Smaller, Safer, Saner Successful Schools. - National Clearinghouse ...

Smaller, Safer, Saner, Successful Schoolsmath tests.• At Broad Acres Elementary Schoolin Maryland, the number of familieswith no health care access declinedfrom 53 percent to 10 percent andthe number of families with no healthinsurance coverage went from 38percent to 10 percent.• At Lane Middle School in Portland,Oregon, suspensions declined from50 to 15 over a two-year period.(Dryfoos).In many cases it is not only the studentwho needs support, but also hisor her family. When a school sharesfacilities with social service agencies,children and families have access toprograms that will serve their needsand help students succeed in school.Families often do not know how orwhere to access services that couldhelp them. When different social serviceagencies are together in thesame building and are able to coordinatetheir eligibility procedures,families are better able to find thehelp that they need, are able to doso quickly and efficiently, and knowwhere to go in the case of an emergency.Assistance from social serviceagencies is most effective when theentire family is helped, rather thanjust individual members. If families aresuccessful and their needs are met,then their children will perform betterin school (Institute for EducationalLeadership).Social services are not the onlykind of services that can be madeavailable to students through ashared facility. Some schools sharespace with a city or county library,dramatically expanding the range ofbooks, computers, and other materialsavailable for student use. BostonArts Academy and Fenway HighSchool share space with a music library,thus expanding the collectionand allowing the library to stay openlonger hours at no additional cost tothe schools.A third major benefit of co-locationis that it allows a community tooffer programs, facilities, and servicesthat it might otherwise not be able toafford. The northwestern Minnesotacommunity of Perham created amarvelous community recreationbuilding, open from early in themorning until late at night. Neitherthe city, the school district, nor localbusinesses could afford to construct,maintain, or operate the center bythemselves.But by working together, they can.The story is the same in Northfield,Minnesota. The Northfield CommunityResource Center is the product ofcollaboration among five organizations,including the city, local schooldistrict, senior citizens program, andtwo anti-poverty agencies. Togetherthey were able to create and operatea marvelous, state of the art centerthat none of the groups could affordby itself.High schools in Twinsburg andMedina, Ohio, are using the sameprinciples. Twinsburg is a suburbantown near Cleveland. A communityfitness center, next to the high school,is managed by the City of Twinsburg.It includes a swimming pool, divingwell, a field house with a six-lanetrack and three athletic courts, lockerrooms, offices, and childcare and receptionareas. The facility is usedboth by high school students and thebroader community (Fanning/Howey,a).The Medina School District andseveral community organizations aredoing something both similar andunique. The local hospital will lease apart of the community center andsupply staff, equipment, and other resources.A new auditorium with an orchestrapit and seating for 1,200 isbeing constructed. A local performingarts foundation has pledged$200,000 to help fund construction,and will operate the auditorium(Fanning/Howey b). Co-location ofthis type means that tax funds arebeing stretched and spent in a muchmore efficient manner. This is goodnews for taxpayers, as well as thoseresponsible for administering taxfunds.A fourth major benefit of sharedfacilities is that it creates more timefor families to spend together. A numberof “work site” public schools, suchas those in Miami, Des Moines and St.Paul, are open to workers in the immediatearea. So, for example, manyfamilies whose children attend theDowntown Kindergarten located in aSt. Paul bank, or the school at theMiami-Dade airport, drive to andfrom work with their children, havedaily contact with their child’s teachers,and sometimes eat lunch withthem. Many busy families appreciatemore time with their children.Educators and community leadersin other countries are seeing the benefitsof small schools and shared facilities.In the Netherlands, for example,two elementary schools recentlyhave been constructed with theseideas in mind. In Vleuten, an elementaryschool has been built directly undera new apartment building18