Why Franklin?

On Thursday, news broke that the Kent City School District plans to close one of its five elementary schools at the end of the current school year because of enrollment declines. While no specific school has been officially announced, the article indicated that some people believe it will be Franklin Elementary School. I also believe Franklin will be the one closed and am not surprised for a number of reasons. An article on Friday, January 31st, however, made it sound as if Franklin (and the former Central Elementary School) closing is a done deal, even while board members insist no formal decision has been made.

Let me start out by saying this blog should not be construed as an endorsement of closing any of the schools or advocating for one school or the other to close. I'm simply looking at the "why"s and answering them to help people understand the situation better and move beyond the simple emotional aspect of the situation. If people really want to potentially stop this closure, saying things like "Franklin is the best!" and "I love Franklin!!" may sound nice, but they aren't going to sway any votes. We all need to understand the facts, so we can argue facts with facts, particularly the economics of the situation. While I did not attend Franklin as a student, I have worked there multiple times as a substitute over 3 years (so am familiar with the students and faculty), plus I know how upsetting it would be to me to have one of my schools close, especially if I were still a student there. That said, from an enrollment standpoint, which seems to be the main driver here, the district is completely justified in closing an elementary school. Kent simply does not have enough elementary-aged students to warrant spending money on five buildings when we have the student body that could fit in four, even three.

My concern as an alumnus of the district and now as a resident is how this has come about. Even in being, what I consider, justified in terms of enrollment (Kent does not need five elementary schools with the current enrollment), I feel the way the news has broken and the seeming disagreement in statements about whether or not it's Franklin, looks really bad and reflects poorly on the Board of Education. Voters in Kent just passed another school levy this past May that is due to generate $4.25 million in additional funds. Yes, that money has not yet come to the district, but it is coming, on top of the local tax money the district already receives. Kent has the highest property tax rates in the county and is among the highest in the area. Levies are hardly ever (if ever) voted down here. The schools are supported very well by residents and have been for pretty much ever. Announcing cuts, no matter how legitimate the reasons, so soon after a levy approval like that just does not look good.  I hope it spurs more residents, whether they have kids in the schools or not, to be more involved and to really analyze how the district does business rather than simply assuming the best and basically writing blank checks all the time. Kent does a lot of things very well, but it could definitely use improvement in other areas.

Enrollment

Why the decline in elementary students? The district speculates the rise in rental housing, which is heavily related to the growth of Kent State University. The population of the city of Kent is higher than it has ever been in its history and is growing (along with Franklin Township), yet the school district has been declining. While I think the conversion of family housing to rentals is part of that, it's not the entire reason. I believe Kent has a lot of empty-nesters who have remained here. Nothing wrong with that (generally means they like it here and see no reason to leave), but it's going to have the obvious effect of lowering the student body. The neighborhood my Ridinger grandparents live in just east of KSU is a prime example. My dad remembers the neighborhood being full of kids, but now, and for the last 10-20 years, it has far more senior citizens and retired couples than it does kids as the kids have grown up and moved on. My grandparents themselves are part of that. Add that to the fact that Kent has had very little construction in the way of family housing (i.e. housing developments), and there you go. The neighborhood I grew up in also had that to a degree, and I've seen that here in the neighborhood I live in now in Kent.

Another valid point that I've seen others raise is the issue of taxes. While there hasn't been a whole lot of new housing available for families in Kent, I know of at least a few who have either decided they can't afford to live here because of the property taxes, or nearly didn't buy their house in Kent because of the high property taxes. In other words, in our desire to fund our schools well, we may be pricing out many of the very people the great programs the schools offer are designed to help the most. Of course, there hasn't been a formal study by the city or district (all anecdotal observations) as to exactly why and there are likely other factors too, but in the end, the result is we have far less elementary-aged students now than we did 10 and 20 years ago and the numbers have been declining for some time. Each elementary school outside Davey (which houses all preschoolers, so has a larger enrollment), has about 200 students. Franklin itself only has 192 this year. I'm not sure the capacities of each elementary school, but my guess is they are optimal around 350 student each (in the early 1990s, Walls had as many as 495 one year), give or take a few. Davey is the exception since it is a former high school and middle school, so it obviously has a larger capacity, probably around 600. As a junior high it had around 800 students, though it was crowded.

Facilities

September 7, 1922 Kent Tribune announcing the opening of Franklin

OK, so why has Franklin been targeted to close? Simple economics. From a facilities standpoint, Franklin is old and the older a building gets, the more expensive it becomes to maintain. The original portion of the building opened September 11, 1922, just 5 days after the original portion of Davey Elementary School opened as Roosevelt High School. Franklin has two additions, one on either side of the original building. As far as I have been able to find, both additions were built at the same time and were built in the 1950s prior to the merger between the Kent City and Franklin Local School Districts in 1959. There have been no major renovations to the building in the last few decades that I am aware of.

While Davey is an older building (at least the original part...it also has an addition that opened in 1967), it was heavily renovated in 1999-2000 as part of its conversion from a middle school to an elementary school, so much of it is newer than any other Kent school building, even Stanton Middle School (opened August 1999). That's on top of the historical and sentimental values attached to that building, which has served as a high school and middle school before being an elementary school. The other three Kent elementary schools are as follows, from oldest to youngest:
1. Longcoy, opened 1957 with additions in 1965 and the mid 1980s
2. Holden, opened in 1965
3. Walls, opened in 1966 with an addition in the early 1970s

This is not to say that Franklin is being targeted simply because it's old or that it's in terrible shape, because it isn't. But compared to the other elementary schools in the district, it is in the worst shape and is likely more expensive to maintain.

Accessibility

Anyone who has even been in Franklin knows its other shortcoming as a facility: accessibility. The entire building, both the original and the additions, was built long before any kind of handicap accessibility standards were in place. While there are three listed floors, in reality there are four levels connected only by staircases, most of which are small and narrow. The building has a somewhat confusing layout too because of the topography of the site. For instance, when you enter to go into the office or the gym, you are on what is considered the second floor even though it is ground level. Just outside the office is a staircase going to the rest of the second floor. The first floor is really the basement (accessible from the "upper" part of the second floor) and then there is a third level. The other four elementary buildings are either one floor (Longcoy has some stairs in the back of the building to a higher part of the same floor, but the rest of the building largely accessible) or have elevators (Davey has an elevator added during its renovation).

So yes, from a facilities and accessibility standpoint, eliminating Franklin makes financial sense since keeping it would result in extensive renovation to bring it up to code or total replacement. In a recent community survey, the district indicated that Franklin needed heavy renovation or replacement, and some in the district suggested simply closing Franklin instead. If enrollment would increase over the years and a new building needed, a new building would have to be built anyway. This will put it off until needed, if ever.

Location

Another thing working against Franklin is its location. Franklin is located on SR 43 just north of Roosevelt High School. It is the only Kent elementary school on a major road and is the only one not in the middle of a residential neighborhood, which is due to its history as the centralized township school. Yes, it's not completely isolated from residential areas (northern Kent, with the Riverbend subdivision adjacent to it), but compared to the other schools, it's far more isolated. Neighborhood elementary schools are best in residential areas on side streets since they have very young children walking to school and crossing streets. On top of that, the territory that Franklin serves is the largest in terms of land size, so it wouldn't surprise me if Franklin has the largest percentage of students who are bused or otherwise driven to school (a lot of parents drive their kids to school I noticed). That's significant because in closing a school, all costs are weighed. If closing one school means busing a whole bunch of kids who weren't previously bused, it may end up not creating the savings the district was hoping for. Since most Franklin kids are already bused, it would result in minimal increases in transportation costs. Even the kids that do currently walk could be picked up on by the existing routes on their way to whichever school they are going to.

Holden Elementary School, located on West School Street

The only other elementary school with a location similar to Franklin is Holden, but Holden is in a much more densely populated area (a smaller territory), so a large number, if not the majority, of the students walk to school. In fact, all of Holden's territory is less than a mile from the school as the crow flies. It is also not directly on a major road, though it is just a few hundred feet from South Water Street (SR 43). If Holden was closed, the entire student body would have to be bused to Walls, Davey, and/or Longcoy, a student body that previously wasn't bused. Bear in mind too that Holden is the closest school to the Kent City Schools' bus garage. And, of course, the building is newer than Franklin and is one floor.

The other thing with Holden is that it's much more embedded as a part of its neighborhood than Franklin is, at least from my experience at both schools and what I know about each school's history. Holden is the school for what is known as the South End (or the South Side), an area that has some of the highest poverty rates in the city, but is also a fairly close-knit, racially diverse, blue collar neighborhood. Holden is the successor of South School, which dates back to a wooden frame building in 1869 and a later building that stood from 1880-1966. It was the first "neighborhood" elementary school in Kent, formed later in the year that Kent's first centralized school (the Union School) opened. While Franklin dates to 1922 as a consolidation of the township's school houses, it did not become a Kent elementary school until 1959, and since at least 1966 has not served the entire township. That's not to say it isn't a community in itself, but of all the schools in Kent, Holden has always been the one that seemed to have the deepest ties to its neighborhood.

End results

If Franklin does end up getting closed, I see the student body getting divided between Walls and Davey most likely, then possibly other adjustments in the boundaries with Longcoy and Holden to balance the buildings out a bit. Walls already has a large section of Franklin Township in its territory (I grew up in the township and went to Walls). If needed, the district could also open up space at Davey by moving some of the preschool classes to other elementary schools instead of having all of them together. In reality, Walls could absorb the entire enrollment of Franklin and still have less students than when I was in school there. During my 5th grade year, Walls had 495 students in grades K-5. We had so many students that some had to be moved to Franklin my 5th grade year, plus we did not have a music or an art room. If Walls and Franklin were combined today, it would create a school of not even 400 students. When I subbed at Walls last in 2012, there were several classrooms that weren't being used at all (yet the school still has a modular unit out back!). Now, I don't think the district will actually do that; it's more to illustrate that having five schools isn't really needed. I can, however, see a scenario where the majority of Franklin students end up at Walls while others end up at Davey. I would hope the district goes the route that provides minimal disruption. If the boundaries are changed for all the remaining schools, that's going to be a lot of disruption for more than just the Franklin kids.

The former Emma Williard School at the corner of Brady Lake and Lake
Rockwell Roads near Brady Lake. It closed in 1978 and has been largely
vacant since then. Several projects have been proposed, but none have
come to fruition. 

I don't see large-scale layoffs. Most of the faculty and staff will likely relocate to the new schools with the kids. It won't simply be a case of adding all the students coming from Franklin to existing classrooms without additional teachers. Those who retire likely won't get replaced, though. I could see the loss of some administrative jobs (like the principal of Franklin), but that will depend on any retirements or departures that may come up at the other schools or in other districts. I do think the district will do what it can to minimize layoffs, if they happen at all, and there is enough time for people to be looking for other work if they think they may get laid off.

From a historical standpoint, I also hope that the Franklin building can find a use beyond a school. It is over 90 years old and is part of the community's history, so I would hate to see it torn down. Even so, finding new purposes for schools can often be difficult for a number of reasons. The former Emma Williard Elementary School in the Brady Lake area, closed in 1978, still stands and has been vacant since its closure. The issue is simply the cost of converting it to other uses. Schools can be converted to other uses, but they need someone who has a lot of money and a love of history. We've seen some former elementary schools find new life, others abandoned, and others torn down. There are so many factors.

An open cover letter

Looking for a good addition to your company or organization? Look no further. While my resume has been posted online for some time, and I maintain a LinkedIn profile, there's a lot more to me and my experience than just what is contained there.

Photo credit: Janelle Nutter, Square Root Photography

I can assimilate information quickly

A quick glance at my resume shows that I have had quite a bit of experience as a substitute teacher, so far at four different districts, which includes a total of nearly 20 different school buildings. That means on a given day, I not only have to remember the policies and routines of a particular building, which can vary even within the same school district, but also that of a specific classroom. In most cases, I walk into a classroom with little, if any, previous experience there and have between 10 and 30 minutes to absorb the lesson plans for the day, class rosters, any potential fire or tornado drill instructions, and any other rules or instructions that may have been left. Instructions can be as simple as a few lines ("give students this worksheet and have them complete it") to multiple pages long (such as an elementary school classroom). I have worked in environments where I'm one-on-one with students to environments where I have upwards of 60-70 kids in a room at the same time. There are even days where I spend part of the day at one school, then totally change gears and spend the rest of the day at another school in a totally different class.

So yes, subbing is far more than simply glorified babysitting that anyone with a pulse can do. It often takes quick thinking, staying on your toes, and being able to assimilate all that information quickly so that decisions can be made not only quickly, but carefully, which can be applied in many other workplace situations.

I can troubleshoot

Troubleshooting, of course, doesn't mean I can fix every problem I encounter, but at the very least, I can identify the problem and the best person or solution to fix it if I can't do it on my own. This is anything from troubleshooting simple computer problems (which I have done at home on a regular basis and even at some of the schools I sub for), to physical maintenance problems, to personality issues. This is part of my abilities to solve problems, whether it be a simple physical fix or some sort of compromise between two parties, or even just calming people down and discussing an issue, which plays into my next quality.

I am level-headed

Emotion can be a very powerful tool that drives people to complete tasks they may have otherwise failed at for a variety of reasons. On the same page, though, if not used correctly, emotion can cause people to make rash and illogical decisions. I am someone who can make a quick decision when needed, but can also weigh the evidence, the possibilities, and potential long-term ramifications. That's not to say I lack opinions, but my opinions are based on evidence and are subject to change based on additional evidence that may be brought to light. So, in a heated argument, especially one that is more ideologically-based, I will certainly have my beliefs and opinions, but not to the point of belittling others who disagree or disrespecting an opposing viewpoint. That said, it is also important for me that when I do make decisions, I can logically explain my reasons so that even if you disagree with what I did, at least you understand why I made the decision and that it wasn't made flippantly. I expect the same out of those around me too. It's great to have beliefs, but be prepared to defend them with logic and reason and not a lot of emotion.

I'm detail-oriented

Details are what sets things apart. In my experience as a teacher and presenter, that means going the extra mile in preparing materials for students and guests that help them not only memorize the info, but understand it far better than they did before my class or presentation. In a presentation I did in 2012 about a local historic building, the details I added were photos from old yearbooks, photos from places in the building that few had seen, and going into old newspapers and finding information that had long since been forgotten. I even had tour guides throughout the building pointing out subtle but still visible reminders of changes made in the building to help guests get a feel for its history.

Example of graphic used for a presentation I gave in 2012. Blue numbers indicate where tour guides stood to point out specific features, red arrows were entrances we needed opened by the custodial staff, while the yellow areas indicated to the school district which rooms we needed to use.

As a director of a musical theater production this past summer, my attention to details was manifest in making things on stage like facial expressions, cast members staying out of view of the audience while not on stage, lights being aimed perfectly (and centered if it was required), and annunciation. Outside the stage, it included doing the playbill myself to make sure information was in a logical order for guests, and organizing a photo shoot for the cast and crew to have professional head shots taken for a display.

While I did not personally make this, it was something I made sure happened. Thankfully, I was able to find a photographer (Janelle Nutter of Square Root Photography) who had the same vision and attention to detail I did to make this become a reality

In my personal life, details are in making sure pictures hung on the wall are straight, paint on the wall is even, the lines between the ceiling and walls are straight, and colors are balanced in any kind of decoration. It's also about keeping a daily journal (currently on volume 16), and making sure I use correct punctuation and grammar in all communication. And yes, I am often asked by friends and family to proof writing and even things like posters not only for correct spelling and grammar, but clarity in organization, use of color, and font size. I have used those skills on Wikipedia too, including a Featured Article on Kent, Ohio.

A picture collage I put together at home, making sure the frames were straight and spaced out evenly

I have managerial experience

As I mentioned previously, during the summer of 2013, I directed a local musical theater production. It was my first time ever taking on such an endeavor and it proved to be quite a challenge. Not only did I have to worry about the theatrical aspects of the show (who does what part, where they stand, how they act, etc.), but I had to worry about virtually every aspect of the show from the technical, to the music, down to the programs. That's not to say I did everything because I most certainly didn't. I had one dedicated crew and a group of people who were not only reliable, but bought into my overall vision for the show. Total, I had a cast of about 60 people, over half of which were children and teenagers, plus a full orchestra, and a crew of about 10. We had eight total performances and saw a noted increase in attendance from years prior, on top of a multitude of positive feedback from audience members and former cast members who attended (this was the 10th season of the show).

Early rehearsal, May 2013. Photo credit Lisa Lovato

As a substitute teacher and in my other teaching experience, I have had to tap into my managerial experience as well. When you're responsible not only for the education of children and teenagers but their well-being, that involves managing who is in the room, making sure they're on task, and knowing what to look for and how to motivate. As a sub, obviously that can change radically from day to day, such as managing an elementary gym class compared to a high school Advanced Placement English class.

I'm computer literate

I have been using computers since I was in elementary school and my grandma had an old Commodore 64. We got our first computer in the mid 1990s when I was a freshman in high school, so I have grown up not only using computers, but getting to know the various programs and operating systems. I'm more familiar with Windows than Macs, but that's mostly due to circumstance. I have extensive use and understanding of Microsoft Word, Publisher, and Excel, and even programs that I may not be as familiar with, I can pick up rather quickly with a simple tutorial, doing a web search for help, or just trial and error. I have done tons of scanning for presentations and personal use, and am an avid amateur photographer.

In social media, I have been on Facebook since 2006 and also have a Twitter account that I have started using more frequently. On Facebook, I have experience running and contributing to official pages, including the one for the musical I directed. I already mentioned my LinkedIn profile, plus I have this blog, my history blog, and even a personal blog. I am also a regular Wikipedia editor, and have written articles, edited others, and contributed scores of photos and graphics to use in all sorts of articles there. That alone requires attention to detail, working with others, and understanding policies and norms.

Finally
Although I have a teaching license, that shouldn't let any perspective employers shy away from contacting me for opportunities that may be outside the realm of education and/or music. I seek any kind of job opportunity that I can use my skills and feel like I am making an important contribution. I am, however, not interested in any kind of direct sales position, basically a job where my pay is dependent on the choices of others and whether I can convince them to buy some service or product. While I have no problem promoting products and services I have used (I occasionally do that right here on my blog), sales jobs such as selling insurance or cars are not something I would excel at. Even so, I am always open to propositions. Please feel free to contact me using the links on my resume or LinkedIn profile.

Oh, and did I mention I can sing too? Not that it would make a difference in most companies, but you never know. I have done the National Anthem for the Cleveland Indians multiple times (most recently in May 2013 and was scheduled to sing for the tie-breaker game had the Indians needed that at the end of September) and have done other teams like the Toledo Mud Hens, Akron Aeros, and Columbus Clippers, and of course, my hometown and Alma Mater Kent State!

Time to move on

I've felt like the writing's been on the wall for some time in regards to working in the Kent City Schools, but it's now official.  As of June 6th, I am no longer an employee of the district as I will not be returning the substitute teacher form and thus not renewing my contract.  I knew coming into this school year that it would be my last subbing in Kent because I would either get a full-time job here and thus not need to sub, or I wouldn't get the job and would take my services elsewhere.  The latter has proven true, so off I go.  If I do continue subbing (which means I have been unsuccessful in obtaining a full-time job), it will be in neighboring districts (including Maplewood Career Center in Ravenna where I have also been the last three years), but not Kent.

Most that know me know that I had hoped to get the choral director job at Roosevelt High School.  Not only was I a product of this program, but as a sub, I interacted with the choirs on a pretty regular basis.  At one point during this past school year, I subbed in choir 9 days in 3 weeks.  So yeah, I knew the program from both a historical perspective and from a present perspective.  Even then, though, I knew it would be an uphill battle for me to get the job based on what I was hearing in terms of what the district was looking for in a candidate.  It sounded like the intangibles I brought to the table in terms of continuity and rapport with the students weren't really traits the district considered that important.  Other events later in the year pretty much sealed the deal as far as I could tell, though I don't think those later events were game changers (in other words, I don't think those events made me go from someone they were thinking about hiring to someone they definitely weren't).  

In any case, I obviously didn't get the position I was hoping.  Again, not at all a surprise, but still disappointing nonetheless.  This is the district I live in and graduated from, so that in itself is disappointing, but even more so because I wasn't even interviewed.  On top of that, I found out pretty much by accident that someone had already been hired.  No one could even send me an email or mention that they were no longer looking, thanks for applying, etc.  Nothing.  And I was at Roosevelt the last week of school subbing on Tuesday (May 29) and Friday (June 1) too (Friday, ironically, was *in choir*).  The way I found out was by looking at the Feedjit app on the lower right side of this page.  It monitors web traffic to this address and tells me when someone visits.  When you click on the "real-time view", It also tells me what browser the person used, what operating system they're on, and even where they are logging in from.  If the person came to my page from a websearch like Google or Yahoo, then it will often show the what word or phrase was being searched for that led them to my page.  I occasionally check the full page of this and did so the other day.  I noticed a visitor from Ravenna, Ohio, had gone to my Resume page via a Google search for "mr. fowler choir director kent roosevelt". I decided to do that Google search myself and noticed the Roosevelt Choirs web page had a mention of this new person. Not a formal announcement by any means, just a passing mention, in a way that suggests the audience already knows about it.  And don't get me started on how many recommendation letters I asked for and never got from various people I know professionally.  I am, however, thankful for those who did take the time to write them for me!  You know who you are!

And in case any of you are wondering why I won't continue subbing in the Kent Schools, it's basically a matter of principle.  Would anyone reading this continue to work for an employer that only values you as a temp worker, especially an employer full of people that have known you for several years?  As a sub I get paid a fraction of what a full-time teacher does with no benefits and no guarantees I'll even be working most days.  Heck, subs don't even get employee parking passes at the high school (we get a "Visitor Pass").  I'm not going to keep doing it in a district that clearly has no respect for nor interest in me as a teacher.  That's not to say I didn't enjoy my time as a sub in Kent.  In terms of the teachers and students I worked with, I had a great time overall, and hope to continue the many positive associations I built in the last three years.  I especially enjoyed subbing in Intervention and Physical Education classes at the elementary schools, plus it was always nice to do something in my field of music at any level.  It's disappointing that it has come to this, but time to move on.

Davey Discoveries

When I posted last, I had hoped it would be the first of a succession of Kent Schools-related posts.  Well, life had other plans.  After an unexpected trip to the hospital at the end of August, surgery, recovery, getting back to work, and other life adventures the past month-and-a-half, I finally find myself able to start catching up on blogging again.

 I decided to blog again about what many in Kent refer to as the Davey building.  It is currently Davey Elementary School, but opened originally as Theodore Roosevelt High School in 1922, as Davey Junior High School in 1959, and Davey Middle School in 1993.  After a major renovation in 1999-2000, it reopened in August 2000 as Davey Elementary School.  It is the oldest school building in the Kent City School District (DePeyster School is actually older, but no longer serves as a school).  As I talked about in my blog post about Davey last year, I attended the building for grades 6-8 in the mid 1990s during its run as Davey Middle School.  Even as a student I recognized the building's rich history and was always fascinated by it and how much it has changed over the years.  Recently, I've been able to find out even more about the building's early days and confirm some of my suspicions about how things were when it opened and even discover some things I never even knew!

Subbing at Roosevelt the last 2-plus years, I've spent some time in the teacher's lounge for lunch or other down time.  In the lounge is a display case of Roosevelt memorabilia, which includes a photocopy of the 1922 dedication what is now Davey.  I had been pining to get the case open to get that program and the 1959 program from the original portion of the current high school because I suspected the 1922 program had a map of the building when it was new which would answer some of the questions I had.  I finally was able to get it open last month and was more than thrilled to find that the 1922 program did indeed have a detailed building map that not only shows the building's layout, but even details like where doors and windows were.  I've also been participating in a Facebook group called "You Know You're From Kent if/when..." that has several history-minded people like myself and past Roosevelt graduates who attended school at "Old" Roosevelt and even scanned some yearbook pictures and/or shared experiences.  It's been a lot of fun!  Here are some of my discoveries and confirmations along with the building maps from the 1922 dedication of what was then Theodore Roosevelt High School.

I was particularly happy to see the picture on top of the southeast view of the school as it originally appeared.  The 1966 addition to the school was built on this side, so you can't see it anymore.  In the background you can see the end of the gym that is covered up and where the windows used to be on that side of the gym.

Approximate views from the 1922 angles as seen in 2006.  As you can see in this second picture, not much has changed on this side!

1922 map of the basement and 1st floors.  This confirmed what I suspected in my previous blog that the original balcony in the gym was three-sided.  Today only one side remains (far left side) and it is separated by a wall from the rest of the gym and the floor on it was leveled, so most people don't even realize it was ever a balcony.  Of course today the full balcony wouldn't work because a regulation-sized basketball court wouldn't fit on the floor below!  The basement plan also shows where the original doors to the gym were that have been bricked over.  Other points of interest include the boys and girls locker alcoves on the first floor, the "dental clinic" on the first floor, and a "foot warmer" where the display case is now across the hall from the main entrance to the auditorium (labeled as "Assembly Room").  I've been told the foot warmer is actually still there underneath the display case!  My lingering question is whether or not the "passageway" on the left (west) side of the auditorium was open air or fully enclosed like it is now.  The passageway on the right (east) side was most definitely open air with a roof prior to the construction of the 1966 addition.  I also never realized that the far left (west) side of the 1st floor was one huge room originally.  When I was at Davey it had long been divided into 3 rooms and today is divided into 2 rooms (music and art) with 2 offices in between.  This building was also the home of the entire Board of Education too!

Map of the 2nd and 3rd floors in 1922.  I was surprised to see the emergency exit on the front right corner of the balcony.  That doorway is still there, but goes into the back of the teacher prep room (where the copy machine is) that is located in what used to be a staircase.  Both staircases on the right side of the building were removed during the 1966 addition.  I couldn't help but notice how many staircases there are in this building (particularly staircases that are more than likely emergency exits), which leads me to believe it was influenced by the Collinwood School Disaster just a few years prior (1908).  

Another discovery made recently was the sign that was once over the front doors.  Last year a local antique dealer, Don Barrett, found a large metal sign that read "THEODORE ROOSEVELT HIGH" with "Class of 1933" in small letters below it.  Roger Sidoti, who was principal of Roosevelt until this past summer, bought the sign and it's currently sitting in the wood shop at Roosevelt.  There are some tentative plans to mount it and have it displayed at the high school.  Where it was mounted at Davey is still visible (the bolt holes are still there) and one of the posted yearbook pictures from 1959 (last year the building served as Roosevelt) show the sign above the door.  As far as I know it's only the second class memorial to get moved from "Old Roosevelt" to the current building, the other being a decorative medallion of the school seal from the Class of 1940 in the sidewalk in front of the main entrance off North Mantua Street.  It had previously been in the sidewalk that goes straight out from the front entrance at Davey.  All other class memorials are still at Davey.  The current Roosevelt building has very few class memorials.  Most class "gifts" these days are purchases of equipment or something low-key (Class of 1999, however, helped pay for the large metal Rough Rider sculpture at the main cafeteria entrance) versus the bronze plaques, lamp posts, and even a Bible verse (Psalm 90:12) that are all over and around Davey.  

Front doors of Davey Elementary School on October 5, 2011 showing where the bolt holes are still visible.

Sign sitting on its side in the wood shop at Roosevelt.  On the back are wedges that angled the sign down slightly.

Picture of the front doors at "Old" Roosevelt in late 1958/early 1959 in its last year as a high school.  The metal
sign can be seen above the keystone of the arch.  It even gives off a small triangular shadow showing that it was angled down slightly, which matches the structure of the sign currently sitting in the wood shop.  The lamp posts seen are still there and were restored recently!

Class of 1925 Memorial from Psalm 90:12.  This is over the main doors to the auditorium and is the first thing you see upon entering the school through the main front doors. 

School seal from the Class of 1940.  This is located in the sidewalk right in front of the entrance to the auditorium lobby facing North Mantua Street at the current Roosevelt High School.  It is the only class monument currently on display at the high school that was moved from the previous building to the current one that I am aware of.  It was previously located in a triangular area where the sidewalk from the main entrance (which lines up with the centerline of North Prospect Street) to what is now Davey met the intersection of Lowell, Whittier, Park, and Prospect.  When I was a student at Davey, there was a similar medallion in the sidewalk that had been placed there in 1959 for the dedication of Davey Junior High School.  It was removed during the 1999-2000 renovations and not replaced.  

Location of the seal seen above at the current high school building.  I had to brush it off before I took the picture above!  "New" Roosevelt opened in 1959.  This section of the building (auditorium addition) opened in late 1972.  

Kent Community Survey

I recently had the chance to read the results of the Kent City Schools' survey.  During October, the district conducted a survey of the community to gauge their opinions on such things as the performance of the schools, administration, and possible facility changes.  The survey was done in two parts: the first part was a 400-person survey done over the phone by Kent State University while the other part was a 342-person written survey that was sent home to parents.  One of the days I subbed at Roosevelt I passed out the survey to students in my second period class.  The results of the survey can be found here.  Although I am technically an employee of the district as a substitute teacher, I am blogging here as a community member and an alumnus of the district as my interest in seeing this district do well is far more rooted in my connection and loyalty to Kent than being a sub. 

The first thing that really struck me was the section that had verbatim comments from respondents.  Both surveys had the opportunity for open comments, but only the phone survey comments were published.  I read all of the comments, which were taken for two questions: "Do you have any suggestions for the district to continue saving money?" and "Finally, do you have any questions or comments that we could convey to the Kent administration and board of education?"  Of course there were plenty of the classic "everything's great" and "keep up the good work" comments that inevitably come up.  There were some off-the-wall comments too like "how did you get my number?" and "they should reword the questions".  There were also some that show the respondent didn't pay attention to the survey, like a comment about freezing wages to save money when it was stated earlier that the district had already done so.  This is one of my favorites:
"You have to find a way to communicate with community better. Not everyone reads paper or has a computer, or has kids in the system."  This is especially ironic given a comment earlier that one of the ways to save money would be to "Stop sending junk mail- especially calendars." (each fall the district sends out calendar that has school events and the schedule on it along with other important contact info...I find it VERY useful).  I'm not really sure how much more the district could do.  In the end, they can only do so much to communicate; it's not like they keep the information secret.  The part about "not everyone reads paper" I'm hoping is just either a typo or it was spoken wrong.  How else can we communicate beyond the web and paper?  Does this person want phone calls or a TV show or something?

Most of the comments didn't surprise me.  You always have the people that think we should cut everything but science and math, and even one person said the first thing to go should be music and sports.  There were a few that advocated more of a pay-to-play fee for sports.  While I can understand that stance, I also think that everyone should have an equal chance to play sports or participate in other enrichment activities; not just the ones their family can afford.  Pay-to-play puts huge burdens on families and ultimately keeps a lot of people out of those things I feel make school a lot more real to students than just books and facts.  What bothered me the most as an educator were the focus just on test scores.  I've blogged extensively about the shortcomings of the state proficiency tests and the danger on relying only on their results as a means to compare districts.  Another comment I was troubled by was in regards to getting more part-time teachers so the district could save on healthcare and other costs like salary.  That's it; make teaching even less desirable and that will improve the schools.  Right.  Do people really think that will attract and retain the best and brightest?  As my aunt Jane, who is also a teacher, pointed out at Thanksgiving, teaching is one of those professions that everyone knows how to do your job better than you but won't actually do what is necessary to actually get a job in the field.  If teaching is "so easy" and teachers should be making even less than they do, why aren't all the people saying that lining up to show how easy it is?  Why do so many teachers leave the profession after only a short time?  Why do many who leave cite better pay in their new job as a reason they left teaching if it pays so well? 

The real kicker after reading the many comments (if you have time, the PDF of the phone survey can be found here...comments start on page 13, though the PDF page is one off of the printed page since the cover page is counted as page 1 in the file) was question 21 (printed page 11, PDF page 12): "Do you currently have children enrolled in the Kent Schools?"  The answer was 76.9% no.  So, 76.9% of the comments were from people who don't have kids in the schools right now.  That could range from people who just had their last kid graduate to people who enroll their kids in an alternate private or home school, to people who don't even have kids or had kids graduate many years ago.  In other words, I found it ironic that with all these comments about what is wrong with the schools, the vast majority of them are coming from people who have little to no connection with the district right now, yet they claim to know what's wrong and how to fix it. This survey also rated the superintendent with a "B" rating.  This was in contrast to the take home survey, which was filled out with over 90% of respondents being parents with kids in the district right now.  They gave him him with an "A" rating.  I only wish the written comments they had given were published.  They seemed to have a more positive view of the district.  Why?  Being in the schools lets people see past the state test scores, something I mentioned in my blog a few weeks ago.. The real test to evaluating schools is being an active parent and knowing what to look for.  Only then do the test scores have much more of a context and meaning.

Some of the things I was happy to see were questions about facilities, which I had heard would be one of the primary issues gauged.  In other words, the district is probably considering a bond issue or other increase to fund improvements to facilities and wants to see if it's going to be worth the time and effort of getting it passed.  The facility issues involve adding on to Roosevelt, mainly additional classroom space and a second gym; addressing the parking and traffic nightmare that exists every morning and afternoon at Roosevelt; adding on or replacing Franklin Elementary; and adding on to Holden Elementary.  If I had to rank these facility projects, I'd probably rank them in the order I just listed.  Each one is definitely justified, in my opinion, but obviously now isn't the best time to do a massive building project.  What I found interesting were a few comments in the survey that Franklin should be closed rather than replaced or added onto.  I think it could work, but I'd rather not see an elementary school closed unless the enrollment is very low; right now, Franklin has between 200 and 300 students, which is right around what the other elementary schools have in Kent (there are 5 total).  We also have to look long range.  While enrollment may be down, that doesn't mean it will stay down as families grow up, move out, and new ones move in.  Kent is definitely an aging population and a lot of households do not have kids anymore (empty nesters), but it won't stay like that forever as people age and move on.

One thing that gets missed, in my opinion, is the age of most of the facilities.  As buildings get older, they cost more to maintain.  Outside of Stanton Middle School, which opened in 1999, every other building is near 50 years or older with some having more recent additions.  The vast majority of Kent's schools were built in the late 1960s or before (during the period of Kent's largest growth), with a few having additions in the 1970s.  Roosevelt has a small addition from 1997, but the vast majority of the building was built in various phases between 1958 and 1977.  Franklin dates back to the 1920s and has an addition that was added in the 1960s as far as I know.  Holden opened in 1965 and has largely been untouched since then beyond basic maintenance. 

Roosevelt definitely needs an additional gym.  I have always been perplexed why we only have one gym when most comparable high schools (those of similar enrollments) usually have a main gym and an auxiliary gym.  Even the new Ravenna High School, as I blogged about earlier this year, has two gyms, one that is used mainly for competitions and the other that is used for physical education classes.  As I said in my blog there, I have long wanted Roosevelt to have something similar to what Ravenna ended up building in their high school, which is a small field house.  The current gym has served us well and is in pretty good shape, but people need to remember it was built as part of the original 1958 building.  Since then, the school's enrollment has gone from 550 students in 1959 to around 1,400 today and the building has had numerous additions.  The gym does not even fit the entire student body.  I would love to see a field house type addition with a large space that could be subdivided into multiple courts, as well as a multi-purpose room.  Right now, the auditorium lobby functions as our "multi-purpose room" despite the fact that it is freezing this time of year and is part of the hallway.  We also have quite a bit of teachers who move from room to room each period because we do not have enough classrooms.  I'm all for efficient use of space, but having a few extra rooms would still allow for maximum use while giving teachers a place to "set up shop" as opposed to constantly pushing a cart around the school.

The other issue, the traffic problems at Roosevelt and Stanton, also needs to be addressed.  Maybe it's because I'm at Roosevelt so much now, but the traffic has always been bad.  The reason it gets bad is because of the orientation of the parking lots and roads.  Basically, you have two parking lots and three roads all coming together at one point.  It's further exacerbated by it being the primary route students take to walk to and from the parking lot and it's where people drop their kids off.  So, you have tons of traffic funneled into one area mixing with hundreds of pedestrians.  In the afternoon, all of the buses head over to Stanton together, so it's like a train cutting through it all and bringing everything to a standstill.  Sometimes we have additional buses that are picking up students from other high schools who take vocational classes here as part of the Six District Education Compact.  The main dropoff point doesn't have a turnoff, so it blocks a lane of the road that handles the traffic.  Yes, it is an absolute nightmare every day.  Like the gym, it is a relic of the original 1958 building when there were far less students and even less cars.  Honestly, how many students had their own cars in 1959?  I have my own ideas about how to solve it (move the student parking lot to the north side of Roosevelt Drive adjacent to the building and add a second entrance from Mantua Street), but it definitely can't stay the way it is.

The main reasoning behind additions at Franklin and Holden has to do with mandated all-day kindergarten.  Neither building has much room to add an additional classroom or two to accommodate that and Holden has had a modular building next to it for years.  Replacing Franklin is more to do with its age and the fact that the building is fairly inaccessible to anyone with physical disabilities (if you've never been inside, it has a bizarre layout too).  Since it would likely need an addition and renovations, if replacing it is close to the same cost, in the long run it may be a less expensive option.

Davey Days

Back at the end of September I had the chance to sub at Davey Elementary School for two days (September 30-October 1) for the gym teacher.  Subbing in gym is always fun mostly because it involves just having the kids play a game the entire time, plus, I get to wear "gym clothes" (i.e. t-shirt and warm-up pants) to school instead of khakis and a shirt and tie.  Anyway, subbing at Davey is always fun and interesting because of the history I have with that building and the history of the building itself.

Front of Davey after a snowstorm in February 2010.  The original part
of the building is very symmetrical

I attended what was then Davey Middle School from 1993-1996 in grades 6-8.  At the end of my junior year in 1999, Davey was closed and renovated for a year after Stanton Middle School was done.  In 2000 it reopened as Davey Elementary, replacing Central Elementary, which was turned into an annex of the high school.  The Davey building has quite a history itself.  The original part of the building opened in 1922 as Roosevelt High School.  During the late 1930s/early 1940s, an annex was built behind the building to house industrial education.  It would be the high school until 1959, when it was rededicated as Davey Junior High School after the current high school on North Mantua Street opened.  In the late 1960s, a 2-story addition was added to the school, which included a new cafeteria and extra gym.  Davey Junior High was initially for grades 7-9 until the late 1970s when ninth-graders were moved back to Roosevelt.  During the mid 1980s the first 6th graders were brought to Davey, first all of the sixth grades, and finally just part of them.  From about 1986 until 1999, 6th graders from 2 of Kent's 5 elementary schools went to Davey while the rest stayed at their elementary schools.  I went to Walls Elementary, which was one of the two who sent 6th graders to Davey.  It was an unusual setup that existed only because Davey was simply not quite big enough for all the 6th graders.  The setup ended only after the larger Stanton Middle School opened in 1999.  In 1993, the whole team-teaching concept was introduced and Davey was officially rededicated as Davey Middle School, even though it had been a 6-8 school for several years by then.  What was funny was they made a big deal about it (it was even on TV) and took the words "Junior High" off the building, telling us it would be replaced with "Middle".  Well, that never happened.  To this day, it still says "Davey School" with Davey and School very far apart.

December 2006 picture showing the 1966 addition and the words on the front

The renovations to convert the building to use as an elementary school were pretty extensive.  Some of the older parts of the building were restored to be close to what they would've looked like in the 1920s, though many parts were simply ignored or modernized.  Of course all the junior high school lockers had to be removed, smaller chairs and desks brought in, and many rooms were completely gutted and/or partitioned.  Virtually all of the doors were replaced and the entire building was renumbered (so I can't use any of the room numbers I remember!).  The wing where the upper gym, girls locker room, and industrial arts rooms had been was completely stripped and converted into a preschool wing.  It's easy to see where the gym used to be on the outside of the building, but you'd never guess inside where it used to be.  The double doors that used to be the gym's entrance to the hallway are now the entrance to the hallway connecting each of the preschool rooms.  It's weird being in the school because it's the same building I went to, but it's different at the same time; like a shell of its former self.

Subbing in the gym was fun for the history side of me as the gym has seen quite a few changes.  One of the cool things about Davey is how fairly easy it is to see the many changes that have been made over the years to the building.  There are numerous bricked-over windows and doorways, some very obvious, others not so obvious.  The gym, which I and many others knew as the "lower gym", is part of the original 1922 building and has had several changes to it.  I brought my camera the 2nd day I was there and took some pictures during my lunch hour.  It was pretty fun exploring the hidden rooms of old Davey and noticing certain things I had long suspected about the building's past or never realized!  If you went to Davey, you will definitely be able to relate to these pictures.

The former boys locker room, now just used for storage.

The boys locker room actually has two parts, this part being the "lower" locker room that is under the auditorium.  It's like frozen in time with the floors clean, the showers empty, and the lights and restrooms still functioning.

Just past the doorway seen in the back of the first picture.  This room was used for storage when I was in school and I believe held equipment.  It was obviously used by the teams too.  Most of these signatures came from the period just before it ceased being used as a middle school, the 1990s.

Just beyond that room is another long room that was also used for storage and today is obviously just not used at all.  I long suspected there had been a staircase in this part of the building and this confirmed it.  See the remains of the staircase on the right side?  It was the bottom leg of the staircase on stage left of the auditorium.

Another view of the former staircase with one stair still remaining in a much different color than the stairs that still exist above it.

Looking the opposite direction from the former staircase, I discovered that this was also an alternate entrance to the gym. The shelf straight ahead is in what used to be a doorway.  The former doorway is visible behind the bleachers in the gym.

Another thing that surprised me in that same hallway were these bricked up windows.  Davey is built on the side of a hill, but apparently, the side against the hill was exposed, at least enough to have windows in the basement level.  If you went through these walls today you'd be underneath the 1966 addition.

Inside the gym. The windows on the right had long been bricked up when I was in school but were uncovered as part of the 1999-2000 renovations.  Other bricked up windows can be seen below them.  Behind the basketball hoop is a wall covering up what used to be a balcony that apparently ringed the gym on three sides at one point.  The former balcony was later covered up and leveled and is used as storage today.  When I was in school it was the "green room" for the adjacent stage.  

Rarely-used staircase seen in the far right corner of the previous picture.  A bricked-up window can be seen as well as where the upper staircase (which led to the upper level of the balcony) was blocked off and covered.  To the left of this picture is the "new" entrance to the former balcony.

Inside the former balcony, which I knew as the "green room" since it connects with the stage. Originally it had tiered levels, the evidence which can be seen along the walls (not in this picture...it's covered by the shelves) and below it.

Given the symmetry of the building, I often wondered why the gym didn't seem to follow that.  Turns out it mostly did but was later changed.  This bricked up door is right next to the current door that goes to a staircase that leads up to the cafeteria.  If the bricked up door were reopened, it would lead to an area underneath the cafeteria.  At the other end of this wall, there is another bricked up door.

View of the bleachers.  The former door mentioned a few pictures earlier that led to the now-removed staircase (it has a shelf in the doorway now) can be seen here.  Above the doorway the areas of the wall with plaster as opposed to brick are where the balcony and its supports once were.  I do not know when this part of the balcony was removed, but these markings are on this wall behind the bleachers and the other end zone, something I never noticed.  

Outside the gym where several bricked-up windows can be seen.  Along the bottom of the walls, you can even see where the ground originally was.  The doorway and window on the far left of the picture are part of the 1966 addition.  As far as I know, the newer-looking bricks on the far right of the picture were a small addition to the locker rooms at the same time.  At the top of the building, some of the bricks have been replaced as part of the 1999-2000 renovations.

Another view of the gym.  The four glass-block windows are in what used to be the balcony.  The smaller bricked-up windows in the middle are all part of the rooms that were originally built as dressing rooms for the stage but are now simply blocked off.  The larger bricked-up windows on the right were the windows for the stage right staircase to those dressing rooms.

More bricked-up windows on the back of the school, looking to the right of the previous picture.  The windows on the far right are part of an emergency exit staircase.  The bricked-up windows that alternate in the center of the picture are for the restrooms (right side) and a staircase (left side).  A bricked-up window from the auditorium can be seen just to the left of center next to one of 2 windows that were re-opened as part of the 1999-2000 renovations.

Inside the hallway, the outside of which can be seen on the left side of the previous picture, that connects stage right to one of the main staircases.  My mom said she had a locker here when she went to the school in the late 1960s.  This is largely what it looked like when I was in school; a storage area.  Inside this hallway I discovered that the bricked-over area for the large auditorium windows seen in the previous picture actually extends even lower (different color bricks seen on left), which leads me to believe that this hallway was added later, or was at least covered later.

Behind the school is the former football and track stadium.  Although the high school moved to a new building in 1959, the current stadium wasn't built until 1970, so this was home to Rough Rider athletics for several decades and was known as Bowers Field.  It is still used for lacrosse practice and some youth football.  When I was at Davey, the old bleachers were still standing on the far side of the field and we'd often sit in them when we'd go outside after lunch.  They were removed in 2006.

Supports for the former grandstands that I mentioned above which were removed in 2006.

View of the back of Davey as seen from the field.  There were also stands on the grassy hill according to my mom, who played in marching band at this stadium until her senior year.

Doorway to the "office" of the gym (which connects to the former boys locker room) where you can see the old floor underneath the current floor.  I also discovered that this doorway was added later.  Just to the right of it is a bricked-over doorway I had never noticed.