The Downtown Schools- Emerson Alternative Middle and the Future Elementary

[Urban Pioneer]

As a nearby property owner, I was excited to get a post card in the mail for the Maps for Kids first project meeting for Emerson Alternative Middle at N. Walker and NW 6th Streets.

The meeting is tomorrow night (Thursday) (Jan 14th) at 6-7 in the school.

Hopefully they will demolish those ugly mobile homes and clean up the block. The school itself is another grand ole "Cherokee Gothic" structure.

This is meeting one of four that are planned.

I also want to ask them about the planned downtown elementary.

[Urban Pioneer]

Another thing that should be advocated for is the use of Project 180 templates for the surrounding streets and sidewalks. I am sitting outside the school now and the block really does need serious help.

[PLANSIT]

Good stuff.

BTW, I didn't know you owned property downtown.

[Urban Pioneer]

Well, the meeting was a bit extraordinary. I didn't think that many people were interested in the school. There was very little room for any more. And the crowd was diverse and fully engaged.

Basically, the crowd wants Option 2. That is the complete renovation of the existing historic school building and construction of a large addition.

There is a strong desire for the demolition and removal of the existing "temporary" buildings. Also a new drop off and parking areas planned,

The disappointing aspects if the plan is that there is little focus on the seamless integration needed with downtown and ammenities such as bike racks and basketball courts. Everyone there seemed to want these elements added.

Steve was there as well an can probably add more to the thread.

[rcjunkie]

Well, the meeting was a bit extraordinary. I didn't think that many people were interested in the school. There was very little room for any more. And the crowd was diverse and fully engaged.

Basically, the crowd wants Option 2. That is the complete renovation of the existing historic school building and construction of a large addition.

There is a strong desire for the demolition and removal of the existing "temporary" buildings. Also a new drop off and parking areas planned,

The disappointing aspects if the plan is that there is little focus on the seamless integration needed with downtown and ammenities such as bike racks and basketball courts. Everyone there seemed to want these elements added.

Steve was there as well an can probably add more to the thread.

Any discussion about the Proposed Elementary school ?

[Midtowner]

Emerson Alternative's mission is currently helping teen moms. Is that going to change?

[Urban Pioneer]

The downtown elementary school was not openly discussed. However, a school representative told me that it is still on the docket and location could almost be any where downtown.

Have any ideas for a good location?

Emerson will still handle both the young mothers and the Alternative Students.

The students that attended the event claimed to need books and other necessities immediately. Apparently, the school needs dire assistance for basic materials now irregardless of the renovation.

[fuzzytoad]

The students that attended the event claimed to need books and other necessities immediately. Apparently, the school needs dire assistance for basic materials now irregardless of the renovation.

I thought Maps4Kids was a huge success?? At least, that's what we were all led to believe..

Also, I hope you weren't quoting the school there, since "irregardless" was used...

[Urban Pioneer]

I think MAPS 4 Kids, from what I have at least seen, has been a great success. But MAPS doesn't deal with school supplies and medical clinics. The situation at Emerson is dire. They need help today. They also need help beyond the typical. These are troubled young adults with real problems.

The school renovation will help return some dignity back to the property. However, they need books, paper, medical equipment for the young mothers, and support for creative programs such as music.

The biggest element I saw glaringly absent that I could relate to was athletics for the young men who need an outlet. The neighborhood is constantly vandalized because they have nothing to spend all of that energy. I remember what it was like in high school. Young people need support and dignity. Emerson needs a complete "re-thinking" on design layout and the tools within that design for the kids to use.

[Midtowner]

I'm not really sold. We gave the kids at Douglass and John Marshall fine facilities and financial support and they haven't improved a bit. Maybe we should be looking to cut our losses before going all in when it probably won't matter what we do or how much we spend with these folks? Just give 'em a class on how to apply for state and federal benefits, stick 'em in section 8 housing and be done with them.

What's the average outlook for these kids anyhow? Would new books or anything like that really change things?

[Urban Pioneer]

That's a pretty "Randian" perspective! Lol
I don't have kids and usually would not be interested in such matters. But it was the students in attendance saying they don't have enough books and asking for them.

If there weren't 40 year old "temp" buildings surrounding the school I might have a different opinion. But how do you expect kids to lean in buildings with leaky roofs, broken plumbing, and limited heating?

If you don't support the kids, fine. That's your business. But otherwise it is another opportunity to improve another downtown block.

[fuzzytoad]

If there weren't 40 year old "temp" buildings surrounding the school I might have a different opinion. But how do you expect kids to lean in buildings with leaky roofs, broken plumbing, and limited heating?

Sounds like an excellent opportunity to learn about carpentry, plumbing and hvac.

[Urban Pioneer]

Sounds like an excellent opportunity to learn about carpentry, plumbing and hvac.

lol

[Spartan]

Sounds like these kids should have done their homework and they would have known MAPS 4 Kids isn't the funding source for their new books. They'd have been better served attending a school board meeting and trying to guilt them over the book situation.

And you know, I went to high school in the suburbs..at Westmoore High School..and we had crappy books too. You know what? Deal with it. Everyone in public schools has crappy books. In college you can either buy your books new or get used books, your call there. They say it's "dire" -- that sounds dramatic. Define "dire."

As for the elementary school, two scenarios. You can put it where there is residential density in the Deep Deuce area, and you'll have a good school location, but you deal a huge blow to Core to Shore developing into mass residential. Put the school in Core to Shore and you help C2S out a lot, but for the development period, you just put an elementary school in a crackhead homeless bombed-out area.

[Urban Pioneer]

What I do hope is that we make the Project 180 a designated template for further downtown development.

Emerson and this planned downtown elementary school are prime examples of opportunities to expand the continuity of this quality urban overlay. If Urban Renewal wants to develop another superblock, the perimeter textures and ammenities should be of the same design quality.

[Midtowner]

If there weren't 40 year old "temp" buildings surrounding the school I might have a different opinion. But how do you expect kids to lean in buildings with leaky roofs, broken plumbing, and limited heating?

Perhaps because I've seen it done year in and year out at Harding Charter Prep? Broken plumbing and limited HVAC are the norm there as well. In fact, assuming the absolute worst about Emerson, the fact that it's minimally habitable means it's on par facility-wise with Harding despite the fact that Emerson gets far more money per pupil than Harding does (Emerson is a public school and Harding is a charter school, so Emerson gets more state money).

Also, Harding's teachers get paid at the absolute bottom of the Oklahoma step-pay scale. Emerson's, I'm quite sure do not, so let's brush that concern aside as well.

If with Harding's budget, they're able to afford newer textbooks, then the problem is not that M4K isn't doing its job vis a vis Emerson, it's that the administration of the school is choosing to allocate money to other things than textbooks despite having a serious financial advantage.

That said, Harding is the #3 academic school in the state. You can't talk about huge differences between minority and lower-income students because those differences don't really exit.

The difference is that one group of kids and parents give a damn about their education and the other does not. The very thought that we need to funnel more money to people who do not care about their education is simply baffling.

Schools in India and China and all over the third world with even worse facilities and home conditions are still running laps around even Harding... and you think textbooks are the problem?

[bandnerd]

One thing that Mid did not mention about Harding is that a lot of those textbooks were bought with grant money, a fact which he might not have known. However, these grants are available for any school, if someone is willing to put in the legwork to apply and jump through all of the hoops. I myself have raised well over $20K in grant money for my programs. It's how we manage the gap in state mandated funding since we only receive 75% of it.

Sure, we want our kids in habitable places. We have worked very hard at Harding to make it a much cleaner, safer place; but no one was around to help us from MAPS, the state department, or really anywhere. We had to go out and do the work ourselves, raise money ourselves, and be the grunts.

[gracefor24]

I'd like to see the demographic comparison between Harding and Emerson in the area bolded below.

Perhaps because I've seen it done year in and year out at Harding Charter Prep? Broken plumbing and limited HVAC are the norm there as well. In fact, assuming the absolute worst about Emerson, the fact that it's minimally habitable means it's on par facility-wise with Harding despite the fact that Emerson gets far more money per pupil than Harding does (Emerson is a public school and Harding is a charter school, so Emerson gets more state money).

Also, Harding's teachers get paid at the absolute bottom of the Oklahoma step-pay scale. Emerson's, I'm quite sure do not, so let's brush that concern aside as well.

If with Harding's budget, they're able to afford newer textbooks, then the problem is not that M4K isn't doing its job vis a vis Emerson, it's that the administration of the school is choosing to allocate money to other things than textbooks despite having a serious financial advantage.

That said, Harding is the #3 academic school in the state. You can't talk about huge differences between minority and lower-income students because those differences don't really exit.

The difference is that one group of kids and parents give a damn about their education and the other does not. The very thought that we need to funnel more money to people who do not care about their education is simply baffling.

Schools in India and China and all over the third world with even worse facilities and home conditions are still running laps around even Harding... and you think textbooks are the problem?

[Midtowner]

I'd like to see the demographic comparison between Harding and Emerson in the area bolded below.

It isn't income.

It isn't race.

It isn't socioeconomic status.

It isn't that the teachers aren't being compensated at Emerson.

It isn't location.

It isn't funding.

It isn't facilities.

And it isn't something in the water.

What would you suggest the difference is? Do you have a better hypothesis? This case calls for a simple application of Occam's razor. If you look at the types of kids each school attracts (alternative versus charter), one group of kids and parents value education more than the other, hence higher test scores in one group and lower in the other.

The world is made up of winners and losers. The group that tries and cares is going to win the vast majority of the time. No amount of funding or new textbooks will erase that.

[Urban Pioneer]

Article published today by Steve.

NewsOK

[Charles]

Mr. Lackmeyer's article shows that good things don't just happen -- particularly with regards to the public schools. A school needs involved, focused parents to make a difference. Emerson's problem is that its patrons -- young mothers and students with discipline problems -- are among the least able to push back effectively against a bureacracy.

[Midtowner]

Mr. Lackmeyer's article shows that good things don't just happen -- particularly with regards to the public schools. A school needs involved, focused parents to make a difference. Emerson's problem is that its patrons -- young mothers and students with discipline problems -- are among the least able to push back effectively against a bureacracy.

And the story behind the scenes is that the administration doesn't appear to give a damn.

If they'd actually apply for grants (not difficult at all), they could get textbooks and whatever else through private money. Instead, they'd rather be public employees in kooshy jobs and they'd rather not have to do any more than the bare minimum to get by.

The young lady's pleas re: new books are emblematic of the issue here. These folks would rather bitch about other people not spoonfeeding them everything they need than put pen to paper and stamp to envelope and do what needs to be done.

Sometimes, it ain't so much 'ask and ye shall receive' as it's 'seek and ye shall find.'

[Urban Pioneer]

The meeting on this issue is today. Time to get rid of these awful "temporary" buildings downtown.

Urgent News: Emerson School | OKC Central

[metro]

Good post Urban Pioneer, anyone who can make it please attend. Tonights meeting is integral towards the fate of how this school will go. I'd love to be there, but I have another meeting I can't get out of.

[George]

I’m a bit confused about the focus of the meeting tonight. The Board agenda only lists one item regarding Emerson, and it is under the Consent Agenda:

“Recommend approval to negotiate a contract for design services with The Small Group, for architectural engineering services related to the design and construction of Emerson Alternative School, OCMAPS Project EB-0017, to be funded from the Bond Fund. (Terry Wolfe/Jim Burkey)”

I called the Board Clerk to ask her about this. She said the only agenda item tonight was to select the architect for Emerson. This seemed to be more of an administrative issue, which may be why the item is on the Consent Agenda. The Board Clerk added that Emerson is scheduled to be on the agenda for the May 17th Board Meeting under “MAPS Reports”, which is generally when the Board approves specific MAPS projects for specific schools.

Maybe there will be a larger and more substantive discussion on Emerson tonight, but the Board's agenda doesn't seem to give any strong hints that this will definitely take place. I would really appreciate confirmation that we will be able to address approval of “Option 2″ for Emerson at tonight’s meeting. Thanks!