Richard Riley Award
Community Learning Centers for the 21st Century
Presented by:
Harrison Park School
Often called the “Harry Potter” school by students because of its soaring English Gothic architecture, the redesign of this historic building located in Grand Rapids, Michigan is an excellent example of how an older school facility can be reinvented as a community school to meet the changing needs of students.
Built in 1924, the Harrison Park School now includes both an elementary and middle school. The two schools occupy either end of the 162,000-square-foot building, with common areas and administrative offices situated in between. The renovation brought about two new gymnasiums, computer labs for each school, 50 high-tech classrooms, air conditioning, and the restoration of a two-story Grand Lobby as a community public space. Initially budgeted at $26 million dollars, the redesign was ultimately completed under-budget at a cost of $23,900,000.
During the redesign process, invitations were sent to all homes in the immediate community surrounding the Harrison Park School offering residents the opportunity to attend community visioning sessions. A direct result of this process was the addition of more soccer fields, courtyards designed to be secured internally, and a looped walkway to encourage people to take advantage of the park like setting. The community also made a strong effort to protect the historic gothic architecture in the new main entrance.
The redesign of Harrison Park School put a heavy emphasis on green design, and the school is currently in its final stages of obtaining LEED certification. To this extent, the 50 year old pane windows were replaced with historically appropriate, but energy efficient windows. A special effort was made to expand the windows in the two-story Grand Lobby to their original size to increase natural light. Also, a white membrane roof was added to reflect the heat of the sun, instead of absorbing it into the building.
Other efforts to improve energy efficiency and improve environmental quality included incorporating energy efficient lights throughout the building and installing all plumbing with low-flow fixtures. The paints, stains and sealants used in the redesign were all required to have low volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In addition, the school developed added rain gardens and bioswales to its outdoor environment.
The newly renovated school provides space for a number of community services that are part of the Kent School Service Network including a health center, mental health services, and a United Way tutoring program. Staff from the Network specializes in working with students and their families after incidences of truancy, suspension or expulsion; all of these services are coordinated by Community Schools Coordinator (CSC).
The redesign of the school began in 2004, when the Kent County’s Family and Children’s Coordinating Council initiated a community dialogue about the local education system. One of the first outcomes from this dialogue was the realization that social problems were pulling school resources away from the classroom. As a result, the Coordinating Council began a major effort to realign social services to support student achievement. This came into existence as the Kent School Services Network – a broad coalition of twelve school districts, health and social service agencies - that has increasingly allowed participating organizations to share data and information on individual students in order to provide on-site delivery of services at nine schools in three different school districts. A total of $1,232,906 in social, health and human services has been realigned and delivered at the various school sites.