John Rex Elementary

[soonerguru]

I really like the look of this project!

Just thought I would add a positive post to wash out my negative post on the Hill.

[Pete]

I really like the look of this project!

Just thought I would add a positive post to wash out my negative post on the Hill.

Good start but 5 positive posts are required to offset one negative.

[Zuplar]

I was thinking the other day I don't know what I've been downtown since this project was started.

[Urbanized]

As great as those photos are, it is hard to describe how much the building and its under-construction neighbor change the entire feel of that corner and of traveling west down Sheridan. It's really something you have to experience from street level. Makes a strong argument for zero setback in urban areas and its effect on walkability, if you can recall to mind the parking lot that was there previously.

[traxx]

All of this article will become available and there is so much great information I didn't want to just pick out parts of it to post.

http://www.oklahoman.com/article/3924535?embargo=1

So I have to subscribe to read articles now?

[Zuplar]

So I have to subscribe to read articles now?

It's not really that much IMO. The article that is.

Q&A with Joe Pierce

Mentors, tutors will be needed

at downtown elementary school

Q: A community forum on Oklahoma City's first downtown elementary school, which is under construction at N Walker and Sheridan, will be at 7 p.m., Tuesday at the Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library. How can business leaders play a role in the school's success?

A: The John Rex Charter Elementary School (JRCES) will provide a unique and rich learning experience unlike any other in Oklahoma. Thanks to the many businesses within walking distance of the school, students will be exposed to cultural amenities such as the arts and museums as well as opportunities to learn about government, civics, law and citizenship. There also will be volunteer opportunities such as mentorship and tutoring. For example, companies can help by underwriting extended day programs to expand children's exposure to the arts, robotics or various other interests.

Q: Scheduled to open this fall, the school will serve students who live within the designated JRCES attendance boundary. Can children of downtown employees attend?

A: First-priority enrollment goes to children who already live within the designated attendance boundary. But families who work in downtown are eligible to apply for admission. There are several tiers of application. If classes fill quickly, a lottery system will determine acceptance.

Q: How can downtown employers help with recruiting families to enroll or apply?

A: The enrollment and application time frame is Feb. 1 through March 14. Employers can help by sharing this information via newsletters, emails, calendars, social media and internal communication. Families need to visit the John Rex Charter Welcome Center in the Oklahoma Tower at Park Avenue and Harvey Avenue to fill out the appropriate paperwork. The center's hours and the designated attendance boundary are listed on our website at www.johnrexcharter.com.

Q: What other benefits do downtown employers offer an urban school experience?

A: One of the most important things a quality school provides is a relevant learning environment. This is crucial for today's learners. Downtown employers are an extension of our school, much like adjunct faculty. Our students will be able to go out into the city, or the city can come into the school to enhance authentic learning opportunities such as career exploration and citizenship readiness.

PAULA BURKES, BUSINESS WRITER

[Urbanized]

The URL in that Q&A is incorrect. The actual address is here: http://www.johnrexschool.com

[Spartan]

I really like the look of this project!

Just thought I would add a positive post to wash out my negative post on the Hill.

This jail looks like somewhere you'd send your kid?

[Urbanized]

Schools really do have a lot in common with jails today. But of course it is for the opposite reason... ...they want to keep outsiders OUT rather than keep insiders IN.

[Spartan]

They don't have to look like jails, but yes the design philosophies have become disturbingly intrinsic to eachother

[Pete]

We've gone way over the top with the perceived need to secure these schools.

One particularly bad downside is that when school isn't even in session, the grounds and play equipment are often locked up.

Public schools were/are paid for by the community and should be made available for everyone's use as much as possible.

[Pete]

A somewhat funny but mostly sad commentary on the near-hysterical levels of paranoia at schools these days...


When I was working towards my HS class reunion last summer, we were putting together photos and memorabilia for all the elementary schools and junior highs, since most of us had gone all the way through the same district (PC).

I went to several of the elementaries in the middle of the summer to take some photos, and just by asking for permission you would have thought I had committed an unspeakable crime.


At one school in particular, only the principal happened to be there and I explained in great detail what I waned to do and why, that I knew the school inside in and out from having gone there, could name all my teachers (obviously long gone now) etc.

After an extended period of being eyed in the most distrusting way imaginable, I finally said, "What exactly is your concern?" And of course he couldn't begin to articulate why taking photos of an empty school presented any risk whatsoever.

I wanted to say: "Yes, my plan was to come back during the school year to terrorize, and wanted to know exactly where the kids will be. Turns out they'll be sitting in these rooms -- these classrooms on either side of the hall -- I photographed!! How could I have ever guessed that without the photos?? But, you saw right through my fiendish scheme."

After a quite a while of thinking and stalling and still saying no, he finally had to admit he couldn't think of a reason to deny me access.

Once inside, I was really pleased that a good part of the school had not changed at all, and when the photos were shared many others enjoyed them greatly.


Unsurprisingly, I went through something similar at every single school and it was only by shear force of will was I ever let in.

But I got them all!

[LandRunOkie]

Schools really do have a lot in common with jails today. But of course it is for the opposite reason... ...they want to keep outsiders OUT rather than keep insiders IN.

If they didn't want to keep insiders in, there wouldn't be COMPULSORY schooling. Also several disturbing trends can be observed related to the state's desire to coerce the young. A state bill was recently proposed that would keep high school drop outs under 18 from driving (AT ALL). And my alma mater, PC North, put up an 8 foot fence around its courtyard and ended off campus lunches a few years ago. The ever expanding nanny state, openly coercing those too young to vote for expulsion of the greasy school administrators and hack legislators.

[ljbab728]

It's not really that much IMO. The article that is.

Q&A with Joe Pierce

Mentors, tutors will be needed

at downtown elementary school

Q: A community forum on Oklahoma City's first downtown elementary school, which is under construction at N Walker and Sheridan, will be at 7 p.m., Tuesday at the Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library. How can business leaders play a role in the school's success?

A: The John Rex Charter Elementary School (JRCES) will provide a unique and rich learning experience unlike any other in Oklahoma. Thanks to the many businesses within walking distance of the school, students will be exposed to cultural amenities such as the arts and museums as well as opportunities to learn about government, civics, law and citizenship. There also will be volunteer opportunities such as mentorship and tutoring. For example, companies can help by underwriting extended day programs to expand children's exposure to the arts, robotics or various other interests.

Q: Scheduled to open this fall, the school will serve students who live within the designated JRCES attendance boundary. Can children of downtown employees attend?

A: First-priority enrollment goes to children who already live within the designated attendance boundary. But families who work in downtown are eligible to apply for admission. There are several tiers of application. If classes fill quickly, a lottery system will determine acceptance.

Q: How can downtown employers help with recruiting families to enroll or apply?

A: The enrollment and application time frame is Feb. 1 through March 14. Employers can help by sharing this information via newsletters, emails, calendars, social media and internal communication. Families need to visit the John Rex Charter Welcome Center in the Oklahoma Tower at Park Avenue and Harvey Avenue to fill out the appropriate paperwork. The center's hours and the designated attendance boundary are listed on our website at www.johnrexcharter.com.

Q: What other benefits do downtown employers offer an urban school experience?

A: One of the most important things a quality school provides is a relevant learning environment. This is crucial for today's learners. Downtown employers are an extension of our school, much like adjunct faculty. Our students will be able to go out into the city, or the city can come into the school to enhance authentic learning opportunities such as career exploration and citizenship readiness.

PAULA BURKES, BUSINESS WRITER

I could have posted that also but Steve has requested that we not post complete articles from the Oklahoman and only give links with partial quotes. I try to respect that.

[soonerguru]

Of course we have almost weekly reports of rampaging gunmen shooting at schools, so there is justification for secure buildings.

[Pete]

Of course we have almost weekly reports of rampaging gunmen shooting at schools, so there is justification for secure buildings.

The huge majority of the incidents are perpetrated by students themselves, not by outsiders.

[Rover]

This jail looks like somewhere you'd send your kid?

It depends more on what the inside is like. Good lighting? Low ambient noise? Wired for technology? Comfortable seating and sight lines? Comfortable and clean air? Safe and well lit hallways and stairs? Safe playground? etc., etc. What the color of the bricks or how many architectural elements are on the outside may be important in a way, it sure isn't the reason why someone would send their kids. If so, they have their priorities all wrong.

[Spartan]

It depends more on what the inside is like. Good lighting? Low ambient noise? Wired for technology? Comfortable seating and sight lines? Comfortable and clean air? Safe and well lit hallways and stairs? Safe playground? etc., etc. What the color of the bricks or how many architectural elements are on the outside may be important in a way, it sure isn't the reason why someone would send their kids. If so, they have their priorities all wrong.

That's all nice but doesn't explain how this got through design review. The only thing that explains that is that projects conceived by the government tend to get rubber stamped by the government. Which speaks to just how deep-rooted OKC's issues with design accountability have become.

I just don't care how comfortable the chairs are, sorry. You shouldn't care either because that is too far outside the control that the public realm should have. Chair comfortableness should be determined by the makers of chairs, educators, pupils, parents of pupils, and so on. Because no building permit is required for making the chairs comfortable, there is no codified precedent for public involvement on that matter.

Just to explain why that is irrelevant to the discussion of this downtown building project. We designed a school, sold to voters as a focal point of community in a downtown where we are trying so hard to build community, to look like a jail. It is what it is.

[catch22]

It doesn't look bad in person. When the landscaping is in, sidewalks are opened up, and the lights are on. This will be another building in the urban fabric of Oklahoma City. Not every building will win architectural awards, some are plain and boring, some will be high profile and stunning. Neither are bad as long as they contribute to the urban fabric of the city.

[Spartan]

This building also contributes to said urban fabric...

[catch22]

Not positively. It sucks.

The school will positively contribute. It may not win awards, it may not be featured in best design magazines, but it will still be a positive contribution to the urban fabric and walkability.

[pickles]

Not positively. It sucks.

The school will positively contribute. It may not win awards, it may not be featured in best design magazines, but it will still be a positive contribution to the urban fabric and walkability.

Are you even urbanized, bro?

[catch22]

Are you even urbanized, bro?

??

[Urbanized]

No, I'M Urbanized. He's catch22!

[catch22]

We're the same person, actually. I'm his other personality.