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"All in For Collingswood" wants the community to pay for this plan, but the community was not meaningfully engaged prior to district leadership developing and finalizing their referendum ask.
"All in For Collingswood" wants the community to pay for this plan, but the community was not meaningfully engaged prior to district leadership developing and finalizing their referendum ask.
Community members and stakeholders were not included in the planning of this referendum which will directly impact them regardless of whether or not they have students in the schools.
Community members and stakeholders were not included in the planning of this referendum which will directly impact them regardless of whether or not they have students in the schools.
It all all goes back to the notion of "Inclusion". We can't create a plan that serves Collingswood, if all members of the community have not been given a seat at the table.
A plan created with only those in the inner circle only suits... those who are in the inner circle..., but what about the rest of Collingswood? Is it fair to ask them to shoulder $40 million dollars for a plan that gives them no benefit?
Closing Sharp and Garfield affects more than students, it affects the surrounding community.
Closing Sharp and Garfield affects more than students, it affects the surrounding community.
Schools are more than just a building, they are the heart of the community
Schools are more than just a building, they are the heart of the community
"Schools are linchpins of a community’s overall physical landscape, or what sociologist Eric Klinenberg defines as “social infrastructure”: the physical places and organizations that shape the way people interact...Schools hold the history and culture of a place... School traditions connect one generation to the next, providing a sense of community stability and cohesion." -Andre Perry writing for the Brookings Institute
School closures create "a pattern of erosion of the institutions, services and resources that make a place a suitable home for vulnerable people."
School closures create "a pattern of erosion of the institutions, services and resources that make a place a suitable home for vulnerable people."
Eve Ewing, a former Chicago teacher and associate professor in the Department of Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity at the University of Chicago, where she teaches courses on education and racial inequality noted that school closures follow "a pattern of erosion of the institutions, services and resources that make a place a suitable home for vulnerable people."
"Public schools have always impacted communities in ways that go beyond just educating young people...whether it’s attracting businesses and workers into the area, directly affecting local property values..."
"Public schools have always impacted communities in ways that go beyond just educating young people...whether it’s attracting businesses and workers into the area, directly affecting local property values..."
"Public schools have always impacted communities in ways that go beyond just educating young people...whether it’s attracting businesses and workers into the area, directly affecting local property values, or just generally enhancing neighborhood vitality by creating centralized spaces for civic life, research has long demonstrated the influential role schools play within communities."
-Rachel Cohen for The Center for Popular Democracy
Cohen, Rachel. “The Devastating Impact of School Closures on Students and Communities.” The Center for Popular Democracy, 27 Apr. 2016, www.populardemocracy.org/news-and-publications/devastating-impact-school-closures-students-and-communities
Studies have shown that when neighborhoods lose a school, it can hurt property values and tax revenues. This plan erodes West Collingswood and will have a ripple effect throughout the borough.
Studies have shown that when neighborhoods lose a school, it can hurt property values and tax revenues. This plan erodes West Collingswood and will have a ripple effect throughout the borough.
Studies have shown that when neighborhoods lose a school, it can hurt property values and tax revenues. Public schools are gathering places that may be sites for other social services such as parent education, job skills classes, health services or distribution points for donations. When students have to travel farther to school, even by half a mile, it can lower participation in enrichment programs and make it harder for parents to get involved.
Makarewicz, Carrie. “Balancing education opportunities with sustainable travel and development.” Transportation, Land Use, and Environmental Planning, 2020, pp. 299–331, https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-815167-9.00016-5.
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