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Along with providing a quality 21st century educational environment, a community school offers vital in-house services that enhance student learning and development and include community design features. All new schools built through the SDA contain community design features
Community design features are joint-use areas that are accessible to the students and surrounding neighborhood throughout the school year. They include media centers, athletic venues, child-care centers and health clinics.
Ideally, these schools are planned by and for the community – with the guidance of school and district leadership – and offer enrichment programs to children and adults. Programs may include the arts, culture, recreation, physical and mental health, parental support and involvement, adult education, and other areas tailored to address the needs of the student and community population.
Typically, students, families and the community have access to joint-use areas during non-school hours. Community schools may have separate entrances for students and the general public – or locate community design features in spaces well-separated from classrooms – to enable community access to joint-use areas during the school day without disrupting the educational environment.
In June 2005, the State Treasurer officially designated six Demonstration Projects, which are schools that incorporate community design features and are coordinated with local economic redevelopment. The last demonstration project opened in January 2010. The projects are in Camden, Trenton, Vineland, East Orange, Union City and New Brunswick.
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