Making schools the centers of communities : moving the Los Angeles Unified School District from policy to practice

Abstract

Schools often represent the largest, single community public infrastructure investment. In light of this, California's Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is in a unique and critical position as it attempts to undertake the largest, single capital improvement campaign in the Nation's history. With a growing public investment of $19.2 billion for local schools, LAUSD's efforts create an opportunity to attract greater physical, programming and economic resources using a joint use school development approach. Through joint use development, LAUSD acts as a development anchor, driving community and economic development by leveraging resources from public and private entities. The benefits of joint use include greater overall project value; public investment maximizing; more efficient use of scarce community resources; and increased number of resources available to local communities. In order to achieve these goals, LAUSD recently adopted a formal Joint Use Program that lays out a strategy for identifying community resource needs, seeking out joint use opportunities, and outreaching to potential partners.

(cont.) Despite these efforts, however, joint use remains an incidental development activity that lacks full integration within LAUSD's overarching school development framework. Hence this thesis examines LAUSD's current Joint Use Program in context of its ongoing capital improvement campaign, policy development and past implementation efforts. Based on review of District reports, policies, independent case studies, and interviews, this thesis examines current implementation challenges and advances recommendations for improving LAUSD's joint use practice. Effective joint use school development holds positive implications for local communities: it can serve as a catalyst for community revitalization; as well as help to integrate schools and communities and make schools the centers of communities.