Sam's News
All the news that fits!
(And interests Polar Bears)
Next Alvord School Meeting
The curriculum and facilities groups will meet Thursday, April 24 from 5:15 to 7:15 at the school - Paseo de Peralta and Alarid, west of the Railyard.
These groups are a priority because of a new deadline we learned of from the district. (See NEXT STEPS below.) If you’re not working with any of the groups or aren’t sure exactly where you might want to play, come to a gathering and find out. (Maybe it’s an area that hasn’t yet been identified, and your involvement will be the catalyst to take it up!) We’ll email that info as it becomes available.
Alvord School Update
A kickoff meeting, facilitated by the 2010 Turnaround Team, was held at the school on Jan 26th. Some 75 people participated over the course of the day. They self-organized into work groups to start on curriculum, after school programs, outreach, fund development, facility redesign and more. We were fortunate to have several folks from Santa Fe Public Schools, including Deputy Superintendent Bobbie Gutierrez, Associate Superintendent Mel Morgan, Associate Superintendent Teri Vaisa and Curriculum and Instruction Director Denise Johnston to provide input on the District’s needs and perspective. Two members of the School Board, Martin Lujan and Richard Polese also participated, as well as city councilor Dominguez Carmichael. Each working group created its own agenda and process, which the 2010 Team will help coordinate and facilitate as we go forward.
The energy and sheer genius in the room were incredible. It was a swarm of brilliant educators, architects, landscape designers, farmers, community organizers, curriculum developers, tech monsters, outdoor leaders, environmentalists, toddlers and 3 year olds . . . New connections were made, alliances formed, directions indicated, cookies devoured. It was wonderful.
NEXT STEPS
On January 30, Brian and John met with Bobbie Gutierrez and architects from the district's master planning team, to talk about how we can transform all SFPS sites into truly green community facilities. (Imagine that instead of “monoculture” sites used only a few hours a day for just 180 days a year, our schools were green built, mixed-use profit centers that serve the needs not only of our kids and families, but also of surrounding neighborhoods and jurisdictions – while serving as demonstration sites for sustainable practices and education!)
Right now, the School District is entering a facilities master planning process with their consulting architect firm, Facilities Planning and Associates. This effort will ultimately result in a capital bond to improve district facilities being presented to voters in 2009.
The District and FP&A need to know by May 1 what sort of facilities improvements will be needed at Alvord to support the new curriculum and programs. They will then help with facility design, including green additions and renovations, traffic flow improvement for student drop off / pick up, and . . . what else? Greenhouses, water recycling systems, renewable energy, gardens, composting . . . your input goes here!
WHO ELSE SHOULD BE INVOLVED?
And . . . keep thinking about who else should be involved in this and how we can hook up with them. If you know of others who might be called to this work, please send this on to them.
Schools have traditionally been the Hearts of Communities, and they can become so again. They can not only demonstrate ecological, social, and economic sustainability, but also anchor neighborhoods as centers of lifelong learning, profit sharing, mixed use, mixed income and community connection.
For more info, shoot an email to PolarSam@2010turnaround.com, or call John at 505 992-1486 or Brian at 505 310-1797.
Blessings and Cookies,
John, Brian and Rebecca
