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    <title>Springfield City Schools</title>
    <link>http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/list.php?89</link>
    <description><![CDATA[Tell us what you think about what is going on with the Springfield City Schools.]]></description>
    <language>EN</language>
    <pubDate>Wed, 27 Feb 2008 10:32:34 -0500</pubDate>
    <lastBuildDate>Wed, 27 Feb 2008 10:32:34 -0500</lastBuildDate>
    <category>Springfield City Schools</category>
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    <item>
      <title>Re: Why all the secrecy behind the South High School building?</title>
      <link>http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,39981,53337#msg-53337</link>
      <author>calumetman</author>
      <description><![CDATA[Guess the grapes weren't ripe enough for the acquisition to be really true. And so we go into the vacancy phase of the equation, where everyone scrambles to figure out what to do this historical landmark white elephant.]]></description>
      <category>Springfield City Schools</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,39981,53337#msg-53337</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 27 Feb 2008 10:32:34 -0500</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Why all the secrecy behind the South High School building?</title>
      <link>http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,39981,39981#msg-39981</link>
      <author>calumetman</author>
      <description><![CDATA[Looks like my idea for the old (?) Catholic Central High School site http://discussions.springfieldnewssun.com/read/89/14583/14583/phorum_session_v5=e65aed9c706207a9317d9a5ed96cf320#msg-14583 is becoming more feasible. But why all the secrecy behind the acquisition of the SHS building? I can't substantiate it, but I heard it through the grapevine that it was reported that the deal is sealed, and not only so, but that another academic institution and child care are moving there, too, making it a multi-use building. There goes the neighborhood! Guess the intolerant parents will have to make good on their threats. Perhaps it's just as well. The city needs new blood. Residents who can celebrate and enjoy diversity and aren't filled with revulsion for people who are different from them. A healthy environment, where children can feel free to grown, learn and be kids, and young adults. We have to understand that the state of the school system is our fault not our childrens. That it was shaped by our parents and grandparents decisions, which has led to what is happening today. Hard pill to swallow, but true nonetheless. We've got to get real and look at why Springfield is suffering so much. It is the residency that steers this ship. And We have run it a ground.]]></description>
      <category>Springfield City Schools</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,39981,39981#msg-39981</guid>
      <pubDate>Sun, 09 Dec 2007 17:47:28 -0500</pubDate>
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    <item>
      <title>Re: Westcott article accentuates impoverish student data</title>
      <link>http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,18276,34099#msg-34099</link>
      <author>calumetman</author>
      <description><![CDATA[This is an aspect of opportunity we tend to forget. Teachers dedicated to their vocation are able to translate that passion onto their students and maximize the resources they have.]]></description>
      <category>Springfield City Schools</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,18276,34099#msg-34099</guid>
      <pubDate>Sat, 10 Nov 2007 07:37:58 -0500</pubDate>
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    <item>
      <title>Board will address problem of student decline...how? City and school board equally responsible.</title>
      <link>http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,27660,27660#msg-27660</link>
      <author>calumetman</author>
      <description><![CDATA[It seems all the Springfield City Schools board is thinking of is dollars. The front page article in the 10/12 News Sun follows previous articles concerning how badly students are doing in poor districts and the like. There has been no good news about Springfield City Schools in years. Conflict, enrollment and money woes plague the news. But instead of investing in rehabbing some of the better buildings and putting more money towards student interests they build all new schools and combine the high school to the remote northside location. Now there are barely enough students to fill them, dissatisfaction from the contituency...and the problem of poor academics persists, even worsens! If the students have left that means families have left. They're fed up with loosing their jobs, their architectural heritage, choices, and the quality education that one used to be able to get here, and all the board can talk about is dollar figures lost. Look the country over to find a model that is successful and use it.
Form a citywide campaign that engages parents and students to want to participate and learn and execute it with a fervor. Get passionate about your responsibilities, pass that on to the parents and put personal feelings aside. If you can't GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT!!!! and bring in someone who gives a d*%$#! and is not just in it for the 6 figure income none of the board deserves to have at present.

I remember going to Fulton Elementary during the midnight flight of the 1960s when most white families pulled up stakes replaced by people of color on the Southwest Side, and how principal Edwards opened up to us over the intercom system early each morning with melodic chimes followed by &quot;You are Fulton's Finest!&quot; then by some words of encouragement and the announcements. That made all the difference in the world to us. We looked forward to hearing it and proceeded as though we were the finest. But as the student body excelled the board made cuts and effectively reduced the academic excellence of that school in 2 years following my graduation. There were also teachers who did not invest as much energy into some of my classmates simply because they were black. They passively sought to ruin the education of some students because of their personal feelings. How tragic. How monsterous. The underlying issue today remains a racial one unfortunately, but it can be reigned in to a better degree than it is. You can't cure stupid afterall.
Teachers don't visit or call parents anymore. The welfare state has ruined the moral character of generations of kids. Parents don't share homework with their children, or attend PTA meetings in the numbers that they used to, jobs continue to leave and the result is 459 more families leaving the system. The city, sinking deep into poverty, is in even deeper trouble. The city and the school board are equally responsible. the city for allowing an atmosphere of unproductivity to fester for decades and a school board for not grabbing it by the horns with a gusto that would make the community perk up and listen.
It gets to the point when one should say enough is enough, but in this case it is well past that point. Springfield is facing reduction on all fronts and still doesn't have a clue. Residents are recalcitrant in their apathy. What is a vibrant new Center City when there's no one here to enjoy it, or spend money or get a decent education for their kids?

2,137 students lost since 2001 means 2,137 families gone.]]></description>
      <category>Springfield City Schools</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,27660,27660#msg-27660</guid>
      <pubDate>Sat, 13 Oct 2007 16:28:34 -0400</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Re: One for all and all for One?</title>
      <link>http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,13627,24051#msg-24051</link>
      <author>Amada84</author>
      <description><![CDATA[I totally agree. Before it was two high schools it was downtown. If you are going to have only one for a city this size it should be in a central location which it so is not. This town is falling apart. A sinking ship and leadership is doing nothing to help that.]]></description>
      <category>Springfield City Schools</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,13627,24051#msg-24051</guid>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 Sep 2007 20:48:59 -0400</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Re: Should Central buy South get creative with CC site</title>
      <link>http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,14583,23870#msg-23870</link>
      <author>MrShow</author>
      <description><![CDATA[calumetman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
&gt; In the event that Catholic Central brokered the
&gt; deal to make the South High School building it's
&gt; new home (miracles do happen, just don't hold your
&gt; breath) Then I have an idea for the old site. Raze
&gt; the building! In its place put a grand neo-Empire
&gt; Revival, neo-Italianate or Romanesque style
&gt; townhome complex surrounded by ornamental black
&gt; wrought iron fencing with a fleur-de-lis patterned
&gt; security gate leading from Freeman Street onto a
&gt; richly landscaped courtyard commons. Each 3 story
&gt; home would provide brick half-moon drives to
&gt; attached 2 car garages in the rear (a refreshing
&gt; departure from the over used garage forward design
&gt; that tends to dominate the house frontage). Second
&gt; and third floor suites would include ample
&gt; balconies overlooking lush edenic greenscapes in
&gt; virtual seclusion unobservable from High or Penn
&gt; Streets. The outer street walls would instead be
&gt; the bevined background of seasonal flowering tree
&gt; and shrub borders for passersby to enjoy. The
&gt; interior designs would include all the high end
&gt; appointments expected from todays discriminating
&gt; tastes fused with Old World elegance, the whole an
&gt; architecturally cohesive addition to the
&gt; surrounding homes. And an asset to this historic
&gt; neighborhoods burgeoning revitalization combining
&gt; old and new with style and sophistication. The
&gt; Archdiocese and the city would generate needed
&gt; revenue from these mid to upper 6 figure dwellings
&gt; and draw much needed attention from potential new
&gt; residents, businesses and developers alike.
&gt; Contact Westrum
&gt; http://www.westrumhomes.com/hilltop/index.html and
&gt; at least savor the possibilities of thinking urban
&gt; in new millennium terms. Incidentally for the
&gt; Downtown area give Sasaki http://www.sasaki.com/,
&gt; or Lupert-Adler a call. 
&gt; Just a suggestion. Maybe the city planning
&gt; commission has already thought of it.]]></description>
      <category>Springfield City Schools</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,14583,23870#msg-23870</guid>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 Sep 2007 11:12:31 -0400</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Re: Westcott article accentuates impoverish student data</title>
      <link>http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,18276,22076#msg-22076</link>
      <author>Amada84</author>
      <description><![CDATA[As far as poor students go I was one. I had no money growing up. My grandparents had to buy my clothes. However I received good grades I studied I went to the library. I'm so tired of people (not you  personally) blaming poor grades and learning habits one being poor. A book was a magical thing for me. A way to escape. I think that no matter how rich the school. No matter how new the building or how poor the student. The LOVE of learning has to be there or there will be no learning. My mother read to me. My mother drove me to the library. 

Some of the responsibility has to be put on the parents. 

The schools have to be reinforced at home or nothing is accomplished.]]></description>
      <category>Springfield City Schools</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,18276,22076#msg-22076</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:41:12 -0400</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Fulton students' uniforms look tidy against foil of unkempt grounds.</title>
      <link>http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,21095,21095#msg-21095</link>
      <author>calumetman</author>
      <description><![CDATA[A Speak Up entry lauded how adorable the students looked in their uniforms as school let out. I'm surprised she could see them over the &quot;tall grass prairie&quot; that has sprung up throughout the summer in every section of sidewalk along the entire block of the school, around several sign posts, ragweed, wild lettuce and cord grass among the playground equipment, and under the young trees lined along the walk and roadway up to the school. If it were a private residence they’d be cited faster than you can count to one. There is even a southern catalpa competing with the jungle-jim. The newly planted tree's skirts were never mulched in, the trunks never girded with slow release watering bags. Any landscaper worth his salt knows young trees, especially Red or Sugar Maples, need tending and regular watering in their first years. Otherwise left unchecked they will loose out to encroaching grass and weeds, and this is just what has happened as several of the specimens now resemble the skeletal form of mid-winter, only these are not dormant, but drying out beyond recovery. What gives? Doesn't the Board of Education employ grounds keepers? An impromptu photo of your child student in front of a weedy school will be less than picture perfect under these unkempt conditions.]]></description>
      <category>Springfield City Schools</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,21095,21095#msg-21095</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 19 Sep 2007 14:40:46 -0400</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Westcott article accentuates impoverish student data</title>
      <link>http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,18276,18276#msg-18276</link>
      <author>calumetman</author>
      <description><![CDATA[Jeers and cheers to the News Sun editors for article placement. Sunday’s Sept. 2nd front-page headlines were extreme contrasts from one another. The success of the Westcott House Museum against the plight of the city’s increasing poverty-stricken student body seemed like unrelated issues. Poverty is not a random state, but the effect of a cause our less than fair city has not had the heart to address very effectively for decades. The disrepair of the Westcott House was the effect of a cause, namely years of neglect. A span of deterioration that in retrospect didn't have to occur if there were sustained concern for the thing. It is the same with our schools. One would think it is incredibly unsympathetic to place these news articles next to each other, but then one has a chance to get a glimpse at a prime example of the vast gulf that continues to divide Springfield and keep once viable neighborhoods in decline, while others are favored and enriched. A mentality that chooses to repair a dilapidated century old house more than ensure the future of it's most precious resource. A look at priorities. This may sound harsh and contradicting from an avid restorationist/preservationist. However can the impoverished school districts now afford the opportunity to give their students field trips to the historic home of one of Springfield’s early industrialists? What would be the benefit of knowing this history in light of low reading and math scores, poor nutrition and substandard housing? Though it was deemed important enough to spend millions to refurbish this architectural landmark I wonder which student found it as equally important to vandalize? Which of the 67% of Springfield’s poor kids care at all about this important piece of Americana? I would wager very few. To be sure, it is boon to the community to have this treasure up and operating as an means to an end - increased revenue, but we should never forget we have concerns that are vitally more important than old houses. If we didn't the restored Westcott House would have continued in it's new role unmolested. So preservation yes, but not at our childrens's expense.

Donna Starrett, director of elementary academic services said that impoverished student bodies means impoverished schools. That automatically spells in access to information. She said that poverty is a generational cycle only education can break. But what about the poorly funded education she described? Is it sufficient? If so why is poverty increasing? If not why isn't it being repaired like the Westcott House? Could it be because not JUST education but opportunity goes hand in hand with it, that one is useless without the other? The size of a child’s world varies through degrees of opportunity and shaped by perception. If there is no means to communicate and reveal access to alternatives how will children ever know what is out there beyond their own communities? If their community is impoverished and isolated the die is cast at an early age and reinforced for several years regardless of televisions broad world views. If the schools in deficient communities are lacking how ever will children have the opportunity to excel? And if there is no opportunity to reach for what good is the education? Who is there to throw grant money at the problem and refurbish the lack? Where are the opportunities for stuggling parents to rise out of their low conditions so their children have firsthand experience? Why are they being denied good jobs and convenient access? 
Physical access to opportunities, to broaden one’s horizons and remove communication barriers is hindered by the present construct of Springfield’s communities. It continues to build around inaccessablility. A child growing up on S. Linden Av., or Robinson Dr. may never come to understand their connection to Springfield’s rich heritage other than from the preview of poverty and disadvantage. Though the burden of this lesson traditionally rests with the parents, they many times don’t have the ability to shoulder this responsibility as they, too, have been mentally trapped in the same cycle. 
Academics alone are not enough to awaken the senses of an individual child’s possibilities beyond daily life, and the big picture is a lesson these schools do not teach well, but someone must begin. Not only a tour of this wonderful new museum, but relating what its existence means to the life and heart of each child where they are today is an important key to breaking the cycle of poverty. Something our educators, and board members are apparently impotent to effectively address to the less fortunate children among us. Where were the forefathers of that poor little black child when The Westcott House was commissioned? What was the state of the white sharecropper from Appalachia when Asa Bushnell was Governor of Ohio? How did they get involved in civic affairs and who succeeded other than white anglo-saxon protestant and catholic men? 
You won't find these historical briefs in the News Sun. Theirs nary a foot note in Clark Counties historical text concerning minority endeavors accept when it is civic unrest, unequity and intolerance. These days there are News Sun reports of historical event void of the realities of the day concerning every segment of Springfield society at that time. For most of the residency the posted sepia daguerreotypes mean nothing of any consequence. But the details of such knowledge as they would relate to one's family may teach our children to consider the genius of a Frank Lloyd Wright, or the enterprise of a Murray Cherry as aspiring things they can touch. Then there could perhaps be respect enough not to deface something previously deemed irrelevant, but to cherish it as part of an identity.

That said, it would behoove any child in today's Springfield who is able to achieve against the odds that they leave this county to find the opportunities they deserve, which are at present either denied them or simply do not exist. I say boldly, that unless Springfield changes now, there needs to be a continued decline in population until it gets the message. Why should young people suffer any longer under a municipality that has made too many grave errors in judgement over the decades concerning it's citizenry and it's business and has watched from afar as the housing stock deteriorates and the population hemmorages to the point that county numbers exceed those in the city? Because Springfield is not working for the greater good under the current system and may need to decline to village status.]]></description>
      <category>Springfield City Schools</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,18276,18276#msg-18276</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 03 Sep 2007 16:58:05 -0400</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Should Central buy South get creative with CC site</title>
      <link>http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,14583,14583#msg-14583</link>
      <author>calumetman</author>
      <description><![CDATA[In the event that Catholic Central brokered the deal to make the South High School building it's new home (miracles do happen, just don't hold your breath) Then I have an idea for the old site. Raze the building! In its place put a grand neo-Empire Revival, neo-Italianate or Romanesque style townhome complex surrounded by ornamental black wrought iron fencing with a fleur-de-lis patterned security gate leading from Freeman Street onto a richly landscaped courtyard commons. Each 3 story home would provide brick half-moon drives to attached 2 car garages in the rear (a refreshing departure from the over used garage forward design that tends to dominate the house frontage). Second and third floor suites would include ample balconies overlooking lush edenic greenscapes in virtual seclusion unobservable from High or Penn Streets. The outer street walls would instead be the bevined background of seasonal flowering tree and shrub borders for passersby to enjoy. The interior designs would include all the high end appointments expected from todays discriminating tastes fused with Old World elegance, the whole an architecturally cohesive addition to the surrounding homes. And an asset to this historic neighborhoods burgeoning revitalization combining old and new with style and sophistication. The Archdiocese and the city would generate needed revenue from these mid to upper 6 figure dwellings and draw much needed attention from potential new residents, businesses and developers alike. Contact Westrum http://www.westrumhomes.com/hilltop/index.html and at least savor the possibilities of thinking urban in new millennium terms. Incidentally for the Downtown area give Sasaki http://www.sasaki.com/, or Lupert-Adler a call. 
Just a suggestion. Maybe the city planning commission has already thought of it.]]></description>
      <category>Springfield City Schools</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,14583,14583#msg-14583</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 23 Aug 2007 15:14:14 -0400</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Apologists speak to the negative about SHS</title>
      <link>http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,14094,14094#msg-14094</link>
      <author>calumetman</author>
      <description><![CDATA[Alas the die is cast for Springfield Public Schools with the new North High School construction nearing completion. There will be many unhappy parents in 2008 and hopefully the board will not rest easy for months to come for its decidedly short sighted decision to build a common high school out of easy access to most of the city's emerging student body. It will rank among the citys greatest examples of inequity for generations to come. 

That said, concerning the possible acquisition of the South High School Building, Brian Grimone, Catholic Central High School board chairman uses phrases like &quot;The board is far from deciding...&quot; and &quot;Submitting the paperwork is not saying we are doing it.&quot; This isn't objective language, but rather seems to be vailed slants indicative of someone bending under the pressure of these opposed to the idea, if not siding with them altogether. 
Rather than terms like, 'It would be a great asset for a growing student body if we could have a larger building', or 'We are securing the request for funds in anticipation of the final decision from...' he instead says things like, &quot;...buying South is not my idea...&quot; and &quot;At any point and time we could say we are not doing it.&quot; assuaging opponants more than those open to the idea. 

Catholic Central said it cannot afford to buy the building, which is a moot point with The Turner Foundations curious willingness to come to Centrals aid. And with a fiscal deadline to the grant in view Central's board is basically going through the motions for the moneys sake, but with no real conviction or committment to what it's for. The whole process is close to becoming a big waste of time for everyone if the deal falls through. 

Purchasing the School would be at the behest of more than a few Catholic Central parents among whom some have voiced in no uncertain terms that they would withdraw their children (and financial support most likely) if such a transaction took place. Drastic measures when the $3 million South High School Building, built in 1911, is less than half a mile from the current Central location. The classical styled ediface is one of a kind, and much more asthetically appealing as well, certainly more facilitating than Central boasting 240,769 square feet, which would encourage growth and make the conglomeration of various Catholic institutions quite viable. 

Besides those parties opposed to the purchase citing the South building is just too high maintenance and too large notwithstanding, with The Turner Foundation's financial assistance effectively &quot;in the bag&quot; this and the pending approval of the Cincinnati Archdiocese are not the main considerations of many dissenting Catholic Central parents, as we've observed in Speak Up, nor apparently are they that of chairman Grimone. One need not search too deeply to understand what those reasons truly are.]]></description>
      <category>Springfield City Schools</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,14094,14094#msg-14094</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Aug 2007 13:35:28 -0400</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Re: The brotherly kindness of  some Catholic Central parents</title>
      <link>http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,12330,13938#msg-13938</link>
      <author>comet509</author>
      <description><![CDATA[Calumet makes some great points.  To answer the question, where is the logic?
What, now we want logic?]]></description>
      <category>Springfield City Schools</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,12330,13938#msg-13938</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 21 Aug 2007 20:03:35 -0400</pubDate>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>One for all and all for One?</title>
      <link>http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,13627,13627#msg-13627</link>
      <author>s.e.resident</author>
      <description><![CDATA[Being parents of three children, 2 graduated from South and 1 opted to go to North, all we can say is, Thank Goodness this is our last one!  I would hate to be a parent on the south, east or west area of the city, as we are now for the upcoming new 2008-2009 year.  You would have thought all this talk about unity and bring this city together would have prompted the board to locate the new high school downtown, or closer to downtown.  (we know it was a political move because of the new Hospital(that in itself is a whole other ballgame).  The decission for them to  locate it at the North site is beyond us.  We know they said it is because of financial reasons, but could it not be farther away from the &quot;City&quot;!  We would have loved more discussion about this topic before they made this mistake. It is going to divide this city even more.   How are the children that live on the south, east or west sides going to get to school?  Are we going to have busing  for the high schools?  Are they expecting the kids from the south, east and west sides to walk that distance!  C'mon people!  You have catered to the &quot;North side&quot; again!  We were one of the lucky families that the parents did not have to be at work until after the kids were in school.   What about the parents that have to be at work before school starts?  Wanna talk about attendance problems?The problems with the finances that the school district has, we believe, is  poor management.  We voted for the school levies all the time, but they kept coming back for more!  This tells us mismanagment of funds!  Where did it go?  WE CERTAINLY HOPE THAT OUR OPINIONS AND THOUGHTS ARE WRONG,(please prove us wrong) because we want to see this city united instead of divided, and we really don't see how a Hospital is going to unite us.   Education always has to WIN!  It is our future!]]></description>
      <category>Springfield City Schools</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,13627,13627#msg-13627</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 21 Aug 2007 09:51:46 -0400</pubDate>
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    <item>
      <title>The brotherly kindness of  some Catholic Central parents</title>
      <link>http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,12330,12330#msg-12330</link>
      <author>calumetman</author>
      <description><![CDATA[One almost forgets that while many of us are able to enjoy the full spectrum of Springfield, there nonetheless are a whole segment of residents who would never dream of venturing south of High Street. The Classic pilasters and undeniable pedentive beauty of the South High School Building, echoing renowned architect Daniel Burnham's White City of the famed Chicago World Columbian Exposition, isn't enough of a draw to endure seeing the surrounding delapidated housing stock and the possibility of encountering &quot;those people&quot; let alone seeing &quot;them&quot; wandering around. Jesus would be proud that these types seek to keep themselves &quot;untainted&quot; from the reality of their own city. God forbid they might be stirred to do something positive to aleviate at least the cosmetic inequities. But they must feel it is better to keep up the illusion that all is right with the world...the parts they live in anyway. However there were some valid points. For one, with the push towards Urban Renewal and the revitalization efforts of Center City, what was the logic behind building a common high school in a totally uncentralized location way up north? Unless the same thoughts expressed by Catholic Central parents were the motivating factors voiced by protestants as well. I'm a graduate of North and I've never liked the location, nor does it make it easier for a high school student living on, say, Eastmoor Drive to make the trek 5 days a week, should they choose to attend public high school that is. How would it be if the same money were spent to further improve the capitol high school? Why it would be state-of-the-art at least!...don't you think? 
It stands to reason though, that when it comes to all things academe, racially driven motivations weigh in as heavily in the 21st Century decision making of this towns schools as it did in the 40s and 50s. It is the subtle and sometimes not so hidden undercurrent that pesists in the city like an incurable disease. It is the ultimate reason there is a need for revitalization in the first place and it is as monsterous and grotesque today as it ever was bringing the ruin to all who embrace it, eventually, but for now spelling counterproductivity to a city yearning for improvement. And now this perfectly good high school building is destined for vacancy all because of contract bids and malicious racial sentiments.
The stuff that's driving this nation into the ground.]]></description>
      <category>Springfield City Schools</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,12330,12330#msg-12330</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 16 Aug 2007 13:50:36 -0400</pubDate>
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    <item>
      <title>Where is the pulse of the city concerning the schools?</title>
      <link>http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,11362,11362#msg-11362</link>
      <author>calumetman</author>
      <description><![CDATA[Since the time this forum was created it is amazing to me that my posts are to date the only ones. Could it really be that no one cares enough to post concerns and opinions, or is that the message board is that unfamiliar to concerned citizens? I've observed other Springfield-based websites as well that have received few posts, perhaps none at all in the past year or two. This dearth of response could be indicative of why the community falters on so many civic issues, perhaps reflecting the lack of computer access to the average Springfielder. It certainly falls partly in the hands of the the websites themselves, which could brainstorm more creative ways to attract participation from a community that seems to lack the motivation to search out the site on their own. A media blitz of some kind, by Cox Publications for instance, could gain better awareness and generate increased involvement adding this vital component to the overall pulse of its prime constituency.]]></description>
      <category>Springfield City Schools</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,11362,11362#msg-11362</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 13 Aug 2007 10:16:29 -0400</pubDate>
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      <title>An Idea for Fulton School after the city closes it.</title>
      <link>http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,9943,9943#msg-9943</link>
      <author>calumetman</author>
      <description><![CDATA[Millions of dollars have lined the pockets of the planners, the single contractor and sole architectural firm that built all of these versions of the same school building around the city. Now there's news in the air that after all that spending some of the schools may close anyway, but I have an idea, particularly for the targeted Fulton School Building. 

Name it The Davey Moore-, or The West End Neighborhood-, or Mad Riverview-Parks &amp; Recreation Building serving the entire West End Neighborhood (Mad Riverview) and parks; including Davey Moore Park, Virgil A. Mabra Park, Perrin Woods and (the future) Erie-Lackawanna Nature Preserve: 

With multimedia arts, seasonal computer and communications classes for children and adults, environmental and sustainable education, lectures and seminars, a place to begin a West End Neighborhood (Mad Riverview) Quality of Life Initiative, the furture Erie-Lackawanna Nature Reserve Project Initiative, a central location for a West End Neighborhood (Mad Riverview) Community Council and a (Mad Riverview) Community Gardening Club. A permanently installed community pool and tennis courts. Bike paths circling the grounds and interconnected with a new Mad River Trail north to Snyder Park and Southwest to the Little Miami Scenic Trail.  Land labs of native Ohio landscaping with indigenous ornamental trees, shrubs, forbs and herb. Provide a hub for touring buses (instead of the Porter-Qualls parking lot) and a center for more outdoor community festivals. All grant funded money, of course, which gets pumped back into the community and the city. But most importantly, it would serve needs, raise the quality of life for the entire Southwest Side, and keep a perfectly useful structure from becoming a vacant white elephant.]]></description>
      <category>Springfield City Schools</category>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">http://discussions.oxfordpress.com/read.php?89,9943,9943#msg-9943</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 07 Aug 2007 11:32:02 -0400</pubDate>
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