[Calclg-l] Community Center Schools Grant Program

[Woodward, Lucinda]

New Grant and Technical Assistance to Encourage Community Center Schools
July 14th Deadline

Is your state facing threats of demolition or abandonment of
neighborhood schools?  When new schools are built, can your children to
walk to their school?  Do decision-makers understand the many roles
schools play within your community?  In addition to reaching educational
objectives, do you believe that schools can serve other purposes in your
neighborhood?

Concerned about the abandonment of older neighborhood schools and the
siting of new schools outside of communities, the National Trust is
offering an opportunity for organizations and coalitions in up to five
states to analyze their state's current policies and develop an
educational outreach program with policy recommendations to help
citizens and officials make informed choices when spending their limited
dollars on school facilities. Selected organizations will receive a year
of technical assistance and a $6,000 grant to: 1) research state
policies and practices; 2) convene a policy summit to develop
recommendations; 3) develop educational materials; and 4) hold a press
event to announce policy findings. By participating in this program,
organizations will secure community-centered schools for their state
through the implementation of state-level policies.  The proposal
deadline is July 14, 2008 at 5:00 p.m. eastern.

Through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency and with support from the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, the National
Trust launched the Helping Johnny Walk to School: Sustaining Communities
through Smart School Siting Policies program to help localities site
their schools in a way that not only achieves their educational
objectives, but also anchors the local neighborhood, supports better
public health, creates a cleaner environment, spurs economic
development, and offers additional amenities to the community.

Since publishing the seminal work Why Johnny Can't Walk to School:
Historic Neighborhood Schools in the Age of Sprawl and listing the
threat to older neighborhood schools on the America's 11 Most Endangered
Historic Sites list in 2000, the National Trust for Historic
Preservation has continually sought ways to raise awareness about the
important link between community vitality and walkable neighborhood
schools. This new effort is a program of the National Trust Center for
State and Local Policy which provides technical assistance, trains
advocates, and conducts research on policies that impact the country's
historic resources.  Partners in this work with include authors
Constance Beaumont and Tom Hylton, as well as organizations such as Safe
Routes to School, The Rural School and Community Trust, and the 21st
Century School Fund.

For more information about this issue and details about applying for
this new grant opportunity, visit
http://www.preservationnation.org/issues/historic-schools/ or contact
Renee Viers Kuhlman, Director of Special Projects, Center for State and
Local Policy, at Phone: 202-588-6234, e-mail:
renee_kuhlman at nthp.org<mailto:renee_kuhlman at nthp.org>. <<RFP
Announcement.doc>> 

 
 

 

 

Lucinda M. Woodward 

Supervisor, Local Government Unit

California Office of Historic Preservation

(916) 653-9116 voice

(916) 653-9824 fax

lwoodward at parks.ca.gov