The day a school opens its doors for the first time, the flooring will be new and untarnished. When the flooring is in such pristine condition, many flooring materials--carpeting, vinyl, terrazzo, wood or some other surface--will look good. But school and university planners who decide what kind of material covers the floors of their facilities have to be able to see into the future and visualize what the surface will look like after thousands of students have trampled across it each day, after it has been mopped or scrubbed or vacuumed hundreds of times, after it has endured the cycle of seasons and the ups and downs of temperature and humidity. Before choosing the type of flooring for a specific space in an education facility, school officials have to determine whether a surface is compatible with the function of a space, whether it is durable enough to stand up to heavy use by students, whether an institution's staff has the training and time to clean and maintain the flooring properly, and whether flooring will affect the health and safety of students and staff. This article discusses some flooring materials and provides some tips on how to clean and maintain the flooring properly.