D150 - New Information, Citizens & Civic Engagement

D150 Board Members and Administrators wanted new information and a lot of people to attend the public forum. Citizens delivered on both counts using best practices!

New Information --- Community Schools are located within the neighorhood to be served and civic engagement process information:

Schools as Centers of Communities - A Citizen's Guide For Planning - National Clearinghouse for Education Facilities (NCEF)

http://www.edfacilities.org/pubs/scc_Cover_page_Table_of_Contents.pdf

Historic Neighborhood Schools Deliver 21st Century Educations (NCEF)http://www.edfacilities.org/pubs/historic.pdf

Please take the time to click on the NCEF index link --- best practices in the 21st century for schools with the following categories ---Preplanning, Planning, Design, School Spaces, School Grounds, Case Studies, Safe Schools, Healthy Schools, High Performance Schools, Technology, Materials and Equipment, School Construction, Financing, Buliding & Operating Costs, Maintenance and Operations with several indepth articles in each category and subcategory.

http://www.edfacilities.org/rl/index.cfm

Historic Schools: Renovation vs. Replacement & The Role of a Feasbility Study - National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP)

http://www.nationaltrust.org/issues/schools/downloads/school_feasibility_study.pdf

Why Johnny Can't Walk to School (NTHP)

http://www.nationaltrust.org/issues/downloads/schools_why_johnny.pdf

10 Principles of Authentic Community Engagement - KnowledgeWorks Foundation

http://www.kwfdn.org/resource_library/_resources/10principles.pdf

http://www.kwfdn.org/schools_communities/schools_centers/community_engagement/

Communities are more likely to financially support improvements that involve them .... and so on .....

Standards of Excellence in Civic Engagement - The Harvard Institute

http://theharwoodinstitute.org/file_uploads/Standards_of_Excellence_1441.pdf

And 250 -275 citizens attended the public forum and presented all this information and alternatives to the proposed site in a respectful manner. Solution minded citizens who have Grand Canyon-sized hearts.

Today's PJ Star (o3 May 2006), Time to table school plan? has a couple of quotes ---

"No one's trying to force something on a neighborhood that doesn't want it. They'll say 'We do want it, but we want it with all our qualifiers and all our stipulations,' but the problem with that is that it may not fit in with the plan of our district," Morris said Tuesday, the day after about 30 people voiced opposition to a proposed school site at Glen Oak Park.

"It may not fit in with the plan of our district" --- whatever does that mean? Our district is actually 'owned' and financed by the property owners of the district (whether they live in the district and/or have children in D150 schools) and all stakeholders would like to involved in the process.

Remember the tea party in Boston Harbor?

'Our district' involves all stakeholders working together from the onset and throughout the entire process to opening day and beyond to develop a 'best practices' plan for 'our district' and thereby the City of Peoria and for this region and this the state of Illinois and for the U.S.A.

Board member Mary Spangler also mentioned this possibility, saying that it may be better to hold off on a school in the Woodruff area if the district can't find a solution that pleases the public and is financially and educationally sound.

"We're just talking about more time to get everyone on board and make it a win-win situation for everyone," Spangler said.

That's the spirit --- let's get everyone on board this train --- whether it is in the Woodruff area or elsewhere within the district, the citizens are asking to be involved, to be a part of the Peoria's destiny.

No matter the school site, the information presented at the public forum is applicable to both sites and civic engagement. Hats off for a job well done.