Early Head Start Facilities: Doing It Right

While home may be the best environment for many children to experience an introduction to learning, to social interaction, and to personal self-identification, families today often need to arrange for their children to be cared for out of the home. Early Head Start programs place a tremendous emphasis and priority on nurturing and caring for our youngest children. This should be reflected not only in our interactions with infants and toddlers, but in the design and management of the classroom.

Many EHS facilities are planned by professionals who either have little experience in designing facilities for the very young (age birth to 3 years), or who have experience but use a standard design approach basically used in planning facilities for older children. The standard design approach is usually driven by cost rather than by age-appropriateness. For EHS children, this approach may not produce the best results.

A key resource in creating a well-designed classroom is the local Planning Team. Best practice for a successful classroom design is to convene this group before any decisions are made or ideas offered. Teams should have members with four areas of expertise, including child growth and development, classroom design, architectural and engineering specifications; and program management. Certainly members with other knowledge could also be added.

The Planning Team brings a wide array of knowledge and expertise to designing an EHS facility. In the initial stages, the Team must identify design alternatives and formulate classroom philosophies. To accomplish this, the Team should use the Head Start Facilities Manual and the Head Start Design Guide. The Facilities Manual promotes the concept of the Design Team by providing details and direction. It also provides information on acceptable assessments, discusses compliance issues, some design principles, and project processes. The Head Start Design Guide offers detailed design alternatives, best practice requirements, and a systematic conceptual design format that establishes minimum standards and principles for the EHS classroom. (For more information, contact the Head Start Information and Publication Center. See p. 40 of this Bulletin.)

Regardless of the source of information or the basic classroom philosophy adopted by the Planning Team, the EHS classroom must follow the 35 square feet per child minimum standard. Although this standard is common in state licensing requirements and the above Administration for Children and Families (ACF) publications, a 50 sq. ft. per child standard is highly desirable and recommended. The larger square footage offers the Planning Team more flexibility in all aspects of classroom design, including the purchase and placement of specialty equipment, such as the three or four emergency or evacuation cribs and multiple passenger-sized strollers or bye-bye buggies.

The Planning Team also must consider other requirements and best practices. The EHS classroom requires at least two water sources. One sink for hand washing must be at the changing station, and one sink must be at the food preparation area. If restroom facilities are provided in the classroom, which is recommended, additional sinks may be necessary. Some EHS classrooms are incorporating risers and low walls to designate different activity areas. Carpeting, floor surfaces and textures should vary according to activity and child development level. Light, both natural and artificial, and its location, should be staged to help control noise and to direct play activities. Child play movement, whether crawling or walking, should be guided by the design and layout of the classroom, as well as by the location of equipment and toys. Emphasis should be placed on color to influence mood. Classroom furniture and equipment should be of wood with rounded corners, and should be simple and size-appropriate.

Experience shows that the design and planning of the EHS classroom is as important and influential to the long-term success of our children as the quality and credentials of classroom leadership. The task of the EHS Planning Team is critical and can not be underestimated. Each participant is vital, not only in the initial planning process, but in every phase throughout the entire project. From project planning, to designing plans, to reviewing bids, to bidding oversight, the Team's input is essential. It must work closely with the budget and finance staff to ensure budget compliance. Members also should work with project management to ensure that each change meets the basic philosophy initiated during the onset of the planning process. The Team's influence must be felt during the construction process, the licensing process, and even the close-out process.

Early Head Start plays an invaluable role in serving America's most vulnerable citizens–its low-income infants and toddlers. Our political leaders have made a considerable financial commitment to the EHS program. This endorsement is in recognition that our families are changing, that our society is changing, and that our culture is changing. Our classroom and educational philosophy also need to change, to ensure that our infants and toddlers have enriching early experiences that can contribute to their future personal and economic self-sufficiency.

Bobby Crooks is a Facilities Management Specialist at the Region IV Quality Improvement Center, T: 270-745-4041, E: bobby.crooks@wku.edu.