Generations ago, it was common for young students to learn their reading and writing in the same classroom as older siblings studying more advanced lessons. For those people educated in one-room schoolhouses, having separate buildings for elementary school, middle school and high school would have been considered the ultimate in specialized facilities. However, the specialization of school facilities has not ended there. Educators continue to seek environments that can enhance a student's learning experience. Many education institutions have established separate, narrowly focused facilities to meet the specific needs of a subset of students: pre-schools for toddlers getting their first exposure to education; sixth-grade centers to help pre-teen children make a smoother transition from elementary to middle school; ninth-grade centers to help adolescent students adjust to the perils of high school life; alternative high schools for at-risk students who have been unsuccessful in traditional programs. Charter schools, private institutions and magnet programs that focus on specific curricular areas create a need for specialized facilities. In higher education, students are likely to find themselves in buildings with specialized classrooms and laboratories as they pursue majors or advanced degrees in particular subject areas. These specialized facilities may look different or serve a more narrowly defined clientele than a traditional classroom building, but designers and administrators approach both kinds of projects with the same goals: meeting the educational needs of the people who will be using the facility.