RADNOR MIDDLE SCHOOL
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PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
Opinion Section
February 12, 2001
When Superintendent Mark J. Raivetz envisioned the future of Haddon Township schools, he didn't imagine keeping two antiquated elementary buildings. The new guy in town, he saw classrooms that were too small, a nurse working out of an attic, physical education taught outdoors and lunch eaten in shifts in the basement.
Neighbors, on the other hand - some of them fourth- or fifth-generation residents - saw what they'd always seen: their school, a building they loved despite its faults, located where they could watch their child walk safely, doorstep to doorstep.
The residents insisted on keeping the schools open. In December, they voted overwhelmingly to spend $11.3 million, with help from the state, on renovation districtwide. They also voted to spend $7.4 million to build a middle school for the 2,300-student district.
Haddon Township would qualify as a victory in the National Trust for Historic Preservation's push to save neighborhood schools in the age of sprawl. Too many districts raze aging structures and sacrifice the benefits of neighborhood schools, assuming newer and bigger must be better.
"Schools were once thought of as important civic landmarks built to last a century," said Richard Moe, president of National Trust. "They represented community investments that inspired civic pride and participation in public life."
Whenever educationally and economically feasible, preservation and renovation should take precedence over new construction, National Trust contends. It's good advice, seconded by nationally admired land-use planners, particularly as open space rapidly disappears. Schools that share a history with their communities can be the anchor to revitalize their communities.
But here's the challenge: The average age of America's 86,000 schools is 42 years. Most were designed for large-group, teacher-centered instruction - not the variety of approaches used today. Many schools suffer from years of deferred maintenance. Many do not offer access required under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and many aren't wired for the latest technology. So why not knock them down and start over? Lots of reasons.
Older schools tend to have smaller school populations, which the latest research equates with higher academic and social success. The U.S. Department of Education advises that elementary schools have no more than 400 students; middle schools no more than 500 and high schools no more than 2,000. Newer, regional schools tend to exceed those limits.
Older schools are more woven into the fabric of the community, as Haddon Township demonstrated. They tend to be used as community centers after hours and on weekends. Senior citizens and residents without children have actually been inside, which tends to increase support for education initiatives.
More students walk to neighborhood schools. Only 13 percent of all trips to school these days are made by foot or bicycle, which has contributed to the obesity of today's children. A North Carolina study documented that students are four times as likely to walk to a school built before 1983 than after.
Many neighborhood schools are historically and culturally valuable, architecturally distinctive and aesthetically pleasing. Students take a greater pride in attending them.
Having passed an unprecedented $8 billion school construction bill last summer, New Jersey has a rare opportunity to rebuild its schools - and, by extension, its communities. Haddon Township provides a good example of blending building for the future with preserving the past. Other communities in New Jersey should take note.
February 13, 2001
The 1990s building boom in affluent Moorestown packed its three neighborhood elementary schools to their limits. Fifth grade had to be shifted to the middle school this year, taxing that building and necessitating 10 a.m. lunch periods.
The entire township will be relieved next fall when its new Upper Elementary School opens on the mushrooming east side. The school will house the district's fourth- through sixth-graders in ample classroom space, with state-of-the-art laboratories and technology.
Yet the school is essentially a warehouse on a field of green. Moorestown, like many communities in suburban New Jersey and Pennsylvania, followed the industrial, box-on-20-acres model that has been prevalent since the 1970s. The result encourages more sprawl and less of a sense of community.
Nationally, the U.S. Department of Education says districts will need to build 6,000 new schools in the next 10 years to accommodate a projected enrollment of 54.3 million students. Districts also will need more space for smaller class sizes, all-day kindergarten, preschool programs, new technology and new methods of teaching.
Some districts will need to replace buildings too decrepit to save. In New Jersey, school officials can tap an unprecedented $8 billion school construction fund passed last year. They also should be tapping fresh approaches.
Today's scarcity of land and fragmentation of community dictate that whether building or replacing a school, districts should think beyond that big box. Schools can anchor new neighborhoods, just as they can revitalize old ones, but only if they're entwined in the community they serve.
The fresh approach is rooted in coordinated planning. For years, school districts and municipalities often have worked at crossed purposes. Districts ignored master plans and bypassed zoning, while municipalities approved new development without considering the impact on schools. Cooperation can lead to wise location of schools adjacent to public parks, libraries and recreation centers.
The building's orientation also can connect it to the community. The main entrance to Moorestown's new school, for example, turns its back on existing housing and, instead, faces an open field. The residential development behind the school has no sidewalks leading to the building to encourage walking. Instead, there's a barrier of pine trees.
Size is another consideration. A behemoth can't be integrated easily into a neighborhood. Schools have gotten too big, which research shows may be detrimental to education.
Finally, schools must move beyond the traditional building hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. In evenings and on weekends, schools can offer space for recreation, social services, training and child care - activities that bring a wider range of community members into the school and cultivate local support for education.
Better planning must flow in both directions: Schools need to better utilize the community. Innovative ideas include putting a creative and performing arts school in an old theater, and vocational schools near restaurants or hospitals.
School construction problems have largely grown out of planning done under the duress of unmanageable overcrowding or rapid deterioration. At some point, education officials, community leaders and residents must step out of that cycle of crisis.
The public school system is the most influential planning entity promoting sprawl in America. It could be just as influential in stopping it.
© 2000 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc.
