Case Study: How Restroom Privacy Upgrades Aided School Custodians

Photo courtesy of Ben Berachreider

For school facility cleaning directors, high-privacy restroom stalls can be a double-edged sword. While students want fewer gaps and sightlines, enclosed compartments can give opportunists cover to vandalize partition panels, driving up custodial labor.

When Vashon Island High School near Seattle set out to convert its traditional boys’ and girls’ restrooms into Washington State’s first all-gender public school facilities, the project team had to solve a practical maintenance dilemma: how to maximize student privacy without creating an isolated environment prone to vandalism.

To avoid that trade-off, the district set out to find a system built for heavy use.

A Solution by Design

The district identified Bobrick’s DuraLineSeries Compact Laminate partitions in Maximum Privacy, Gap-Free configurations with a Wilsonart Pewter Mesh finish.

The partition design uses continuous hardware between the panels and stiles to eliminate sightlines completely, paired with 72-inch-tall doors to ensure user privacy. Crucially for the custodial crew, the compact laminate material provided the structural density needed to survive daily use.

“It’s just so vandal-resistant,” says Tamara Allen, Architectural Consultant at Wind NW. “Graffiti comes right off. It’s very difficult to scratch. It really eases maintenance."

By opting for non-porous compact laminate and purpose-built gap-free hardware rather than standard commercial partitions, the school delivered student privacy without locking its custodial department into constant graffiti removal and panel repairs. 

Additionally, alongside the stalls, the layout incorporates an open, shared handwashing area that keeps common areas visible from adjacent hallways, discouraging loitering while preserving complete privacy inside individual toilet compartments.

Each restroom features heavy-duty recessed multi-roll toilet tissue dispensers, Bobrick B-3706C semi-recessed napkin/tampon vendors, and an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant compartment with stainless steel grab bars. The dispensers use a free-vend setup, fulfilling students' menstrual needs without requiring maintenance personnel to manage coin mechanisms or unjam coin slots.

The renovated restroom facilities received strong support across the school community, providing a template for how facility cleaning teams can handle changing privacy demands.

“Making bathrooms all-gender is the safest and clearest way to prevent students from having to explain or justify their bathroom use to anyone,” shares Vashon Island High School Principal Danny Rock. “It’s something none of us should ever have to endure.”