Sample Three-Teacher Community School Plan
The early Rosenwald schools were designed by architects from Tuskegee University. The blueprints were carefully designed with specifications to allow the maximum amount of light and air in the classrooms. According to the plans, "The building should always be set with the points of the compass, and the plan so designed that every classroom will receive east or west light." A plan drawn to face east or west could not properly be used to face north or south, and vice versa.
The classrooms had removable dividers, so the building could be used for community gatherings such as dances, assemblies, and spelling bees. 8 The Tuskegee architects created a variety of plans for one, two, three, four and five room schools. The plans were so popular other schoolhouses, including those for white children, were built according to the Tuskegee Community School Plans.