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City Platform Section II, Step 20:
"Create joint-use agreements with school districts and forge partnerships between school leaders and community-based groups to turn schools into centers of community life."
Municipal leaders can work with school officials to create "community schools." These partnerships allow a variety of organizations to join forces with schools to support learning, build stronger families and communities, and make more effective use of school buildings during non-school hours.
City Examples
Medina, Ohio
After a failed bond issue for the development of a city recreation center, the City of Medina teamed up with the school district and several community partners to make the renovation and expansion of the high school an opportunity for a joint-use facility benefiting the entire Medina community.
For two years, the city and school district worked together to educate the community about the project and build support for a bond to fund the effort. In 1999, the school bond passed, and the city and school district have entered into a 50-year joint-use agreement on the recreation facility, which is run by city staff and available at all times for both the school district and community's use.
Medina Hospital has also leased part of the recreation center to operate a physical therapy branch. In addition, the city's Performing Arts Foundation is a partner in the project and will operate a 1,200 seat auditorium on the high school campus. Finally, the University of Akron, which provides distance-learning courses to high school students, offers courses for post-secondary students and community residents on-site.
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Wichita, Kan.
Two of Wichita's four "neighborhood city halls" are located in elementary schools, helping to bring municipal services and resources into the community. These neighborhood city halls connect families to public health, parks and recreation, adult education, afterschool programs, library, building-code enforcement, and community policing services.
In addition, residents can schedule meetings with their city council members at these locations, use public meeting spaces and computers with free internet access, utilize notary publics, and participate in district advisory board and neighborhood association meetings.
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Resources
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