LEARNING IN A PORTABLE ROOM

Portable classrooms have changed dramatically from their tin-cannish, post-World War II predecessors, but the need for them has not. In school districts such as Santa Ana, Saddleback Valley, Irvine and Capistrano, where demand for classroom space has outstripped supply, these siding-clad boxes have provided crucial space--quickly.

In the Capistrano Unified district, where 37% of classroom capacity is served by portable structures, entire campuses of ready-made classrooms, or “instant schools,” have been built.

The reason for portables’ popularity in Orange County, as elsewhere, is twofold. Permanent, conventionally constructed campuses take considerable time to build--as long as 3 to 5 years for elementary schools and up to 5 to 7 years for junior high and high schools. A campus of portable classrooms can be completed in as little as one year.

The other advantage to using portable classrooms, most of which are leased, is the cost savings. With the unpredictable ebb and flow of student enrollment, districts can accommodate additional students without breaking their facilities budgets.

Easily constructed and cost efficient though they may be, portable classrooms still suffer from a certain lack of architectural elan but this too is changing. As large as many permanent classrooms, newer models average 24 by 40 feet and have room for 25 to 30 students. Each classroom has carpeting and windows, as well as independent heating, air conditioning and electrical systems, and they may be painted to match existing school buildings.

Snazzy or not, portable classrooms will continue to mushroom on campuses throughout the county, as long as new waves of students continue to fill schools to capacity.

Number of Percent SCHOOL DISTRICT Portables of Total ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICTS Anaheim City 119 6 Buena Park 0 * Centralia 7 * Cypress 8 1 Fountain Valley 10 1 Fullerton 19 1 Huntington Beach 8 1 La Habra 3 * Magnolia 18 1 Ocean View 44 2 Savanna 0 * Westminster 13 1 Yorba Linda 0 * HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICTS Anaheim Union 55 3 Fullerton Union 0 * Huntington Beach Union 64 3 UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICTS Brea-Olinda 25 1 Capistrano 344 18 Garden Grove 135 7 Irvine 138 7 Laguna Beach 5 * Los Alamitos 18 1 Newport-Mesa 48 3 Orange 147 8 Placentia 92 5 Saddleback Valley 159 8 Santa Ana 380 20 Tustin 16 1 O.C. Dept. of Educ.+ 28 1 TOTAL 1,903 100

* Less than 1%

+The county provides classroom instruction for special education, handicapped, autistic and hearing impaired students.

Source: Orange County Department of Education and individual districts