A New Way to Educate:
Public Schools Downtown, at the Airport and in the Mall
2001-23
Many of Washington's 296 public school districts face significant challenges when it comes to providing a clean, safe and modern learning environment for students at affordable cost. The traditional model of a government built, owned and operated public school is no longer the only option. In a new study, "Innovative School Facility Partnerships: Downtown, Airport and Retail Space," Matthew Taylor and Lisa Snell show how school districts can work with private organizations to develop innovative schools located in workplaces like business districts, airports and retail buildings.
Work-site schools allow innovative programs in which the private sector provides the space for classrooms and the school districts provide the teachers and textbooks. In exchange for private-sector involvement, these schools can offer a targeted enrollment designed to serve the children of the employees of the sponsoring companies and can provide valuable internship opportunities for the participating students.
More than forty-five satellite, or work-site, schools operate in the United States. Different models of these partnerships are developing between businesses and school districts. A version of this idea is already working in our state. The Seattle School District recently entered into a partnership with the Simon Youth Foundation to create a model for a smaller high school. The new academy is designed to address the needs of an at-risk student population.
The Mall Academy, led by head teacher Eddie Reed, is located in Seattle at Northgate Mall, a Simon Property Group retail property. The school offers four core educational elements to up to 100 students between the ages of 16 to 21: Middle College, Applied Health Occupations, Career Ladders and Marketing on the Mall. All of these programs benefit from extensive partnerships with businesses and organizations located at the mall, while allowing students to explore the professional world of working internships. Students attend classes for three hours per day, providing 540 hours of instruction in employment skills and transition planning, along with training and internship experience.
The Northgate school is the Simon Foundation's fifteenth successful nationwide partnership with a school district interested in developing a model for more responsive education. This public-private partnership would not be possible within the traditional school district funding model. The innovation and resources of the Simon Foundation, combined with the willingness of the Seattle School District to seek out private sector involvement, has made it possible to provide a unique, positive learning experience for what historically has been a very expensive and challenging-to-educate student population.
The idea of a satellite, or work-site, school first emerged in 1987 in Miami-Dade County, Florida. By working with local businesses, work-site schools increase parental involvement, reduce class sizes and improve job skill training opportunities for students of all ages. Across the country three similar types of public-private partnerships have proven successful.
The first is the Downtown Business Model, in which businesses join to help fund and operate a school in partnership with one or more public school districts. This approach was pioneered in 1993 by the Des Moines, Iowa Business Alliance. When the doors opened in 1993, the school served 45 students. Since that time, the Des Moines Downtown School has expanded to employ ten full-time teachers and serve 160 students.
Unique arrangements like the Downtown School result in schools that serve students from several districts, with some schools exclusively serving the children of downtown business employees. The schools create a sense of community between downtown businesses and the students and teachers at the school because of their involvement in a common endeavor.
In the second model, schools are located at the airport. An example is Spring Valley Elementary in Miami. This kindergarten through fifth grade academy is a full-service public school educating the children of Miami International Airport employees. Funded by the local airport authority, the school has been very popular with parents and has a waiting list of 65 children.
The third model involves retail shopping malls dedicating space for classrooms within the mall itself. The Northgate Mall Academy is one example, as is the school located in the Mall of America outside Minneapolis, the largest shopping mall in the United States.
The Metropolitan Learning Alliance, in similar fashion to other work-site schools, works with the Mall of America to provide physical space for classrooms, and local school districts provide the teachers, textbooks and supplies. As new shopping malls are constructed and others are renovated, these retail centers offer ideal locations for new partnerships with school districts across the nation.
Alternative work-site schools will not replace traditional public schools, but this bold concept provides school leaders and education policymakers with a powerful tool. With greater private sector involvement, school districts can reduce class sizes, increase one-on-one teaching and provide a better education for students.