Throughout the whole facilities discussions, on blogs and forums and in discussions with people, I keep coming back to something... Supposedly this community values "neighborhood schools" yet I have never seen a definition of what that means:
So, please post your definition of "neighborhood schools" with the assumption that said definition to be used to determine that if a school closed, would there still be a school in the "neighborhood". Please be specific and make sure that is all you post... your definition of "Neighborhood Schools" anything will be deleted. You don't need to "criticize" some one's definition right now I'm just looking for definitions. This thread will be locked on April 15 (assuming I can figure out how to do that) and then I will take 3-5 definitions and (again assuming I can figure out how) post a poll to see how much agreement on a definition there is.
Thanks -- again I request you choose a "name" even just a letter works -- so much easier than time posted... PLEASE ;-)
UPDATE: As Smiley pointed out -- low turnout on this post. Apparently no one has a working definition of "neighborhood schools" or they don't want to share it.
I'll have a post on a new but related topic later this week.
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6 comments:
I think you have to start by defining a neighborhood. Wikipedia provides the following definition:
A neighbourhood or neighborhood (see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community located within a larger city, town or suburb.
In localities where neighbourhoods do not have an official status, questions can arise as to where one neighbourhood begins and another ends. Many cities may use districts and wards as official divisions of the city, rather than traditional neighbourhood boundaries.
Obviously neighborhood lines will cross and a definition will be different from person to person. One could argue that neighborhoods are centered around churches, schools and other quasi-public buildings.
To me, a neighborhood school is a school that is RELATIVELY close by and serves a particular neighborhood. If the neighborhood is walkable, students should be able to walk to their school whenever possible. That school should be located in the neighborhood that it serves.
smiley
Thanks for that start smiley. A few questions based on your post:
1. How far is too far to walk?
2. Can a neighborhood have 2 schools?
3. If students currently go to a school that is farther away from their home, than another school (ex. Webster Elem. is closer to some students' homes but they go to Washington because that is how the boundary is drawn) are they going to a "neighborhood school".
4. Is a neighborhood "fixed" or can you change school boundaries and "create" a new neighborhood?
5. It is repeatedly stated that Oshkosh values "neighborhood schools". Where is the evidence to support that, do we value it enough to pay the high cost of keeping every school we have now?
I am interested in everyone's answers.
I believe that a neighborhood school is not necessarily located in my neighborhood but one that is attended by my neighborhood....with some provisos...I don't want to walk or drive in front of one school to get to another...and we need to then define which homes constitue my neighborhood.
for chatting purposes I'll sign this since I can't recall my google password.
Regards,
M :)
1. How far is too far to walk?
I think that there are standards for reference. But, I would think about 1-1.5 miles would be as far as practical.
2. Can a neighborhood have 2 schools? A neighborhood should have one elementary school and multiple hoods should share one middle and one highschool.
3. If students currently go to a school that is farther away from their home, than another school (ex. Webster Elem. is closer to some students' homes but they go to Washington because that is how the boundary is drawn) are they going to a "neighborhood school".
I think they are. To me it is important that the neighborhoods adjacent to each other move together to the next level. You may go to a different elementary school from a friend across the street, but you will meet uo at middle school for example.
4. Is a neighborhood "fixed" or can you change school boundaries and "create" a new neighborhood?
Some neighborhoods are more clearly defined than others and opinons will very greatly depending on the scenario presented. It will be up to our leaders to provide good, sound reason and use good judgement.
5. It is repeatedly stated that Oshkosh values "neighborhood schools". Where is the evidence to support that, do we value it enough to pay the high cost of keeping every school we have now?
I am not in favor of keeping every school open.
Smiley
My answer to question number one related to elementary schools. I think that middle school aged children could walk further.
Smiley
Looks like Low Voter Turnout again.
smiley
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