Design Guide

Read FirstSchool Brief on Learning
Environments

The purpose of the FirstSchool Design Guide is to help communities develop optimal indoor and outdoor learning environments for children ages 3 to 8. The guide offers the rationale for the FirstSchool approach, the evidence base for our principles, examples of how those principles can be expressed and supported in the physical environment, technical considerations and design specifications. The design guide can be downloaded and printed either as a single high-quality PDF or by individual chapter, and each of the 12 chapters can be explored interactively by clicking on the titles below:

Attachment	Size
Acknowledgements	25.15 KB
Authors	25.49 KB
Chapter 1: FirstSchool Planning Process	68.81 KB
Chapter 2: Overview and Rationale	1.89 MB
Chapter 3: Applying FirstSchool Values to Facilities Design	736.49 KB
Chapter 4: Evidence Base	2.6 MB
Chapter 5: Design Principles	2.17 MB
Chapter 6: FirstSchool Facility	1.7 MB
Chapter 7: Site Considerations	6.09 MB
Chapter 8: Building Considerations	5.28 MB
Chapter 9: Facility Systems	4.45 MB
Chapter 10: Financial Planning For A FirstSchool Facility	1.23 MB
Chapter 11: Staffing and Operations	885.82 KB
Chapter 12: Partnering and Next Steps	367.81 KB
References	758.28 KB

The American Clearinghouse on Educational Facilities website features a lesson on the FirstSchool Design Guide.