Our Position on Community-Centered Schools
Our Commitment
In addition to providing a place to educate our children, schools are also important anchors that help define and sustain our neighborhoods.
In addition to providing a place to educate our children, schools are also important anchors that help define and sustain our neighborhoods. Few public institutions are more crucial to sustaining a community than schools.
Recognizing this fact, the National Trust for Historic Preservation urges citizens across the country to retain existing schools or construct new ones where they can function as true community centers.
The National Trust offers grant and award opportunities as well as technical assistance to encourage renovation options whenever possible. We recommend states, tribes, local education authorities, and localities adopt policy and practices that support community-centered schools.
Where We Are Today?
Despite a growing awareness about the numerous benefits of community-centered schools, far too many existing schools continue to be threatened with abandonment, and new schools continue to be built far from the residents they serve. However, states and localities can reserve this course by adopting a "fix-it-first" philosophy. Consider these facts about community-centered schools:
- Renovation of schools creates more jobs than new construction. For every $1 million spent in a construction project, five more jobs are created in the rehabilitation of an existing building compared to new construction. According to researcher Donovan Rykpema, rehabilitation generally uses almost 20% more labor. Because the labor required to renovate schools is local, dollars stay in local economies, creating a more powerful economic stimulus.
- Centrally-located schools are used 24/7 by nearby residents. Residents walk around the track while children play on the playgrounds. Community groups use the school for after-school programs and events. In some instances, schools co-locate with other entities such as YMCA, libraries, and parks and the facilities are used around the clock.
- Older schools can provide a 21st century education. Creative architects can find ways to incorporate modern teaching technology into older schools or provide additional services in modern additions while reusing the existing facility.
- Older schools can be remarkably energy efficient. Older schools usually offer many "green" features such as a central location, quality of construction, and use of passive heating and cooling systems. For example, the U.S. Department of Energy has found "day-lighting" to be helpful in cutting energy costs. Most schools built in the early part of the 20th century took advantage of natural sources to light their classrooms.
- Schools in distant locations don't make economic sense. By the time taxpayers add up the costs of land acquisition, construction of new facility plus new roads, sewers, sidewalks, and demolishing or "mothballing" of existing facility, they usually support the renovation options.
- Renovating existing schools reduces construction waste. According to estimates, every square foot of nonresidential building demolition adds 155 pounds of solid waste to area landfills. In contrast, non-residential renovation only produces 18 pounds of waste per square foot.
- Older schools create conversations with past generations. Students gain a sense of the community's history while learning the value of reusing and recycling buildings.
Additionally, older schools tend to be located near the residents they serve. This means:
- More chances for physical activity. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of overweight children in America has tripled in the past thirty years. In their 2003 survey, parents ranked "distance" as the number one factor of why their children did not bike or walk school. The last available National Household Travel Survey (2001) showed 15% of children walked or biked to school, compared to 48% of students in 1969. Today the CDC recommends each student get 60 minutes of daily exercise for optimum health.
- Improved air quality. Fewer automobiles and buses on the road mean less vehicle miles traveled (VMTs) and therefore fewer greenhouse gas emissions. It also means less traffic on the road during morning and evening commutes. Many states and localities are including school siting recommendations in their climate action plans for reducing greenhouse gases.
- Lower transportation costs. When students attend community-centered schools, states and school districts can save money by busing fewer students to and from school.
Guiding Principles
- Continued use of schools whenever possible. By reinvesting in existing schools, communities help preserve the energy embedded in materials used in the original construction, as well as the supporting infrastructure, such as roads, water and sewer lines. By choosing to renovate, less construction waste is sent to the landfill and open space and farmland remains protected.
- Modernization and retrofitting of schools. As part of our sustainability platform, the National Trust recommends using 21st century technology to extend the life-cycle of existing buildings.
- If a community chooses not to renovate, we recommend adapting the school for another purpose. A school facility should not be closed until an alternative plan is in place and because student populations are cyclical, school districts should try to lease the property until it's needed again for educational purposes.
- If the community determines, after consulting with experienced historic preservation architects, that a school can not be successfully renovated, we recommend using the centrally located site for a new facility. In rare instances, an existing school can't be renovated, adapted, or retrofitted. In that case, the central location could be utilized and as much of the older materials re-used in the new building as possible.
- If after all alternatives are exhausted and a new site is deemed necessary by the community, the school site chosen should be centrally located and linked to the surrounding neighborhood with sidewalks and bike paths. This assures multiple transportation choices for parents, teachers, and students and allows the community to frequently use the facility for recreation and community events.
