Resources for Advocates and Policy Makers
Helping Johnny Walk to School: Policy Recommendations for Removing Barriers to Community-Centered Schools (PDF)
As part of its Helping Johnny Walk to School: Sustaining Communities through Smart Policy project, the National Trust asked some of the brightest minds in their fields the following question: “What policies and practices are preventing the retention or development of community-centered schools?” We then asked them to offer suggestions for state reform. Their recommendations provide the basis for this report.
Model Policies for Preserving Historic Schools (PDF)
Not all older schools can or should be saved. However, there are many that are, or can become, high-performing facilities that meet the needs of students, teachers, and the community.
A Roadmap for Saving Your School (PDF)
There are various ways to get noticed, participate, and ultimately advocate for saving your historic neighborhood school. These strategies serve as a roadmap to help you get started, ask the right questions, follow leads, identify warning signs, and build support.
Restoration vs. Replacement: The Role of a Feasibility Study (PDF)
Weighing the pros and cons of renovating a historic neighborhood school or building a new one takes preservation “know-how,” experience, and creativity. As school districts face the challenge of trying to satisfy educational programmatic requirements, the latest trends in teaching methods and integrating new technology, the historic neighborhood school is not always given full consideration. Central to this decision-making process is the feasibility study.
State Policies for School Construction and Renovation (PDF)
An evaluation through a preservation lens of state polices for school construction and renovation.
How States Can Support or Undermine Neighborhood Schools and Community Preservation (PDF)
This report reaffirms the contribution made by historic neighborhood schools to their communities, but also provides policy direction for state policy makers – and for community preservation advocates who help shape state policies – who are working to maintain healthy neighborhoods and to preserve historic neighborhood schools.
Historic Neighborhood Schools Deliver 21st Century Educations (PDF)
Many people equate old schools with substandard schools, but as hundreds of school districts throughout the United States have shown, well-renovated, well-maintained historic schools can support a first-class twenty-first century educational program.
Smart Growth Schools: A Fact Sheet (PDF)
Some school districts have turned away from the trend toward sprawling schools and have discovered that ‘smart growth schools’ bring a range of benefits for the district, the students, and the community.
