BUILDING FOR SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY - Kennedy Bibliothek

growth" and "planned intervention".
117. Twenty-three years of adult education programs in the East Windsor
schools had made people aware that the school could serve more than one
age group, and for many years the Recreation Commission has been a joint
commission serving two municipalities. A co-operative enterprise,
therefore, was not a new idea. Thus, when it became clear, about five
years ago, that there was a need for a process which could tie the different
and unco-ordinated social, educational and recreational programs
together, this process was looked upon as more than an emergency measure.
In order to explore alternatives for co-ordination:
- a citizens' task force was sent to Flint, Michigan, to study
"community education" on a city-wide scale; and
- a consulting firm was hired to assess the community's needs and
resources and to provide it with an independent judgement and plan
of how to tie the two together.
118. The study of the consulting firm took one year to carry out and cost
the Board of Education $20 000. An ad hoc Community Committee appointed
to examine the proposals of the management consultant firm presented,
in June 1974, the results of this examination to the Board of Education.
One of the most important points stressed was the need for establishing
a central agency to co-ordinate the social services in the community.
Community education became the answer, and Howard Scarborough was nominated
as Principal of Community Education. He had been a high school
principal for 17 years and knew most of the members of the community
personally. Supported by two clerks, one secretary for adult education
and one facilities co-ordinator, he started a program which in one year
developed programs to serve 25 000 adults and children in the community.
The lack of cultural and recreation programs and the expensive duplication
of services have been eliminated and the programs are collectively supported
by inter-agency and citizens' task forces. As Howard Scarborough
put it, "it is a cradle-to-grave operation" which starts with infant care,
pre-school and day care centers, and serves teenagers and adults in
afternoon, evening and week-end programs. One of the most important
programs is the Senior Citizens' Pre-Retirement Program. Schools are now
being used for 600 different purposes in one month. Publicity is handled
through local newspapers, programs and the nearby Princeton radio station.
119. It took one year to find a suitable facility for the community education,
center, as schools are still overcrowded. Finally, an empty supermarket
became the hub of further.co-operative efforts. The renovated
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