As Linda Schallan looks out from her office at the Palomino High School Library in Scottsdale, Ariz., she notices a crowd of preschoolers coming in for story time. Nearby, mothers and young children are selecting books in the children's section. At study tables and computers, Palomino High School students are working on class projects, while students from Arizona State University and Scottsdale Community College are accessing electronic resources—the Health Reference Center or the American Business Center—databases that few schools can afford. Others from the community are checking out nonfiction, previewing videos, or using the Internet. Retirees and business people are reading newspapers—today's Wall Street Journal, or yesterday's L.A. Times, if they don't mind accessing it electronically.
"Tomorrow, this will be a polling site," says Schallan, eager to bring in the community. Voting on a transit tax, many Scottsdalers will discover this library for the first time. "The public is delighted. People come in and say, I had no idea this was here,'" as they take in this spacious, 18,000-square-foot library.
Palomino High School Library is a school-housed public library. The school owns the building, but the City of Scottsdale owns most of the books. The fortunate result of an intergovernmental agreement, plans for Palomino High School Library "took a long time, and a lot of negotiations," remembers Schallan. "But I can't tell you how many people have come in and said, This is such a sensible idea. Why hasn't anybody tried this before?'"
Actually, school-housed public libraries have been tried before, but not always so successfully. In Edmonton, Canada, for example, where many combinations of such libraries have been tried, the Interdepartmental Liaison Group on Library Development has discouraged further efforts at shared facilities, noting that the combination has not successfully met the requirements for serving the two distinct communities, each with its differing roles and goals.
"I think sometimes school-housed public libraries are set up for failure," observes Schallan, an employee of the City of Scottsdale. "To be successful, a shared library has to have the best features of a public library." She lists such considerations as adequate parking, proper signage, big chairs, and access. "The library should not be down a hall. People don't like wading down a hall filled with teenagers."
"But what it really comes down to," Schallan says, "is cooperation. With 20 employees, some on contract with the school district, and some employed by the City of Scottsdale, we have to think in terms of ours, instead of mine and yours," insists Schalan. "It has to be a cooperative venture. Otherwise," she warns, "you have separate collections with separate processing and budgets. Even separate cataloging systems."
Do shared libraries save money? Schallan points out that Palomino High contributes $9 per student for library materials, totaling $18,000 a year for its 2,000 students. This is about the same as the other high schools in Scottsdale spend. But at Palomino, the City of Scottsdale contributes $90,000 for materials.
"No, we don't save money this way, but it's a win-win situation. This is better than any school library," Schallan observes. "For what we spend, we have the advantages of a larger collection and more staff. When our students visit other high schools, they come back and say I couldn't believe that school library.' Otherwise it might be easy for them to take this for granted."
With nearly 60,000 items, Palomino's collection is impressive. But because Palomino is part of Scottsdale Library Link, students and visitors have access to a circulating collection of 350,000 items, any of which can be delivered within 24 hours. And counting reference materials and other noncirculating items, the collection totals nearly 600,000 items—10 times Palomino's offerings.
"I'm really excited about what I'm seeing happen," says Schallan. "It gives me an incredibly positive feeling. We're very proud of this."
Schools as Community Centers, Safe Havens
Sharing resources with the community is becoming more common as schools rethink ways to improve education with limited budgets. At Heritage Oaks Elementary School in Roseville, Calif., students cannot tell where their school property ends and the city park begins. Neither can anyone else. The school's 10 acres blend in with 8 acres owned by the City of Roseville. The only fences are along the roads.
Completely open to the public, Heritage Oaks is a year-round, multitrack facility. The campus has day-care facilities, public parking, a tot lot (preschool playground), two full-size baseball diamonds, informal play areas, and play structures for older children. After school, Roseville Parks and Recreation sponsors Little League baseball, pottery, soccer, dance, basketball, aerobics, scouts, and 4-H.
"From sun up to sun down, Heritage Oaks is a community gathering point," says Superintendent Kelvin Lee. Parents drop off their children between 7 and 8:30 a.m for day care. From there, kids go to school. After-school day-care activities begin at 2:30 and last until 5:30 or 6:00 p.m. when parents return. Lee observes that after school, parents and students often go the park together.
Weekend programs bring hundreds of families to the campus and park. Seniors gather for square dancing. Church groups rent the school facilities on Sundays. "Heritage Oaks benefits families every single day," states Lee. "We even have parents joining us for lunch. The school has a low absence rate, a low dropout rate, and academic excellence." He also notes that the campus has few security worries. "The feeling of community ownership is strong. Vandalism is less than our insurance deductible of $1,000."
Paid for by both state and local bonds, Heritage Oaks benefits from a joint use agreement. The City of Roseville maintains the turf, and Dry Creek Joint Elementary School District provides use of the buildings. Completed in 1992, the school was designed first, with the surrounding park planned around it.
"When people move into our community," Lee says, "and they see how well this program works, they tell me, This is how a school should be.'" Lee believes that students at Heritage Oaks see their school not only as a community center, but as a safe haven as well.
A Pool of Resources
Not far from Heritage Oaks Elementary School, a high school benefits from another variation of joint use agreements. Adjacent to the 55-acre Mahaney Park, Woodcreek High School shares an olympic-size swimming pool with the City of Roseville.
"It's a good deal for both of us," says Danny Jones, director of facility development for Roseville School District. "The school doesn't pay to maintain this facility. The city does that," Jones explains. "But without the $1.8 million the school contributed toward construction, the project never would have happened."
During the day, Woodcreek High School has priority use of the pool and holds 2–3 swimming classes concurrently. Evenings and weekends, the City of Roseville leases the pool to organizations such as Capitol Aquatics, a competitive swim team. Recently, Roseville hosted the Western Regional Swimming Championship in this facility; 1,500 swimmers competed in a weeklong meet.
Woodcreek Principal Christine Minero notices the pride her 1,750 students take in their school and its unusual campus. "There isn't even graffiti here," she proudly notes. "That's pretty unusual for a high school. I've heard kids telling others, We don't have gangs at Woodcreek. Our school is neutral territory.'"
Minero also points out that Woodcreek students don't walk on the lawns, and that the campus is clean. "They really take care of it," she states. "We have a democratic culture and a high attendance rate."
The advantages found in schools like Palomino, Woodcreek, and Heritage Oaks exemplify the positive relationship between environment and behavior. "But it's not just the facility itself that makes the difference," says Deborah Moore, director of administration for the Council of Educational Facility Planners, International. "It's the whole environment. Is it just a school, or is it a community center? All this affects how students perceive their school, how they behave, and how they achieve."
Moore notes that only a minority of the population has children in schools, and that school funding often meets with opposition, especially if it means an increase in taxes. "How do we get voters to buy in and support our schools?" asks Moore. She insists that the answer lies in partnerships—partnerships that increase community use of schools. "If the school district doesn't meet the needs of its voters, they will take their dollars elsewhere," says Moore. Schools with programs that share facilities and resources are proven winners.