Issue Paper 4: What should DUAB do?
What is DUAB?
Government entities recruit nonprofits and charge them rent, usually at reduced market rates, to help cover the building's maintenance and operational expenses.
(By combining a high school and a senior center, the town of Swampscott, Massachusetts, saved money and served residents of many ages. More info on shared spaces here.)
Within Indiana House District 3 there are two facilities that are prime candidates to become shared spaces. Both are owned by the struggling Gary Community School Corporation. The Deep River Outdoor Education Center located in Lake Station and Wirt-Emerson Jr./Sr. High School in Gary’s Miller Community are in desperate need of a community intervention.
(Wirt-Emerson Jr. /Sr. High)
Recently, an Indiana Department of Education report highlights that public schools within Indiana House District 3 have experienced some of the most losses of enrollment to charter and private schools this year. 2017-18 school year data figures showcase the loss has been concentrated in Gary where the ratio of students not attending the city's public schools is nearly 2-to-1.
On Wednesday January 17, 2018 data presented at the Wirt-Emerson walk through stated the following:
- West Side Jr./Sr. High School currently has about 750 students, and operates at just 22 percent capacity. The school can hold about 3,400 students.
- Wirt-Emerson Jr./Sr. High School, has about 530 students, operates at 49 percent capacity. It can hold about 1,090 students.
One of the most popular types of shared spaces is a school-senior center combo. Wirt-Emerson is located within the 46403 zip code which is estimated to have roughly 13,869 residents. 3,796 are school age and judging by the Indiana Department of Education report roughly only 1,265 attend Gary public schools. The 46403 zip code is famous for its civic engagement and strong senior citizen presence. With 2,157 residents over the age of sixty-five, Wirt-Emerson is a prime candidate to become a school-senior center
shared space. This coupled with the need for aquatics education in Gary proves critical mass for such a venture, as Wirt-Emerson hosts a pool that, if fixed up, could be accessed by the public when school is not in session. DUAB should actively pursue the shared space model, as it is working across the country and Gary residents already vocalized strong interest in such a partnership in their
community plan (see page 35).
(Washington, D.C., circa 1921. "Junior high school shop.")
Until the 1950s American high school students were standardly taught vocational and job-readiness skills were integrated into their curriculum. The siphoning of students into ability tracks in the fifties, led to the misconception that vocational education should only be associated as a remedial option. This misconception has flourished under the charter school regime as charters have even more state pressure to produce college-ready students. Meanwhile we are facing an international labor shortage. The labor shortage will hit America very hard in the next decade with the baby boomers retiring in droves. By 2040 43% of the US’s population will be under the age of 18 and over the age of 60; thus building communities that residents can grow up and grow old in is our nation’s future.
(A community built for for all is our nation’s future.)
On January 9, 2018 in his State of the State address, Gov. Holcomb, proclaimed that re-training Indiana workers was the top priority of his administration. Holcomb said, “85,000 jobs are unfilled in Indiana because employers can’t find people with the right skills. New job commitments and retiring Baby Boomers will only add to that number… This is the defining issue of the decade, and we don’t have a day to waste.”
Holcomb’s controversial overhaul of the state’s graduation requirements and diploma system has come under heat this winter. Holcomb’s new pathways system will effect students now in seventh grade. The state graduation exam will be replaced with one of several new graduation pathways requirements. These pathways could include passing a college-entrance exam, taking career and technical education classes, or passing advanced courses.
DUAB has suggested transforming one of Gary’s two remaining high schools into a junior high. 6-8th grade has been a problem area for both public and charter schools within the Steel City. Wirt-Emerson’s budget is lower than Westside’s. It is located in a heavily populated area known for its civic engagement. Perhaps transitioning Wirt-Emerson into a shared space public school (either as a middle school or Jr/Sr high school), specializing in providing after school and summer programming surrounding readiness for the state’s new pathways requirements would prove a viable option for the 46403 zip code.
(Learning the basics of bike repairs at the Ken Parr Build-A-Bike.)
Such a space could help bring back the outreach and pride of the labor movement into our schools by facilitating mentorship opportunities to help bridge the disconnect between our educational institutions and our regional employers. Other possibilities could emerge for Wirt-Emerson as capacity and community buy-in is achieved. Wirt-Emerson could eventually come full circle. It could become a junior/ senior high school and an active community hub, as it was in the not so distant past.
The fallowed grounds of The Deep River Outdoor Education Center also have huge potential. Under House Bill No. 1012 the property could be donated to a non-for-profit with a mission that is aligned with state level education outcomes for a dollar. (There is precedent of the Gary Community School Corporation donating property to a non-for-profit entity for $1, per their agreement with The Boys and Girls Club of Northwest Indiana acquiring Tolleston Middle School.) GCSC could also allow an existing community partner like the Nature Conservancy to manage The Deep River Outdoor Education Center, as they are aiding Gary's Ivanhoe Park, which is adjacent to the closed Ivanhoe School.
(Ivanhoe Park in Gary.)
Indiana House District 3 community members and educators both agree that training our young leaders to be ready for 21st century jobs will give us a competitive advantage in our state, national and world markets. However, requiring all of that training within a standard school day on top of the established graduation requirements is just not feasible. We need to work collaboratively with teachers to sustain and improve the performance of our schools. Across Indiana the education scene has drastically changed in the past two decades. It is up to our communities to collectively advocate for the best options for all of our children. We need to examine what is working and take a hard look at what is not. Optimizing our distressed school facilities to become shared spaces should be an option we pursue.
(Youth service employes in action at the First Annual Outdoor Adaptive Escapade.)
If elected, Jessica Renslow will fight to:
- Pursue partnership opportunities between public school systems and aligned non-for-profits to help develop programming and stewardship of facilities. This approach will benefit INHD3 by lessening the burden of maintaining all of our school facilities on the taxpayer, while reducing our blight situation and better guaranteeing our residents receive meaningful education opportunities at all ages.
- Bring back the outreach and pride of the labor movement into our schools by facilitating mentorship opportunities to help bridge the disconnect between our educational institutions and our regional employers.
- Support a moratorium on virtual charter school growth.
- Make kindergarten mandatory across Indiana, while advocating for students to attend school by age five and require attendance by age six (current compulsory schooling age in Indiana is seven).
- Refocus state policies to promote hybrid schools, over virtual charters, for non traditional learners seeking high school diplomas.
- Advocate for entrepreneurial education and financial literacy across INHD3 via community partnerships with local financial institutions/ business incubators.
- Require safe fails and oversight of all HB 567 elements and any additional education legislation effecting Indiana House District 3.
(Ms. Renslow's Podcasting 101 at Gear and Flame Week in Glen Park's Steel City Academy.)
