SMALLER, SAFER, SANER Successful Schools NNNaaatttiiiooonnnaaalll CCCllleeeaaarrriiinnnggghhhooouuussseee fffooorrr EEEddduuucccaaatttiiiooonnnaaalll FFFaaaccciiillliiitttiiieeesss,,, WWWaaassshhhiiinnngggtttooonnn,,, DDD...CCC... CCCeeennnttteeerrr fffooorrr SSSccchhhoooooolll CCChhhaaannngggeee,,, HHHuuubbbeeerrrttt HHH... HHHuuummmppphhhrrreeeyyy IIInnnssstttiiitttuuuttteee ooofff PPPuuubbbllliiiccc AAAffffffaaaiiirrrsss,,, UUUUnniivveerrssiittyy ooff MMiinnnneessoottaa For copies contact: NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE FOR EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES AT THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF BUILDING SCIENCES 1090 Vermont Avenue, N.W., #700, Washington, D.C. 20005–4905 On the Web: http://www.ncef.org Toll free telephone: (888) 552–0624 SMALLER, SAFER, SANER Successful Schools Joe Nathan and Sheena Thao Center for School Change NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE FOR EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES, WASHINGTON, D.C. CENTER FOR SCHOOL CHANGE, HUBERT H. HUMPHREY INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA 2007 A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS M any people collaborated to produce this booklet. Thanks to Bill Brenner, Judy Marks and other staff at the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities who understood the potential value of the report and strongly supported the first edition published in 2001. Thanks also to the KnowledgeWorks Foundation in Cincinnati, the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, Scheffer Lang and the U.S. Department of Education for helping support the research and publishing of the original report. The revised, December 2007 report was supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education via a subcontract from the Minnesota Department of Education. Thanks to Morgan Brown, (now at the U.S. Department of Education) and his Minnesota Department of Education colleagues Glory Kibbel, Leona Derden, and Julie M. Henderson. Thanks to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for helping create or improve several schools in this report, and for substantial support to the Center for School Change over the last seven years. A special thanks to the directors of each school highlighted in this report. They took time from very busy schedules to share information, arrange visits, and review drafts of the case studies. Thanks also for the invaluable assistance from Humphrey Institute col- leagues. This includes Deb Fitzpatrick, Martha Hardy, and Laura Bloomberg. Thanks to Karen Febey for help with the first edition. Thanks to Tiffany Green for her design work on this revised edition, and to Marcia Smith, who designed the original report. The conclusions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the funders or the educators whose schools are described. The Humphrey Institute of the University of Minnesota welcomes diverse opinions and aspirations. The Institute does not take positions on issues of pub- lic policy. The contents of this report are the responsibility of the authors. The University of Minnesota is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, disabili- ty, public assistance status, veteran status, or sexual orientation. The report was produced by the Center for School Change, Humphrey Institute, University of Minnesota, 301 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minn. 55455; (612) 626-1834), www.centerforschoolchang.org, December, 2007. 2 T C ABLE OF ONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................7 SUMMARY OF RESEARCH ON SMALL SCHOOLS AND SHARED FACILITIES ......8 SCHOOL CASE STUDIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter School .........................26 Amistad Academy................................................27 Arizona Agribusiness and Equine Center.............................29 Boston Arts Academy and Fenway High School ...................... 31 Buffalo King Center ...............................................33 Cesar Chavez....................................................35 City Academy....................................................37 Clark Montessori..................................................39 Codman Academy............................................... 41 Frederick Douglass Academy ......................................43 Julia Richman Education Center ...................................45 KIPP.............................................................48 Mesa Arts Academy ..............................................50 Minnesota New Country School ....................................52 Northfield Community Center......................................54 Perham Area Community Center (PACC)............................56 Perspectives Charter School .......................................58 School of Environmental Studies ....................................60 The MET ......................................................... 61 Vaughn Next Century Learning Center..............................63 Withrow University High School .....................................64 YESPrep .........................................................66 RESOURCES.........................................................68 Photo Credits.....................................................68 About the Authors ................................................68 3 Research Summary 5a 6a 6