21st Century School Fund

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The 21st Century School Fund (21CSF) was founded in 1994 in Washington, DC by Mary Filardo on the premise that communities are responsible for creating healthy, safe, and educationally appropriate learning environments. The mission of 21CSF is to build the public will and capacity to improve urban public school facilities. It works towards a vision of a country where good public schools are both a reasonable expectation and a reality in urban school districts throughout the nation.

[edit] Programs

The broad program strategies of the 21st Century School Fund fall into three categories:

INNOVATION — 21CSF is a leader in innovative solutions to public education and school facilities issues. Through practical application of our ideas, processes and methods - including the use of technology, community partnerships and effective implementation of educational and community improvements, we strive to tackle complex educational challenges.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN GOVERNMENT REFORM — 21CSF leverages our local and national constituencies to develop, advocate for and monitor public policies, procedures and practices that support and facilitate our agenda for community engagement in facility planning; schools as centers of community; sound management of school buildings and grounds; and adequate and equitable funding for school facility maintenance, improvements, design and construction.

RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATION — The condition of public school facilities is an integral part of educational reform and community revitalization, and matters most to student achievement. 21CSF is dedicated to raising awareness about critical school facilities issues, and to communicating best practices and guidelines for healthy, safe school environments.

[edit] History of 21CSF

When the 21st Century School Fund was founded in 1994, the DC Public Schools infrastructure was failing. The school system had operated for over twenty years without a long-range facilities plan, had under funded maintenance and eliminated almost all funding for new construction and facility modernization. In addition, as student enrollment in the District fell, many schools were threatened with closure. Many schools did, in fact, close temporarily due to fire code violations and degrading facilities. On top of these problems, the District was unable to retain permanent leadership that could help set a course to rebuild the school system. From 1995 to 2001, the District went through two mayors, four superintendents, four different governance structures, and four directors of facilities.

In this environment 21CSF was founded to help develop the first facilities master plan in two decades and to support the parents and community members of the Oyster Elementary School who were working to build a new school for their neighborhood. Through work on these projects they amassed information and expertise on the needs and challenges facing public schools and their communities, and developed skill in understanding and navigating public policy and federal and local government laws. They also developed a data management and dissemination software programs, Format-PRO, DCSchoolSearch.com, a variety of publications and training tools. From this beginning they launched the Building Educational Success Together (BEST) collaborative and continue to engage in a variety of local advocacy work in the District of Columbia.