Facilities

Introduction

Introduction

There has been a significant increase in attention paid to the importance of spaces and buildings with regard to early childhood programs. Information on this page is intended to help you find information related to early learning buildings/facilities.

Conferences

Conferences

2016 Early Childhood Education Design Conference: Designing for High Performance Learning and Development
Click Here

Guides

Guides

FirstSchool Design Guide
Click Here

Guide for Planning School Construction Projects in Minnesota
Click Here, Minnesota Department of Education

Head Start Design Guide: A Guide for Building a Head Start Facility
Click Here, US Department of Health and Human Services

Minnesota Department of Education - School Construction
Click Here

Quality Environments for Children: A Design and Development Guide for Child Care and Early Education Facilities
Click Here, Low Income Investment Fund

Presentations

Presentations

Early Planning for Early Childhood Programs
Click Here, MASA 2015 Fall Conference, September 28, 2015

Questions & Answers

Questions & Answers

1. What is the room size requirement for School Readiness preschool rooms in Minnesota?
School Readiness statutes list a maximum group size but do not address room size. School-based preschool programs are license-exempt, but you could still use Rule 3 guidelines (Regulations/Statutes). You could also refer to other resources, like those documents listed above, regulations in other states (e.g. Texas requires classrooms for prekindergarten, kindergarten and first grade to have a minimum of 36 square feet per pupil or 800 square feet per room), or related standards (Head Start Performance Standards, NAEYC, etc.)

Resources

Resources

Educational Facilities Clearinghouse- search for early childhood on this site.
Information on early learning environments, including design guidelines, quality indicators, and safety requirements, compiled by the Educational Facilities Clearinghouse. Great resource!

Whole Building Design Guide - Child Development Centers
Click Here

Research

Research

A holistic, multi-level analysis identifying the impact of classroom design on pupils’ learning Click Here
Building and Environment 59 (2013) 678-689
The model was used to predict the impact of the six design parameters on pupil’s learning progression. Comparing the “worst” and “best” classrooms in the sample, these factors alone were found to have an impact that equates to the typical progress of a pupil over one year. It was also possible to estimate the proportionate impact of these built environment factors on learning progression, in the context of all influences together. This scaled at a 25% contribution on average.