Community Orientation on the Rise.

• Position: Brief Article

America will never go back to the days of the one-room schoolhouse where the classroom in a classic Norman Rockwell painting ("Freedom of Speech") doubled as a town meeting hall, but the concept of schools as centers of the community was a good one that should be embraced today, according to Gaylord Christopher, a principal with the architectural firm of Perkins & Will, Pasadena, Calif. "Because of our shifting suburban lifestyle and the economic reality that communities need to share resources, the definition of the school in our society today is changing dramatically and becoming more community oriented," he points out. "And the lines are blurring between the conventional image of what constitutes a school structure and what constitutes a city structure. No longer is the school seen as a freestanding institutional element within communities. Rather, it is becoming the new center of our communities."

He explains that education is preparing today's students to join a complex and ever-changing society, which has led to adoption of new educational methods and teaching philosophies that rely heavily on project-based education and real-life apprenticeships. "The blending of school, community, and business environments has occurred as a natural growth of these new processes and ways of thinking? Christopher says.

For instance, schools have become central to communities via the magnet school approach. "The magnet school curriculum carries a specific educational or career emphasis that serves to draw student representatives of the entire community. Many districts have established small schools-within-a-school, or academies, that allow students to select a specific focus of study in grades 11 and 12."

Typical high school academies include performing arts, health and sciences, fine arts, sociology, and law. Some districts offer programs associated with local businesses, institutions of higher learning, and other community facilities. "Historically, these academies have taken the form of smaller, satellite campuses that have not provided the conventional facilities of a...