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About Us
Through coalition-building and informing the public dialogue, the Initiative is working to better link the concerns of smart growth advocates, including community development specialists, with education equity advocates. We believe that:
- Strong public schools can assist smart growth advocates in achieving more livable communities and in addressing one of the single biggest influences on every family's decision on where to live;
- Less sprawling and more inclusive, neighborhood-friendly development can assist education equity advocates in achieving the full promise of public schools and educational opportunity for our children
Activities of the Initiative include:
- public forums on relevant policy issues as well as continued national coalition-building;
- strategy sessions bringing together key leaders and advocates; and
- regular updates on developments in the field,* along with focused research.
Background:
The Initiative was founded by and is being overseen by two leaders in the field: Jonathan Weiss and Michael Shuman. Weiss is a consultant with SRS Technologies, former Clinton administration official, and author of the KnowledgeWorks Foundation report, Public Schools and Economic Development: What the Research Shows. Shuman is director of Community Ventures, vice president of the Training & Development Corporation, and author of Going Local: Creating Self-Reliant Communities in a Global Age, and The Small-Mart Revolution. The Initiative's day-to-day operations are managed by Smart Growth America.
We have been making changes to help build on the progress we have made and further advance our work. The Initiative successfully transitioned to Smart Growth America in late 2005 from our start-up home at the Tides Center. As part of this transition, we have broadened our outreach to other stakeholders and in 2006 adopted a simple name change — from the Smart Schools, Smart Growth Initiative — to the new shorter title you see here.
This transition has also given us the opportunity to clarify our goals and vision for the critical push for smarter schools over the next few years. You can read more about the future direction of the Initiative in this overview document from mid-2006 summarizing our work and goals. If you would like to provide any input, or be kept informed, as we move ahead on these critical issues, we are eager to hear from you.
In 2005, The Initiative hosted a national forum entitled, "Schools & Communities," in Washington, DC. The presenters, all representing diverse perspectives, included:
- Pulitzer Prize-winning author Thomas Hylton, who drew on examples from his home state of Pennsylvania to highlight some of the problems created by urban sprawl and to illustrate how important centrally-located, well-built schools are to the life of a community.
- Jonathan Ratner of Forest City Stapleton in Denver, who spoke about the role of schools in the Stapleton redevelopment project and how the project is also reaching out to improve educational opportunities for neighboring communities.
- Charita Crockrom, Principal of John F. Kennedy High School in Cleveland, who advocated the need for schools so vital to communities that families stay or return to urban neighborhoods. She stressed that the current restructuring of her school to create five smaller schools would not have been possible without community involvement.
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* The Initiative produces an electronic newsletter. To sign up to receive future issues click here. Past issues are available in the Readings section of this website.
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| The founding partners of the Initiative are:
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
www.wkkf.org
The Kellogg Foundation, helping people help themselves by investing in individuals, their families, and their communities.
Public Education Network (PEN)
www.PublicEducation.org.
PEN is a national organization of local education funds and individuals working to improve public schools and build citizen support for quality public education in low-income communities.
Smart Growth America (SGA)
www.smartgrowthamerica.org. SGA is a nationwide coalition of more than 100 organizations promoting a broad spectrum of smart growth policies.
Tides Center
www.tides.org.
The Center is part of the Tides family of nonprofit organizations committed to positive social change. The Smart Schools Initiative was initially managed by Community Ventures, a Tides Center project which facilitates local efforts to promote healthier communities. |
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