A group of community and school members pose after a day of work on Red Bank High School’s new library.Grand Opening
Red Bank High School is publicly unveiling its refinished library and new conference room Friday, Sept. 23. The construction was done over the summer, funded by grants written by former principal Dr. Justin Robertson. The grand opening celebration starts at 10 a.m., after a Hall of Fame ceremony for former students that begins at 9 a.m.
Red Bank High School is hoping to become more involved with the city and surrounding area as it moves forward with its community school program.
The idea is to involve more members of the community with the school by opening it up after the students have been sent home. Examples of potential offerings, which would be independent from the school, include providing meeting space for various community organizations, parenting classes, health clinics and English as a second language classes, to name a few.
According to RBHS Principal Elaine Harper, the plan is to have such events be free and open to the public.
“These are things that exist in the community already, but we would like to bring them in under the umbrella of the school,” she said.
She believes this model is a way for the community to become a true partner of the school, and vice versa.
The school has gotten assistance in planning and implementation of the new concept from UnifiEd, a Chattanooga-based consulting group dedicated to the improvement of the area’s schools. UnifiEd Executive Director Jonas Barriere said RBHS was the first local school to approach the group for help in becoming a community school, although several have come forward since. Former RBHS principal Dr. Justin Robertson first came to UnifiEd with his idea for a community school, and Harper has continued with the plan.
“What we try to do is marry community input with best practice,” said Barriere.
UnifiEd took a team from RBHS to Knoxville to look at a community school model and study how it worked, and flew RBHS administrators out to Arizona for a national community school conference.
One of the most significant changes planned for RBHS is the creation of a community council for the school, which is a fundamental step in most community school models. The council, according to Barriere, is made up of parents, students, experts and members of the community at large. They will advise the school on what the community would like to see and how RBHS could possibly implement that. How specifically that happens, though, depends on the school.
“Ideally, the council would identify strengths in the community to bring in and weaknesses where a school can fill some holes,” said Barriere.
What exactly the school will do moving forward is still unclear at this time, Harper said. However, plans such as converting the library into a community-available space are the first steps to better integrating the school with the community. While non-students couldn’t check out books since the books are property of Hamilton County Schools, opening up the library as a resource would help meet the primary goal of getting the community involved with the school and vice versa.
“We would like to see Red Bank [High School] as the first that launches this initiative, and have many others follow,” Harper said. “I think this is how you truly engage your community.”
Email Shane Foley at sfoley@timesfreepress.com.