About Open-Air Schools

The schools were single-story buildings with integrated gardens and pavilion-like classrooms, which increased children’s access to the outdoors, fresh air, and sunlight. They were primarily built in areas away from city centers, sometimes in rural locations, to provide a space free from pollution and overcrowding. 

New School House

Free education and fresh air has interested educators from as far away as Paris, France“

Oakland Tribune – May 13, 1913

The first open-air school in Oakland was established at Fruitvale School No. 2 (now Hawthorne School) on Tallent Street (now East 17th). When it opened, forty students from grades third through seventh were enrolled. Miss Lulu Beeler was selected as the teacher because she had prior experience working in an open-air school in the East.

 The school was designed to help cure ill and tubercular children. Its focus was on improving physical health through the infusion of fresh air into the classrooms and into the children’s lungs. The school was established as a medical experiment. It was reserved for children judged to be of “weak” disposition.

The Fruitvale school is decidedly a health school”

Oakland Tribune May 13, 1913

It was constructed at the rear of the playground, one hundred feet from the existing main building.

The square, the wood-framed building, was raised to prevent underfloor dampness.

Each side had a different treatment to reflect the sun. The southern side had tall windows that, when open, didn’t seem enclosed. The east side was opened to the elements with only half of a wall. A screen protected them from insects. In case of storms, awnings could be pulled down to protect the students.

The school was to be the first in a series of open-air schools installed on the grounds of Oakland’s existing city schools.

Objections

There were some objections to opening the school, both from the parents of the selected children and the children themselves. The parents did not want their children singled out; the children worried they would be teased as being “sick.” These fears were realized, and the teachers struggled with how to deal with the repeated taunts

The open-air classroom idea was incorporated into many of the new schools built in the 1920s. I don’t know how long the Fruitvale Open Air School was open. I will update you if I find more information.

More Info:

Growing Children Out of Doors: California’s Open-Air Schools and Children’s Health, 1907-1917 – Camille Shamble Los Gatos, California – May 2017

Open air school – Wikipedia

Collection of Photos – OMCA 

• Open Air School Proposed- Oakland Tribune Feb 09, 1910
• Fruitvale Open Air School – Oakland Tribune Jul 15, 1910
• School Children Enjoy the Open Air – SF Chronicle July 15, 1910
• Recite Lessons on Open Air Schools – SF Call Aug 02, 1910
• Fighting the White Plague in Oakland – SF Call Aug 25, 1910
• Open Air Schools Urged – SF Call Mar 03, 1911
• Open-Air Schools for Afflicted Pupils – Oakland Tribune Mar 30, 1911
• School for Tots Opened – Oakland Tribune Oct 06, 1911
• Open Air Schools to be Topic – SF Call Oct 27, 1912

The End