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While Regina communities prepare to stop school closures (see notice below), a U.S. heritage foundation has developed a strong case for renovating neighbourhood schools as part of “smart growth” in educational planning. The National Trust has recently created a roadmap for saving older schools, following the release of a groundbreaking report. "Why Johnny Can’t Walk to School: Historic Neighborhood Schools in the Age of Sprawl."
“All too often, historic schools and options for renovation
are routinely dismissed,” the Trust writes in one of its Road Map fact sheets. “What’s
a community to do? Many parents feel powerless to intervene.”
Inflated renovation estimates and entrenched ideas are some
of the problems parents face when making the case to save their schools. The
Trust’s website provides a powerhouse of case studies, research, and campaign
advice to assist beleaguered communities.
The Trust recommends parents conduct pro-school campaigns
that maintain a civil tone and draw on trustworthy expertise. Often school
officials think they are doing the right thing by closing schools, the Trust states,
because they haven’t conducted adequate research into alternatives. Several older schools have won awards as outstanding schools
after successful campaigns to save them, and communities have reaped benefits,
the Trust notes. “A cycle of community reinvestment was triggered by the
renovation of the Portland
Middle School,” the Trust
states in one of the case studies presented.
Learn more...
The
National Trust’s Historic Schools Website
The
National Trust’s Historic Schools Website
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