent children to enforce compulsory attendance laws where such accommodations are all that the community has to offer-. EIGHT SQUARE, DISTRICT NO. Score I. Site 88 II. Building 61 III. Service Systems 38 TV. Class Rooms . 50 V. Special Rooms 3 240 57 Possible Score 160 200 250 225 165 1000 As a monument to a bygone age in education, "Eight Square" is a most interesting type of building. At a time when it was consid- ered essential to one's educational development that he be within easy reach of the master's rod, an octagonal room may have had peculiar advantages, but in the present era, when the angle at which the light falls upon the pupil is regarded as more important than the angle at which the rod falls, Eight Square is out of place as a school building. 73 The scores indicated above point to a very certain condemna- tion of the building on every major item of consideration. Refer- ence to the detail score, will show that the environment of the build- EIGHT SQUARE SCHOOL ing is the only commendable feature which it possesses. Because of its lighting features alone, if for no other, it should be closed for school purposes. JAMISON'S CORNER NO. 59 Score Possible Score I. Site 100 160 II. Building 75 200 III. Service Systems 40 250 IV. Class Rooms 103 225 V. Special Rooms ......... 2 165 320 1000 The slightly higher score of this building is due not so much to the building itself as to the fact that good roads make it accessible and that there is some evidence of effort to improve the environ- 74 JAMISON'S CORNER SCHOOL merit. A painted fence in good condition adds much to the general appearance. The building is so small and so nearly square that the problem of heating becomes very serious. As the seats are located and the stove placed, children are compelled to sit within 16 inches of the fire bowl of the coal stove that occupies the center of the room. Twelve new adjustable single seats and an excellent teacher's desk adds to the appearance of the equipment, but the fact that the room is lighted from three sides and that it does not qualify in any major items of consideration condemns its further use. HICKORY GROVE NO. Score I. Site 95 II. Building 72 III. Service Systems 46 IV. Class Rooms 113 V. Special Rooms 2 328 64 Possible Score 160 200 250 225 165 1000 Approaching the Hickory Grove School one passes the Govern- ment range light station. Thinking in terms of the service to be ren- 75 dered by the two institutions, one wonders at the extreme contrast that exists. The lighthouse serves to guide ships aright, giving them their bearings and insuring their successful voyage. The little school has a similar mission in the world, except that the objects of its interest are the children who are to become America's citizens. The buildings and grounds of the lighthouse are most beautifully kept. The buildings are models of artistic beauty. The grounds are gardens ■k M ^T'i^PPP^^^^^^^^ ^«'i;::;J.---.-/.^;::^':^r-:. HICKORY GROVE SCHOOL of flowers, grass and trees. A tall, inspiring flagpole carries an enormous flag — the flag that is supposed to float over a land in which equality of opportunity is the right of all. Almost in the shadow of this flag stands the Hickory Grove School that scores, in point of adequacy, 328 points out of a possible 1000. No flag floats over it, nor has any provision been made that it might do so. A meager little site, the size of a town lot, offers little opportunity for the recreational needs of the children. The class rocm is lighted from^ three sides and heated by a stove placed in the center of the room RANGE LIGHT AT HICKORY GROVE SCHOOL FIELDSBORO, DISTRICT NO. 65 Score Possible Score I. Site 110 160 11. Building 45 200 III. Service Systems 21 250 IV. Class Rooms.... 63 225 V. Special Rooms 2 165 241 1000 The Fieldsboro School is a rectangular frame building, with vestibule entrance, located on an excellent highv/ay in a beautiful grove of trees. The two latter features are the only commendable points the building has. The building proper scores but 45 points in 200. The service systems are even lower in score than the very low score set by other buildings of the same general type. The class FIELDSBORO SCHOOL room has nothing to recommend its further use. It is lighted from four sides. The blackboards are so poor as to score but 2 points out of 15 and the seats and desks but 2 in 30. The building should be closed and the children transported to a better building. 78 BLACKBIRD, DISTRICT NO. 69 Score Possible Sc I. Site 55 160 II. Building 51 200 III. Service Systems 16 250 IV. Class Rooms 65 225 V. Special Rooms 1 165 188 1000 Site. Unattractive, unimproved and unkept. Approximately 100 feet square, it is too small for any profitable use. Building. Small, very old and in a deplorable state of repair. Service systems. An attempt to heat the building is made by means of a small stove located in the center of the room. The open cracks in the doors, windows and walls make this impossible to such a degree that in cold weather school has to be dismissed. The build- ing is in a filthy dirty condition. There is no clock in the building and a water pail is all the evidence of a water supply system. One toilet was without a toilet seat. The scholars had made use of the floor of the toilet room and the fuel shed for toilet purposes. Class room. Seatings, if the carved and mutilated double 79 benches can be rated as seatings, are provided for 45 children in a room 18x27. In order to get this number of seats in it has been nec- essary to place the seats squarely against the walls on both sides of the room. This arrangement precludes the possibility of side aisles or the use of the side walls for blackboard space. The accompany- ing picture shows the lighting conditions which the children so seated are compelled to suffer. The survey commission wishes to place special emphasis upon the recommendation that this building be closed. SHELLPOT NO. 73 Score Possible Score I. Site 85 160 II. Building 87 '200 III. Service Systems . 66 250 IV. Class Rooms 93 225 V. Special Rooms 3 165 334 1000 80 This building is a one-story, two-room structure, approximate- ly 20x50 feet in dimensions, located on a triangular site in a fork of the road. It is a stone building, constructed in 1798. In the construc- tion of the building, undoubtedly permanency was given much more serious consideration than any of the elements which enter into a school building. Upon this point one is compelled to say that the early settlers built entirely too well. Had the building been less sub- stantially made it might have tumbled down something more than half a century ago and given place tO' a structure conceived in the light of educational demands of a more significant character. The most commendable feature of the Shellpot School is the very conspicuous evidence of the fact that the community has endeavored to make the very best of a very bad situation. Improved types of heaters have been installed in both class rooms, and the entire building and surroundings have been made as attractive and comfortable as possible. New single seats have been installed in the class rooms and everything about the building is neat and tidy in appearance. It is unfortunate that so much energy and effort have been directed upon this old, impossible building. It seems entirely reasonable, however, that the spirit evidenced in connection with this building will, under the circumstances which now exist in the State of Delaware, lead to the consolidation of this district with neighboring districts and the construction of a large, new, pro- gressive and efficient school plant. MILL LANE, DISTRICT NO. 92 Score Possible Score I. Site 82 160 II. Building 54 200 III. Service Systems 36 250 IV. Class Rooms 70 225 V. Special Rooms 2 165 244 1000 81 The Mill Lane building is 18 feet square, seating 16 pupils, and located on a little triangular plot of land in the fork of the road. It does not fly the American flag. It is heated by a stove in the center MILL LANE SCHOOL of the room, makes no provision for drinking and washing. The toilet facilities are of the poorest type and in bad condition. The room is lighted from four sides. 82 Chapter Four Representative Two -Room Buildings New Castle County CHAPTER iV representative two-room buildings New castle County [The Survey Commission has made a written, detailed report to the Service Citisens on each school building in the State of Dela- ware (exclusive of Wilmington). In the following pages are to be found descriptions of representative two-room, buildings of New Castle County.^ SHARPLEY, DISTRICT NO. 7 Score Possible Score I. Site 113 160 11. Building 138 200 TTT. Service Systems 54 250 IV. Class Rooms 125 225 \'. Special Rooms 3 165 433 1000 8.5 The Sharpley School is a two-room, one-story brick building on a stone foundation that was constructed in 1915. It is approximate- ly 27x46 in dimension, located on a site 90x150. The site, although entirely too small, is made attractive by the large number of beauti- ful shade trees. ■ The building proper is in good condition, attractive in appear- ance, but poorly designed when considered in the light of a school building. The building is heated by indirect steam heating system, with heating plant located in the basement. The heating plant is not isolated or inclosed so as to safeguard the building or the pupils therein against fire risks. Although comparatively new, the build- ing at the time of the survey was extremely dirty and evidenced very little attention. The only water supply is a well located in a well house on the school grounds. At the time the building was visited this well house was also in a filthy, dirty condition. The toilets are of the outside type, built of brick with vault, but have evidently not been cleaned out in recent months. Class rooms are approximately standard in size, but not arranged to best advantage. The glass area is sufficient, but the window placement is extremely bad, the light being admitted from three sides. Desks and other equipment are of slightly better quality and in better condition than buildings of corresponding type in the State. Under the proposed plan of consolidation, it seems advisable that this building be disposed of and the children that normally attend here be transported to a consolidation center in the vicinity of Tallyville. The roads and number of pupils to be accommodated in such a center make the problem comparatively simple and entire- ly practicable. 86 ROCKLAND, DISTRICT NO. 8 Score Possible Score I. Site ....110 160 II. Building 93 200 III. Service Systems 53 250 IV. Class Rooms 107 225 V. Special Rooms 3 165 366 1000 This building is a two-room, one-story, stone structure, erected in 1831. Considering its age, it is in a fair state of repair and evi- dences a very commendable spirit on the part of the community to make of it the best possible school accommodations. The building and grounds are neat, clean and, in so far as possible, attractive. The site, triangular in shape and ill-adapted to recreational needs, is nevertheless pleasing in general effect, due to the large shade trees that surround the building. Provision for the health and comfort of the children attending this building are of the meagerest possible type and cannot be made adequate in this building. In the light of the new educational program in the State of 87 Delaware, this building should be abandoned for school purposes, and the children heretofore attending this school should be trans- ported to the proposed large consolidation near Tallyville. MONTCHANIN, DISTRICT NO. Score I. Site 83 II. Building 110 III. Service Systems 83 IV. Class Rooms 92 V. Special Rooms 4 372 24 Possible Score 160 200 250 225 165 1000 This is a new, two-room, two-story, stone building. It is very attractive in external appearance, located on a little triangular plot of ground approximately 150x200 feet, lying between the main stone highway and the railroad. The site is very poorly chosen, impos- sible of extension or improvement to meet school needs ; and the 88 building except for its attractive exterior, offers absolutely no evidence of any knowledge of schoolhouse construction. It is un- fortunate that a community should have so recently invested good money in a building which is so poorly adapted to a purpose for which it was intended. The heating system of the building is of good type. The rooms are clean, well-kept, and drinking water is supplied from a well located on the school grounds. The toilets, though of the out- side type, are in better condition and generally more acceptable than those commonly found in the State of Delaware. The class room lighting is the most serious charge to be brought against this building, pupils receiving light from four sides — right, left, front and rear. The glass area in the room on the second floor is very low, and the windows are of the boxed-in dormer type, ad- mitting very little light into the class room. Regardless of the fact that this building is new and represents a substantial investment on the part of the community, it should be disposed of, possibly for residential purposes, and the children of the community housed in a new, modern school structure. BRANDYWINE SPRINGS, DISTRICT NO. 33 Score Possible Score I. Site 74 160 IL Building 131 200 III. Service Systems 86 250 IV. Class Rooms 146 225 V. Special Rooms 4 165 449 1000 This is a new one-story, two-room, brick building, located on a somewhat larger triangular site than is commonly allotted to rural school buildings in the State of Delaware. The site is joined on one side and in the rear by dense woods and has not been improved or developed for recreational purposes in any way. The building is, however, in good condition and possesses the possibilities of being 89 made into an excellent two-teacher, six-year school. In order for this building to meet the standards required for such a school, and in order for its score to be made acceptable, it will be necessary for the present site to be materially extended, developed and improved. Playground and recreational apparatus should be installed; the outdoor toilets should be done away with, and space be provided inside for water-flush or chemical toilets. BRANDYWINE SPRINGS SCHOOL A direct steam-heating system has already been installed in this building, and with the addition of adequate artificial light and a, water supply system, together with the proposed inside toilets, the score on service systems would approach a satisfactory minimum. The class rooms, although better in many respects than those found in the older buildings, still do not recognize the importance of the best light — the light now being admitted from three sides. This error should be corrected if the building is to be continued in service. 90 ST. GEORGE'S, DISTRICT NO. 53 Score Possible Score I. Site 95 160 II. Building 55 200 III. Service Systems 51 250 IV. Class Rooms 153 225 V. Special Rooms 4 165 358 1000 The St. George's School is a very old, two-room, two-story, frame structure, with tin roof and brick foundation, located on a site approximately 180x120 feet. The site is too small to meet the needs of this rather large group of children, and because of adjoin- ing village residences; the site is difficult of adequate expansion. The building is heated by stoves, and supplies little or nothing beyond the most meager facilities to provide for the physical com- fort of the children. Class rooms are poor, and except for the new double seats sup- plied in the upstairs room and the good quality blackboards, the class rooms have little more to offer than the service systems. It is not consistent with the modern educational policy that the ■children of this community be housed continuously in a building 91 which provides nothing more than is possible in this structure. It should, therefore, be disposed of and a plant adequate to the needs of the community and large enough to justify a complete educa- tional-recreational program supplied. YORKLYN, NO. 91 Score Possible Score I. Site 78 160 II. Building 83 200 III. Service Systems 71 250 IV. Class Rooms 129 225 V. Special Rooms 10 165 371 1000 92 The Yorklyn School is housed in a very old two-room, two- story brick and plaster structure located on the side of a steep hill and surrounded by many large, beautiful old trees. More by way of commendation can be said of the trees than of any other part of the school plant. The site, because of its location on the side of a hill, is impossible of use in the development of a recreational and educational program. The building was constructed long before any notion of educational standards in building construction had been developed. In the light of this fact, the building is entirely inade- quate for modern needs, and as a school building it should be closed. The building does, however, have to its credit a system of direct heating and an inside water supply system, with drinking fountain, has been installed. The toilets are located on the high ground above the building, but some measure of protection has been taken by the construction of fairly adequate toilet vaults. The Yorklya district cannot afford, from an educational point of view, not to seriously consider the consolidation of their district with that of Hockessin and two or possibly three other neighboring districts, for the purpose of constructing a large educational center at some point conve- niently located with respect to the districts concerned. 98 Chapter Five Representative One -Room Buildings Kent County chapter v Representative One-Room Buildings KENT County (The Survey Commission has made a written, detailed report to the Service Citizens on each school building in the State of Dela- ware (exclusive of Wilmington). In the follozving pages are to be found descriptions of representative one-room buildings of Kent County.) BLACKISTONS NO. I Score Perfect Score I. Site 7S 160 II. Building 67 200 III. Service Systems 67 250 IV. Class Rooms 87 225 V. Special Rooms 2 165 291 1000 97 This school building is a one-story frame structure that was built in 1881. It may have answered the demands of education at that time, but recent years have seen rapid progress in the require- ments upon rural school buildings. It is, therefore, imperative that if the district of Blackistons is to keep pace with educational prog- ress it is necessary for it to abandon this building and construct a new one. The service systems and equipment are in keeping with the rest of the building and should be cast aside at the same time as the rest of the building. FAIR VIEW NO. 15 Score Perfect Score I. Site 95 160 II. Building 54 200 III. Service Systems... 63 250 IV. Class Rooms 82 225 V. Special Rooms 165 296 1000 98 This building is a one-room, rectangular frame structure, located on a site 100x150 feet in a beautiful grove of oak trees, sur- rounded by open fields. The site, except for size, is the most com- mendable feature of the plant. Little attention has been given to the comforts and the physical needs of the children, and the class room is extremely poor. As typical evidence of this neglect it was noted by the Commission that the only blackboard area in the class room was placed in the rear of the room. Similar lack of foresight and knowledge of educational needs is evidenced throughout the plant. Should this location be agreed upon as the logical one for a school building, the present site should be extended to include a number of acres of the adjoining fields and the grove preserved as a school park and a community ground. SANDTOWN NO. 23 Score Perfect Score I. Site 44 160 II. Building 73 200 III. Service Systems 70 250 IV. Class Rooms 71 225 V. Special Rooms 3 165 261 1000 The Sandtown School is a one-room, frame structure, 18x28 feet, in fairly good condition, located on a site almost surrounded by dense woods. The location of the building on a shell road adds much to its accessibility, but the nature of its surroundings makes the extension of the present site undesirable. The building itself cannot be altered to provide amply for a modern educational pro- gram, and at the earliest possible date should be turned to some other 99 SANDTOWN SCHOOL account and a new building constructed on modern lines at some more desirable place. PETERSBURG NO. 24 Score I. Site 88 II. Building 90^ III. Service Systems 82 IV. Class Rooms 100 V. Special Rooms 3 363 100 Perfect Score 160 200 250 225 165 1000 i The Petersburg School is a comparatively new frame building with a well arranged vestibule, double entrance and concrete steps and walk. The building is in excellent repair, well painted, and the grounds are made as attractive as their size and form will permit. The site is, however, most unfortunately chosen, being, as it is, a PETERSBURG SCHOOL long thin triangle, with a base of fifty feet and length of approxi- mately 300 feet. A neatly constructed well house with concrete base and drainage, with a new pump, placed conveniently near the entrance, adds much to the service and appearance of the build- ing. The outhouses are in good repair and well kept. The class room, which is too small, being 22x22, is poorly shaped and not well adapted to the purposes for which it is intended. The wooden ici blackboards are a distinct contrast to the evident interest taken in the external appearance of the building. The glass area is slightly below standard, and the light is admitted from two sides of the room, which is contrary to the best lighting practice of today. The children of the community are entitled to the services of a building which will meet more satisfactorily their educational needs. PINE GROVE NO. 44 Score Perfect Score L Site 61 160 II. Building 55 200 III. Service Systems 25 250 IV. Class Rooms 85 225 V. Special Rooms 3 165 229 1000 The old hand-made seats to be found in Pine Grove School are extremely unique. Much of the furniture in this building is of the type that could be found in a school a century ago. The irregular plot of ground, the flagpole without a rope and the building equip- ment limiting children in their educational opportunities merely in- dicate a type of school situation which should be eliminated from Delaware as rapidly as possible. CEDAR GROVE NO. 62 Score Perfect Score I. Site 26 160 II. Building 35 200 III. Service Systems ....... 36 250 IV. Class Rooms 79 225 V. Special Rooms 165 176 1000 102 The site selected for this school is even more undesirable than the common run of undesirable sites in the county. It has about every undesirabe feature possible. It is surrounded on two sides by low, swampy ground, is triangular in shape, and standing, as it does, on a little knoll, it has been washed so that there is no part of the surface that is not covered with deep gullies. It is obvious, CEDAR GROVE SCHOOL therefore, that there is no space anywhere except upon the road which passes by, in which children can play. The building is extremely old and in very bad condition. Little financial loss will be entailed in the complete abandonment of the entire plant. It vv^ill be noted from the detailed score on this building that it ranks among the lowest in the entire county. One of the toilets at this school, which apparently has not been cleaned out in years and which in consequence is extremely foul smelling, stands within fifteen feet of the windows of the classroom. This, together with the fact that the only provision for ventilation is through the windows of the building makes it a matter of very grave concern to the comfort and health of the children housed within. 1G3 WESTVILLE NO. 69 Score I. Site 55 II. Buildipg 4S III. Service Systems 66 IV. Class Rooms 77 V. Special Rooms 2 248 Perfect Score 160 20Q 250 225 165 1000 The Westville school is a little one*room, frame building, 18x 18, located on a rectangular site 100x150 feet. The building, which is not old, is in a fair state of repair, and in so far as possible, an effort has been made to adapt it to, what in the past, has been 104 regarded as adequate school needs. The very size, however, of the building condemns it as a school building, and as such it should be abandoned at once. The light area of the class room is low and poorly placed, there being but four windows, two on either side of the room. L 11. in. IV. HOLLANDSVILLE NO. 87 Score Site 45 Building 47 Service Systems 66 Class Rooms 72 Special Rooms 1 231 Perfect Score 160 J 200 250 225 160 1000 The Hollandsville school is of the typical, rectangular, frame building type. It has a vestibule and protected entrance. The building is old and in very bad physical condition throughout. The entire situation at this building, from site to special rooms, is such 105 as to justify the urgent recommendation that the citizens of this community take immediate steps to provide an adequate school plant for the education of their children. No single feature of the build- ing approaches a satisfactory standard. POTASH NO. 100 Score I. Site 31 II. Building 52 III. Service Systems 59 IV. Class Rooms 75 V. Special Rooms 1 218 Perfect Score 160 2'00 250 225 165 1000 This building would delight the soul of the spread-eagle senator who would rise to dizzy heights of oratory in reciting to his con- stituents the blessings of the "Little, old, red schoolhouse in the lane." It answers the description of that traditional institution in 1C6 every detail except that a modern heater has been installed. It is located in a dense woods and all of the little tract of land which at one time was cleared for the school building has grown up in dense briar and small underbrush. Aside from exciting the type of oratory above mentioned the schoolhouse of this type does not serve adequately any of the purposes for which modern school buildings are erected. It should be abandoned at once and the children trans- ported to more suitable quarters. FOREST LANE NO. 104 Score I. Site 70 II. Building 60 III. Service Systems 46 IV. Class Rooms 70 V. Special Rooms 2 Perfect Score 160 200 250 225 165 248 1000 107 The only commendable feature of this building is the beautiful grove of trees in which the building stands. This feature would be extremely desirable were the site extended to include the cleared space upon which recreational activities of the school children might be had. In the present situation, however, there is little room for games of any sort. The building is heated by a box wood stove, and all of the equipment and facilities in and about the building evidence the most abject poverty conceivable. In the opinion of the Survey Commission there is no justification in compelling children, under penalty of the law, to attend a school building which provides noth- ing more than is foui d in this building. It should be abandoned for school purposes. MARYDEL NO. 115 Score Perfect Score I. Site 62 . 160 II. Building 74 200 III. Service Systems 71) 250 IV. Class Rooms 105 225 \ . Special Rooms 3 165 317 lOOO 108 The Marydel school is a rectangular, one-room, frame building, 18x33, located on a site 60x100. The site is located on the top of a knoll which slopes off abruptly into marshy ground in three direc- tions, thus making it impossible of extension or adaptation to school needs. The building is very old and in poor state of repair. The class room is slightly better than that in other buildings of its gen- eral type, but scores only 105 out of 225 points. Building and site should be abandoned for school purposes. PLEASANT HILL NO. 129 Score Perfect Sccre L Site 92 160 IL Building 77 200 III. Service Systems 65 250 IV. Class Rooms 63 225 V. Special Rooms 5 165 302 1000 The Pleasant Hill structure was erected, acccrdirig to the date appearing on the building, in 1884. It is the type of building that one might expect to find bearing that date. It is in no sense a mod- ern school structure. There is no evidence of any activity being engaged in by the pupils outside of the formal school work. The flagstaff lacks its halyards, the outhouses and fuel house are in only fair condition, and the playground is irregular in shape and of such a nature that most group games are impossible. W/ithin a distance of approximately a mile from the school one finds Barrett's Chapel graveyard, a model from the standpoint of appearance and upkeep. The contrast between the home for the living and the abode for the dead is indeed marked, and is a reflection upon the community spirit of this section. 109 Chapter Six Representative Two-Room Buildings Kent County CHAPTER VI representative two-room buildings Kent County [The Survey Convmission has made a un^itten, detailed report to the Service Citizens on each school building in the State of Dela- ware (exclusive of Wilmington) . In the following pages are to be found descriptions of representative two-room buildings of Kent County.} HARTLY SCHOOL 11.- Score Perfect Score 90 160 60 ^0 60 250 100 225 165 HARTLY NO. 96, 133% I. Site II. Building III. Service Systems . . . IV. Class Rooms V. Special Rooms 310 1000 The Hartly School is housed in a very old two-story, two-room, frame building, in poor condition. The building is located on a very undesirable, unattractive site. The improved type of heater, thirty-eight new single seats and the good pictures which have been secured for the building represent its only commendable features. The number of children in attendance at this school would seem to justify the recommendation that a more adequate provision be made for a modern educational program. CANTERBURY NO. 26 Score Perfect Score I. Site ,135 160 II. Building 79 200 III. Service Systems 60 250 IV. Class Rooms 95 225 V. Special Rooms 5 165 374 1000 This two-story, two-room structure is located on an open rec- tangular lot which can be used for play purposes. The interior of the building would be a disgrace to any community. Plaster has been broken from the walls in many places ; blackboards have been 114 torn down ; furniture roughly treated, and the roof has leaked in places. Apparently no respect is paid to public school buildings by CANTERBURY SCHOOL the school children of this community, and probably this building with its equipment and cheap construction is entitled to little respect. The building has no attractive feature about it. 115 BETHESDA NO. 46 Score I. Site 80 II. Building 67 III. Service Systems 39 IV. Class Rooms 105 V. Special Rooms 4 295 Perfect Score 160 200 250 225 165 1000 This is a two-room, one-story, frame building, located on a triangular site, the base of which is 100 feet, and the length of which is approximately 200 feet. The building is very old and poorly pre- served. It offers the absolutely minimum of room space, and the service systems are of the lowest type which will permit of the assembling of children in groups. The class rooms are inadequately equipped, and the lighting arrangements are especially bad, one room being lighted from three sides. The fuel room, which from an edu- cational point of view is perhaps the least essential, is the best feature of the building. 116 VIOLA NO. 112 Score I. Site 86 II. Building 117 III. Service Systems 91 IV. Class Rooms 132 V. Special Rooms 2 428 Perfect Score 160 200 250 225 165 1000 The Viola School is a one-story, two-room, brick building, con- structed in 1910. In external appearance it expresses the desire on the part of the local community to provide a building adequate to their educational needs. Citizens who have taken pride in this building will no doubt be disappointed at the low score above. The only explanation that can be given for this score is the fact that ,poor judgment was used in drawing the plans. The interior of the building is sufficient proof that the architect knew absolutely noth- ing of modern educational demands upon a school plant, and in the construction of the building planned little beyond the traditional equipment. The school site of one acre is somewhat larger than most of the sites encountered in the State, but is far short of the 117 actual needs and is undeveloped for recreational purposes. The building is cheaply constructed and certain very fundamental errors are outstanding. The foundation walls are but eight inches thick, and standing as they do in soil that is partially quicksand the build- ing has settled out of line and considerable damage has already been done to the walls and building. The ceilings and walls of the class rooms are made of pressed steel, which, without backing of any insulating material, permits the heat from the room to escape readily, making it impossible to heat the building in cold weather. The basement, which is only partially excavated, is too low to be utilized for any purpose other than the heating plant. Had the building been raised so' as to have permitted adequate lighting the basement space would have been as usable for school purposes as any other part of the building. Play rooms or Manual Training and Domestic Science space might have been thus provided with very little additional expense. At the time of the survey water was standing in the basement to the depth of a foot or mor-e, covering the heater above the doors of the fire box. The building is provided with inside chemical toilets, which are in fair condition and apparently sanitary. It is to be noted, how- ever, that but one toilet is provided for each sex. This, for a school of two large rooms is not sufficient to meet the needs of the pupils. The only way in which this building can be made tO' approach accept- able standards is by considerable alteration and extension of the building proper and development of the site upon which the build- ing stands. 118 chapter seven Representative One-Room Buildings Sussex County CHAPTER VII REPRESENTATIVE ONE- ROOM BUILDINGS SUSSEX COUNTY (The Survey Commission has made a mritten, detailed report to the Service Citizens on each school building in the State of Dela- ware (exclusive of Wilmington). In the follozving pages are to he found descriptions of representative one-roomie buildings of Sussex County.) WHITES CHAPEL NO. 10 Score Perfect Score I. Site 97 160 II. Building 41 200 III. Service Systems 60 250 IV. Class Rooms 94 225 V. Special Rooms 2 165 294 1000 121 Whites Chapel is a new one-room structure, 20x22 in dimen- sions, with vestibule. It stands on a brick foundation. The site upon which the building is located is irregular in shape, approxi- mately 100 feet in width and 300 feet in length. This building is a very unusual type of school building. It is made completely, walls and roof, out of corrugated, unpainted iron and resembles a garage rather than a place in which children are to receive their educational training. It does not speak well for the attitude of the community towards education or the welfare of their children. Apparently it is the cheapest type of construction which could be found. An im- proved type of heater is located in this building and water is sup- plied by a pump located in the vestibule. The class roomi, which seats 32' pupils, is entirely too small and of unapproved shape. The glass area is up to standard but distributed on three sides of the room. The vestibule provides space for cloak rooms, but as such is not acceptable. The toilet accommodations of this building are located an un- reasonable distance from the building, one of them being nO' less than 200 feet away. This building should be disposed of for other purposes than education and consolidation perfected with neighbor- ing districts allowing for a modern educational program. CEDAR GROVE NO. 17 Score Possible Score I. Site 65 160 II. Building .....:........ 103 200 III. Service Systems 87 250 IV. Class Rooms 107 225 V. Special Rooms 3 165 365 1000 This building is a comparatively new one-story frame structure, with good steps and porch leading to the entrance, and with vesti- bule, and cloak room arrangements across the front of the room. A,n attempt has been made in this building to recognize certain fun- 122 damental standards of lighting, but the end desired has been de- feated by the placing of small windows in the front of the class room, thus compelling the children to face the Hght. As long as it is necessary for this building to continue in use, these windows in the front end of the room should be permanently closed. The win- dows on the main axis of the room are fifty inches from the floor, thus giving the class room a shut-in effect. Obviously the intention was to prevent the children from seeing out during school hours. This policy is a remnant of the early tradition that schools should be houses of correction rather than institutions of learning and education. The glass area in the class room is less than ten per cent of the floor area, which is less than one-half of what it should be. Another interesting feature of the construction of this new building is found in the location of the hooks for the children's wraps in the cloak rooms. The lowest hook in either room is sev- enty-two inches from the floor, thus making it difficult, if not impos- sible, for many of the children to hang up their wraps. The loca- tion of the hooks seems to have been determined by the convenience of the carpenter rather than from any consideration of the needs of the children. This building would make a better tool shed or farm building of similar nature than schoolhouse, and should be disposed of for such purpose. ELDORADO NO. 19 Score Perfect Score I. Site 60 160 II. Building 60 200 III. Service Systems 41 250 IV. Class Rooms 94 225 V. Special Rooms 3 165 258 1000 This building, 18x28, situated on a site of indeterminate area, has concrete steps leading to its front door. The floor of this build- ing is poor, the shades in bad condition but excellent book and sup- 123 ply closets are provided. Provisions for seating 40 children in double seats were found. The teacher's desk was of a fair type and slate blackboard is provided in sufficiency. No clock and no pictures were to be found. The building has a sufficient amount of window area, half of which, however, is in the wrong place. The only out- ELDORADO SCHOOL house for this school is a combination of two compartments, sepa- rated by a wood partition, each one of which was apparently de- signed for the different sexes. That such a combination of out- houses is not a desirable method of raising the moral tone of chil- dren, nor of teaching them sex education was quite evident from the obscene drawings and foul language with which the interior of these outhouses was coated. .124 HILL'S NO. 21 Score I. Site 45 II. Building 35 III. Service Systems 30 IV. Class Rooms 48 V. Special Rooms 3 161 Perfect Score 160 200 250 225 165 1000 The Hill's school is situated in a little clearing with forest to the right, rear and front, and an open field to the left. It is a whitewashed, shingle structure which is decaying rapidly. It has a roof of .corrugated metal and a foundation of rotting wooden posts. The room is square, being approximately 18 feet each way, and is lighted by two windows on each of three sides. Even though lighted on three sides and even though the room is small, these six windows do not furnish more than half of the percentage between the window area and floor area that is considered to be the standard. A box wood stove, without jacket, is located toward the front center of the room. The seats are placed on stilts and occupy a large part of the class room. The floor is in fair condition, but only a distance 125 of seven feet separates it from the ceiling. No flag or flagpole has been provided. The outhouses have been constructed v^ith a mini- mum of labor and the minimum of expenditure for lumber. The children who attend this building should be provided with better educational facilities at the earliest possible moment. WHITE'S NECK NO. 27 Score Perfect Score I. Site 45 160 II. Building 112 200 III. Service Systems 78 250 IV. Class Rooms .....118 225 V. Special Rooms 2 165 355 1000 This is a new, one-room, rural school frame building which evi- dences some knowledge of the problems involving modern school- house construction. It is large enough to provide adequately for a single class room. The outstanding feature of the building is the fact that the windows have been banked on one side of the room. Unfortunately, however, either those who were responsible for the planning, or the carpenters who were responsible for the building, could not persuade themselves that light from one side was suffi- cient, for after making a good job they spoiled it utterly by sticking in two windows high up in the end of the class room. These win- dows should be closed. Another interesting fact in connection with the arrangement of this room is that although having a near ap- proach to unilateral lighting it was not taken advantage of in the placing of the seats and desks. All of the seats have been backed to the light so that absolutely no advantage of the unilateral type of lighting is had and the extreme disadvantage of rear light only is encountered. The seats in this class room should be faced so as to allow the light to fall on the pupils' desks from the left, and the windows in the rear should be closed. 126 The site upon which this new building is located is extremely unattractive, due to the fact that it is not only surrounded by, but grown up with, scrubby oak bushes. A much larger area should be cleared and improved. Additions should be made to the building providing adequate space for manual training and domestic science, playroom and library facilities. When this is done the children of the Muddy Neck district will have a school building which will approach satisfactory standards. BETHANY BEACH NO. 28% Score Perfect Score I. Site 35 160 II. Building 34 200 III. Service Systems 61 250 IV. Class Rooms 55 225 V. Special Rooms 2 165 187 1000 127 This building is a one-room, frame structure, 17x21, and one of the most unattractive school buildings in the state of Delaware. It is an old, unpainted, weatherbeaten wreck. The only thing about this building or site which is worth saving is the improved type of jacketed heater. Everything else should be destroyed or abandoned immediately, and a new building constructed for the children of this district. It is nothing short of criminal negligence for a community to compel its children, under penalty of the law, to attend school for a considerable part of their wakeful hours for nine months out of the year in a building that is so unattractive and so utterly unfit for human occupancy. CONAWAY'S NO. 53 Score Perfect Score I. Site 31 160 II. Building 20 200 III. Service Systems 25 250 IV. Class Rooms 55 225 V. Special Rooms 2 165 133 1000 Conaway's is a primitive, whitewashed structure not centrally located with respect to the school population which it serves. One passes a considerable distance through an uninhabited Section on a highway running through forests before reaching this building from one side. The building is sagging on its brick piers, which are small and provide the only under-pinning for the structure. No doubt the wind blows up through the floor in the cold days of winter in a way which cannot be offset by the heat developed in the small wood stove. The sashes are broken down and the window panes are barely held in their frames since the putty has disappeared entirely in places. The ceiling joists are uncovered. The furniture is very poor, the teacher's desk being of the high, old-fashioned, crudely made type. The site is very limited, being a clearing of about 50x70 128 feet in dimensions. The building itself is approximately 18x24, without vestibule. All in all, it is cne of the poorest structures found in l^claware. MORGAN'S NO. 56 Score Perfect Score I. Site 85 160 II. Building 127 200 III. Service Systems 60 250 IV. Class Rooms 167 225 V. Special Rooms 3 165 442 1000 This building stands on an excellent concrete block foundation. It is a new one-room school with vestibule and cloak rooms. It is unfortunate that good architectural advice was not sought when the building was planned. A complete bank of windows has been pro- vided on the left. Two other windows have been placed at the rear of right. Most unfortunate of all, however, has been the placement of two small windows on the front at the height of eight feet from the floor, through which the light may stream into the eyes of the children. There are many good features about this school building. It has a good floor, a good sanitary type of teacher's desk, fair cloak rooms of ample size, a jacketed heater and some simple wall decora- tions. Unfortunately the doors of this building have been planned so as to open inward. It might still be advisable to add a blackboard in the front of the room. The building as it stands is a good begin- ning for a model rural plant. Additions could readily be made pro- viding for play room, library, manual training and domestic science. Such additions would place this building in a class by itself as far as the present school plants in Sussex county are concerned. 129 QUINTON NO. 59 Score Perfect Score I. Site 10 160 11. Building 10 200 III. Service Systems 16 250 IV. Class Rooms 50 225 V. Special Rooms 1 165 87 1000 This old structure, hidden away as far as possible from the view of man in order that its dilapidated condition may not be known, is literally falling to pieces. Two or three jumps on the floor, on the part of an athletic person, might succeed in bringing the roof down upon his head. It is as near the pioneer type of school building as one can imagine. Its exterior is built of crudely milled boards, while its open brick foundation permits the wind to find its way with ease through the open cracks of the floor. The ceiling is only eight feet high and its joists still remain unhidden. The carved seats and broken-down stove belong tO' a previous generation of school equipment. The stove is peculiarly located in the center of the room with the teacher's desk between it and the front wall. It is conceivable that through this arrangement proper warmth is as- sured the teacher. It is hardly conceivable that the children at the outer walls ever experience a temperature of 67 degrees on cold winter days. In order to provide fuel, although the dense forest is immediately to the rear of the building, it apparently has been found necessary to appropriate clapboards from the wood shed. The homes. in the immediate vicinity of this building are of the poorest type to be found in Delaware. They probably will remain of the poorest type as long as this building is used in its present state. 130 TRINITY NO. 73; Score I. Site 67 II. Building 66 III. Service Systems 65 IV. Class Rooms 97 V. Special Rooms 2 297 Perfect Score 160 200 250 225 165 1000 The Trinity school is a new one-room frame structure, without vestibule, on a brick foundation, approximately 24x32 in dimensions, standing- on a small irregular site surrounded on two sides by open fields and on the third side by woods. The site, though unsatisfac- tory, is capable of extension and improvement should this prove to be the logical point for the location of the school building. The building proper is well painted and in good condition, and is sup- plied with an improved type of heater. The interior finish of the 131 class room is comparatively good and the blackboard space and equipment is better than the average found in the county. The glass area is low and the windows are distributed on two opposite sides of the room. One feature of this building is especially bad and should be corrected immediately, namely, the location of the toilets with respect to the air intake of the jacketed heater. The toilets, which are of the double compartment community type, are located 2y2 feet from the rear of the building and six feet from the air intake. This condition undoubtedly supplies the class room with foul-smelling, impure air. It is inconceivable that intelligent work- men would locate the toilets or the air intake in such positions. This district could easily and practically consolidate with the adjoining districts. FAIRMOUNT NO. 82 Score Perfect Score I. Site 90 160 II. Building 65 200 III. Service Systems 55 250 IV. Class Rooms 115 225 V. Special Rooms 2 165 327 1000 132 Fairmount is a one-room structure with a ramshackle exterior but fair interior. It is located on an unattractive piece of land at a point where it does not appear to be accessible to a large number of children. It has an improved type of heater, wainscoting and pine board ceilings, and fair children's seats, although they are of the double variety. The toilets are located directly in the rear of the building and in close proximity to one another, without any barrier. JOHNSON'S NO. 85 Score Perfect Score I. Site 97 160 II. Building 86 200 III. Service Systems 65 250 IV. Class Rooms 141 225 V. Special Rooms 3 165 392 1000 133 This school is a new one-room, frame building, 21x32, with concrete foundation and vestibule. It is located on a site approxi- mately 100x150 feet, which is in good condition and well kept The building is located on an excellent highway and is easily accessible. An excellent type of vestibule providing fairly satisfactory cloak rooms is included in the structure. The service systems, howevi ', are much below the standard of the other features of the building. The class room is heated by a common stove. A pump is installed in the building. The outside toilets are in rather better condition ard of better quality than found in other districts. The class room is the best feature of the entire situation. It is of good size and well shaped. Unfortunately the interior is finished in wood. This is not a standard type of finish. The blackboards are excellent and the glass area is adequate. The window area, in so far as the buil