Can public elementary schools be at the center of rebuilding neighborhoods while improving the lives of kids?

The answer may be behind a new, major initiative of The Dayton Foundation and Dayton Public Schools.

Thanks to start-up funding largely from local foundations, corporations and hospitals, Edison, Fairview, Ruskin, Patterson-Kennedy and either Allen or Webster have been identified as some of the neighborhood school centers where children and adults can come after school and on weekends for programs ranging from homework clubs to community gardening and family wellness classes. Approximately one-third to a half of the children who attend these and other Dayton Public Schools live in poverty, according to 2000 U.S. Census data.

Nationally, the effort is part of a growing trend to establish public schools as centers for after-school academics, social services and even medical care. Neighborhoods benefit through improved safety and stronger community pride and engagement, according to a national study by the Coalition for Community Schools (CSS). Students who attend these types of schools tend to have improved grades and proficiency test scores, better attendance and reduced behavior and discipline problems, according to the CSS.

The Dayton Foundation secured $365,000 in funding for the planning phase, created an oversight council of 25 leaders from a broad spectrum of the community and hired the University of Dayton's Raymond L. Fitz Center, S.M. Center for Leadership in Community to design the concept for these centers and build the partnerships. The neighborhood school centers will be phased in, starting in fall 2006.

This effort is a direct outgrowth of Dayton Public Schoolsâ strategic plan ÷specifically, a strategic plan to create strong neighborhood schools ÷ and part of the districtâs civic capacity initiative that encourages the community to take ownership of their schools. With the end of court-ordered busing, Dayton is transitioning back to neighborhood schools and spending $627 million to renovate or replace more than half of its aging schools over the next 10 to 12 years. In an independently conducted survey of Dayton residents in 2002, after-hours community use of school facilities was the leading reason given for supporting the historic November 2002 bond issue for new schools.

The five schools in this project are all slated to be rebuilt. Ruskin is currently closed, and either Allen or Webster will be rebuilt, but not both, according to Dayton Public Schools officials.

"As neighborhoods thrive, kids will thrive. It is our hope in creating five initial school centers with optimal public support rather than spreading resources too sparsely, these centers can serve as models that others might follow in the future," said Charles Jones, a governing board member of The Dayton Foundation and chair of the oversight council for the project. "This initiative is aligned with the Dayton Public Schools' planning. We will work with the Dayton Public Schools to find ways that these five schools can be extraordinary assets to their neighborhoods and vice versa. Our success with the neighborhood school centers will make better neighborhoods, stronger families and better students."

Each neighborhood school center will be different. "These are not going to be cookie-cutter centers. Each will be planned based on how the particular neighborhoods see their opportunities," said Mike Parks, president of The Dayton Foundation. "We will be encouraging service providers and neighborhood associations to provide a whole array of programs in these buildings. They will continue to be centers of activity, even after the school day or school year ends."

Percy Mack, superintendent of the Dayton Public Schools, said school administrators are working to expand school use beyond classroom needs. "This pilot effort will demonstrate the full potential of neighborhood schools. We will be able to pool all the strengths of a neighborhood to help our children succeed and support their families. We're drawing teachers, parents, business leaders, neighborhood leaders and human service providers into the business of educating our youth and building strong urban neighborhoods. Dayton Public Schools is grateful to the Dayton Foundation, who in response to our request, has graciously agreed to take on this effort."

Organizers of the Neighborhood School Centers Project are using lessons learned from similar efforts around the country, including Indianapolis, Ind.; Lincoln, Neb.; Evansville, Ind.; Allston, Mass.; and Portland, Ore. In Ohio, the Cincinnati Public School District plans to convert all of its schools into community learning centers in the next decade. Cleveland is following a similar model with its public schools.

"The impetus for this project is neighborhood development," said Dick Ferguson, executive director of University of Daytonâs Fitz Center. "We're seizing the opportunity to strengthen neighborhoods and families through the rebuilding of schools."

Funders of the Neighborhood School Centers Project include the Antioch Company, Children's Medical Center, Culture Works, The Dayton Foundation, DP&L Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, Grandview Medical Center, the Iams Co., the Iddings Foundation, KnowledgeWorks Foundation, MeadWestvaco Foundation, NCR Corporation, Premier Health Partners, United Way and the University of Dayton. Community partners include The Dayton Foundation, Dayton Public Schools, the University of Dayton's Raymond L. Fitz, S.M. Center for Leadership in Community, the City of Dayton and Montgomery County.

Click here for a front page Dayton Daily News article on the Neighborhood School Centers project or here for a Dayton Daily News editoral.