Rebuilding U.City High Into A Full-Service School FAQ: What Parents and Citizens Should Know About Schools As Dual Use Centers Chances are that, when you were growing up, your school's clubs, sports, and social activities played an important role in your life and in the life of your community. Today, in addition to hosting traditional student clubs and activities, many schools are open from morning to night hosting daycare, prekindergarten, adult, and senior learning programs as well as communitywide educational, health, social, cultural, religious, and recreational services and events. Schools used for these purposes can be referred to as a full-service school or community learning centers.
University City High School can be renovated and updated to become a full-service school with the construction of the Lion Heart Alumni Center.
Key facts
Keeping schools open longer--before- and after-school, and during the summer and weekends--can turn schools into community learning centers, providing students, parents, and the community with access to valuable educational, cultural, and recreational resources in a safe, supervised, and drug-free environment. Recent research has shown that quality after-school and summer programs reduce crime, delinquency, and victimization of children and youth.
Youth are at greatest risk of violence after the regular school day. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, youth between the ages of 12 and 17 are most at risk of committing violent acts and being victims between 3 p.m and 6 p.m.--a time when they are not in school at the end of the regular school day. Organized activities help children resist unsafe behaviors and enhance learning. After-school and summer programs can offer the support and supervision children need in order to learn and to resist the influences of unsafe or violent behaviors. Community public school facilities can offer the venue for such programs, for, otherwise, from the last bell of the school day to the first bell of the next day--16 hours each day--one of the community's largest capital investments sits mostly vacant.
Youth need opportunities outside of the regular school day to be mentored by adults and introduced to new activities that they can master. Research clearly shows that positive and sustained interactions with adults contribute to the overall development of young people and their achievement in school. After-school activities also allow children and youth to explore and master activities (art, dance, music, sports) that can contribute to their overall well-being and achievement.
What Are the Benefits?
Students, parents, and the entire community can benefit from a community learning center. Serving a broad spectrum of the community brings a better return on the community's investment in its school facilities and generates a wide range of citizen and business support for school financing. School-community alliances take a great deal of planning, cooperation, and flexibility on behalf of everyone involved, but they can result in enhanced learning, strengthened community ties, and reduced facility costs.
Community Use of Schools: Facility Design Perspectives (Fanning/Howey Associates, Inc., 1995) provides numerous examples of schools that have accommodated community use. The following testimonials are from some of the people involved with these schools:
"The more people use our schools, the more they associate with us, identify with us, and use our services and facilities, the better chance we have for enlisting the community's support when we need it."
Dr. C. Douglas Parks, Superintendent of the Aptakisic-Tripp Community Consolidated School District No. 102 in Buffalo Grove, Illinois.
"Wilson Middle School will be heavily used by our community. We knew we wanted to be able to accommodate a lot of use, so we had two main objectives: organize the functions so that the academic wing can be closed off and people can easily come and go in the public spaces; and make sure the spaces are easy to maintain, durable, and can be cleaned up quickly."
Bill Reiter, Director of Facilities and Operations for Muncie Community Schools in Muncie, Indiana.
"The older community members like to have a place to get together and talk that is safe. The school is a safe place. So they gather at the school and chat and have all sorts of social activities."
Dr. Betty J. Davis, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Management of the Pontiac School District in Pontiac, Michigan.
"Our school is the cultural center for our village-a museum, a library, and a place where our children can learn about their heritage. . . . Community use really helps with increasing support for our facilities. Our curriculum is based on community sharing and involvement."
Sam Towarak, Assistant Superintendent of the Bering Strait School District in Unalakleet, Alaska.
What Are the Challenges?
Most challenges are associated with increased building use. Because school spaces will be shared more often, territorial and other issues must be managed skillfully. More staff time is needed for planning, scheduling, and supervision. Liability, parking, and school safety issues have to be addressed. Cleaning and maintenance are more costly, and wear and tear on buildings and equipment increases. But the same problems present themselves daily in schools now, so these issues are nothing new. The cost of adding each new activity is usually quite low and sometimes can be recovered through user fees.
Some community members may not agree that school facilities should be used by private groups and organizations. This problem is best addressed by instituting clear and fair policies and user fees developed openly and with the community's input.
What Are Some Examples of School-Community Alliances?
School districts are forming alliances with public libraries, social service offices, community recreation departments, corporate training facilities, and similar entities to put their activities under the same roof with schools. Some districts have taken school activities out of the school building altogether and distributed them among specialized "learning environments" within the community with excellent results. The famous Zoo School outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota, for instance, is actually located in the state zoo.
The following are examples of specific school-community alliances:
Recreation departments and public schools. The school system in Clayton, Missouri, and the city of Clayton combined plans and resources to upgrade the high school athletic facility. The high school now has a new athletic facility that the city can use as a new community center. In St. Paul, Minnesota, a charter school shares space with a city recreation building that was formerly used primarily after school and on weekends.
Public libraries and public schools. Wisconsin has implemented a program in some communities whereby school and public library resources are housed in the same building, and services are provided by the same staff.
Social service agencies and public schools. The Children's Aid Society in New York City has implemented a community school model by using the school building to link parents and children to comprehensive social services, including afterschool care, dental services, and mental health counseling.
Universities and public schools. George Washington University in Washington, D.C., gives students at the School Without Walls High School access to its library and to 100 university classes per year to supplement the public school's offerings. In return, the university uses the school's building for evening classes. In Arizona, two charter schools share space with a community college, thus allowing students to take both high school and college classes.
Businesses and public schools. In the Birmingham Public School System in Michigan, an underused high school was transformed into a combination 1,000-student high school and a corporate training and conference center. This has provided the business community with an asset and the high school students with access to state-of-the-art technology. In other cities, businesses have provided onsite space for use by local schools.
Where Can I Get More Information?
The following organizations offer information on the topic of using schools as community learning centers:
National Center for Community Education
1017 Avon Street
Flint, MI 48503
Toll Free: 800-811-1105
Phone: 810-238-0463
Fax: 810-238-9211
E-mail: ncce@nccenet.org
Web: http://www.nccenet.orgNational Community Education Association
3929 Old Lee Highway, #91-A
Fairfax, VA 22042
Phone: 703-359-8973
Fax: 703-359-0972
E-mail: ncea@ncea.com
Web: http://www.ncea.comU.S. Department of Education 21st Century Community Learning Centers
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202-6175
Phone: 202-260-0919
Fax: 202-260-3420
E-mail: 21stCCLC@ed.gov
Web: http://www.ed.gov/21stcclc
Sources
Burk, S. 1999. Funding Sources for Community Education and Schools. Fairfax, VA: National Community Education Association. [To order: http://www.ncea.com/pubs_products]
Calfee, C., F. Wittwer, and M. Meredith. 1998. Building a Full-Service School: A Step-by-Step Guide. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ED 425 535. [To order: http://www.JosseyBass.com]
Decker, L. E., and M. R. Boo. 1996. Community Schools: Linking Home, School, and Community. Fairfax, VA: National Community Education Association.
[http://eric-web.tc.columbia.edu/community/community_schools]Dryfoos, J. G. 1994. Full-Service Schools: A Revolution in Health and Social Services for Children, Youth, and Families. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ED 371 053. [To order: http://www.JosseyBass.com]
Fanning/Howey Associates, Inc. 1995. Community Use of Schools: Facility Design Perspectives. Celina, OH: Author. ED 417 578. [To order: http://www.netwalk.com/~fhacol/market/pub.html] [NPIN Editor's note (03-17-03): this URL has changed: http://www.fhai.com/npub.php]
National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities. 2000. NCEF Hot Topics: Community Use of Schools. Washington, DC: Author. [http://www.edfacilities.org/ir/community_use.cfm]
Parson, S. 1999. Transforming Schools Into Community Learning Centers. Fairfax, VA: National Community Education Association. [To order: http://www.ncea.com/pubs_products]
Ringers, J., Jr., and L. E. Decker. 1995. School Community Centers: Guidelines for Interagency Planners. Fairfax, VA: National Community Education Association. ED 382 805. [To order: http://www.ncea.com/pubs_products]
U.S. Department of Education. 2000. Schools As Centers of Community: A Citizens' Guide for Planning and Design. Washington, DC: Author. [http://www.ed.gov/inits/construction/ctty-centers.html] [NPIN Editor's note (01-15-03): this URL no longer exists]
U.S. Department of Education. 1997. Keeping Schools Open As Community Learning Centers: Extending Learning in a Safe, Drug-Free Environment Before and After School. Washington, DC: Author. ED 409 659. [http://www.ed.gov/pubs/LearnCenters]
To contact Project Appleseed President & National Director, Kevin Walker, e-mail kevinwalker@projectappleseed.org/ 7209 Dorset Ave. / 63130.
