Introduction to the Guide

1.1 Purpose
1.2 Users
1.3 Applicable Documents and Web Sites
1.4 Organization

This chapter describes the purpose of the Head Start Center Design Guide, its organization, intended audiences, how the information may be applied to Head Start centers, and other useful references. The Guide also contains a helpful glossary of Head Start terms, included in Appendix I.

1.1 Purpose

The Head Start Center Design Guide (hereafter referred to as the Guide in this document) contains suggested guidelines for planning and designing Head Start centers that are federally funded but locally owned or managed. To simplify the text, throughout this Guide the term Head Start represents both Head Start and Early Head Start programs, agencies, grantees, and delegate grantees.

The objective of the Guide is to encourage careful design of centers that are child-oriented, developmentally appropriate, beautiful, environmentally sensitive, and functional. A child may be in a center up to 12,500 hours, if he or she enters Head Start as an infant and remains until entering kindergarten. Since all enrolled children spend many hours at Head Start centers, the design of the space is important to their sense of well-being.

The suggested guidelines are intended for use both in developing new centers and expanding or renovating existing centers. To support design professionals and their judgment, the Guide explains both design guidelines and the rationale for the guidelines. The Guide also includes the baseline levels of features and finishes for Head Start centers and desirable best practice design features.

Experience has demonstrated that the design effort must allow for, and be sensitive to, the differences in space attributes for children and adults, as well as the differences in space usage by children in different age groups. To provide a rationale for specific design aspects, information about the characteristics and activities of children is included in the text. Specific maximum or minimum guidelines are stated, when appropriate. The Guide also provides a discussion of issues that affect design.

The recommendations in the Guide are intended to establish optimal design and to set a benchmark for best practice. However, there may be situations when recommendations for optimal design elements cannot be adopted. These concerns should be discussed with the design professional during the planning and design phase of the project.

1.2 Users

This Guide is intended to be the source of basic architectural information for all individuals involved in the design of Head Start centers. Individuals seeking detailed information on Head Start practices, center operations, or general Head Start building standards should refer to the Head Start Performance Standards, 45 CFR 1304, et. seq.

Specific users of the Guide will include the following:

Architects and Engineers (A/E’s) who provide design services under the direction of the Head Start grantee. These individuals should use the Guide for pre-design planning or to assess the extent of improvements required in an existing center in order to achieve the standards established herein.
Head Start Bureau staff, who use the guide for reference and offer guidance to the Regional Offices and grantees.
Head Start center Property Managers, who maintain the centers and improve existing ones to meet the benchmarks set in the Guide. In addition, the Head Start center managers will use it for guidance in the repair and replacement of existing conditions and equipment.
The Head Start design team, including parents, teachers, administrators, staff and others.
Head Start grantees and agencies planning to contract with private sector architectural firms to establish new centers or renovate existing ones.
Head Start Regional Office staff, who will use the guide to help interpret the application of best practices to the center plans and specifications.
Head Start staff members, including program managers, agency administrators, financial officers, center directors, facility managers, and others concerned with facility design and management who may refer to the Guide, especially when they contract with private architectural firms to establish new centers or renovate existing ones.
Head Start staff, parents, boards, Policy Councils, and others interested in Head Start space may want to use the Guide as a reference.

1.3 Applicable Documents and Web Sites

A Web site that may be useful was developed by the Department of the Army to include their facilities standardization program for child development centers. The address is http://www.ccb.org/docs/UFC/4_740_14.pdf.

Other Web sites and facility information may be linked through the Head Start Bureau’s Web site http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/hsb.

Current editions of documents that users may reference may be obtained by contacting the Head Start Information and Publication Center (http://www.headstartinfo.org), the Facilities Referral and Information System (http://www.hsnrc.org), or the Head Start Bureau (http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/hsb).

They include the latest edition of the following documents:

The Head Start Act, as amended, 42 USC 9801, et. seq.
The Head Start Facilities Manual, Head Start Bureau, Administration on Children and Families. This manual contains thirteen assessment worksheets for Head Start and Early Head Start grantees to use when preparing budgets, planning preventive and routine maintenance of classrooms and playgrounds, purchasing furniture, ensuring safety, and other matters.
The Head Start Program Performance Standards, 45 CFR 1304, et. seq.
The Head Start Deep Look Survey, Health Resources and Services Administration, Office of Engineering Services, February 2000.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), P.L.105-17.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.
Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS), Federal Standard 795, General Services Administration.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act Architectural Guidelines (ADAAG), Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General.
Accreditation Criteria and Procedures of the National Academy of Early Childhood Programs, National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth to Age Eight, National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

The following documents are available from the source:

Lead in School Drinking Water, EPA 570/89-001.
State licensing requirements for the individual states where Head Start centers are located.
Handbook for Public Playground Safety, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings, U.S. National Park Service.
Fire Safety Retrofitting in Historic Buildings, August 1989, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and the General Services
Administration.
Lead-Based Paint Interim Guidelines for Hazard Identification and Abatement in Public and Indian Housing, September 1990, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Radon in Water Sampling Manual (EPA/EERF-Manual-78-1), Environmental Protection Agency.
The Environmental Resource Guide, with Supplements, the American Institute of Architects, 1996.
Building Security Assessment provided by the regional Federal Protective Service (FPS).
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, Version 2.0, US Green Building Council, March 2000. Including draft version for Renovation, March 2002. http://www.usgbc.org.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Reference Guide, Version 2.0, US Green Building Council, August 2000.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s “Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines,” which addresses requirements for use of recycled materials in government procurement.

1.4 Organization

The following are brief descriptions of each chapter.

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Guide
The chapter describes the purpose of the Guide, its organization, the intended audiences, how the information may be applied to Head Start centers, and other useful references.

Chapter 2: Mission, Goals, Administration, and Policy
The chapter describes the Head Start Bureau’s goals and objectives for center design and operation, the persons and processes involved in planning and designing the center, real estate management policies affecting center development, and standards with which design and operations must comply.

Chapter 3: Adults and Children in the Center
The chapter identifies the adults and children who will use the center and describes their activities. It also includes a discussion on basic developmental needs and activities for each age group, and how these needs and activities affect the design of the center.

Chapter 4: Head Start Centers and Use of Space
This chapter summarizes the Head Start Program Performance Standards relevant to the design and use of space, including child group sizes and staff-child ratios.

Chapter 5: Planning Space and Location
The chapter contains general criteria to be used when selecting a center location and for planning and programming the space requirements.

Chapter 6: Site Design
This chapter provides concepts and criteria for site design and design of play yards. It describes the general types of outdoor areas, the relationships of these areas to other outdoor and indoor spaces, and detailed criteria for fences, dimensions, and surfaces for these spaces.

Chapter 7: Interior Space Design
The chapter provides concepts and criteria for the design of the interior spaces of a Head Start center. Area categories include entry and circulation areas, staff rooms, classrooms, common, and service areas.

Chapter 8: Furnishings and Equipment
This chapter includes general criteria regarding furnishings and equipment for centers and includes references to applicable codes and regulations.

Chapter 9: Interior Finishes
The chapter provides a consolidated discussion of finishes required in Head Start centers, establishes the baseline finishes for walls, floors and ceilings, and discusses acceptable options.

Chapter 10: Technical Criteria
This chapter includes technical criteria for fire protection, security, and accessibility and for the design of electrical, plumbing, lighting, heating and cooling systems throughout the center. This chapter also covers testing for hazardous materials.

Appendices:

Appendix A provides accessibility standards.

Appendix B provides information on Sustainable Design and the environment.

Appendix C provides listings of Head Start Central and Regional Offices.

Appendix D provides additional technical information on metric conversion.

Appendix E provides information on the Head Start Program Performance Standards.

Appendix F provides terms used for construction and/or renovation projects.

Appendix G provides listings of high, medium, low, and non-toxic plants so designers can make judgments about appropriate plantings in the vicinity of Head Start centers.

Appendix H provides information on the playgrounds and playground products that reduce environmental impact.

Appendix I provides a glossary of commonly used terms in the Head Start and early childhood education communities.

See PDF version:
Introduction to the Guide [PDF, 18MB]