The first time I heard about the city school district’s facilities
modernization project was during a meeting with former Superintendent Manny
Rivera. He was so enthusiastic and spoke with such urgency that it seemed like
it would be only months before the mammoth $325 million project to renovate and
modernize Rochester’s schools would break ground.
That was in 2007.
The plan has had more than a few delays and revisions. But tomorrow, city
and school district officials will finally break ground at a ceremony at School
50. And it has me wondering: just how important are these old buildings to
students, teachers, and the larger community?
Is modernizing Rochester’s schools about adults righting a moral wrong, or
is it about improving student achievement? It’s hard to drive by buildings like
Webster’s new high school, for instance, with its modern brick façade and not
be reminded of how segregated the area’s schools have become.
Rochester’s aging schools have in some ways become a symbol of economic and
racial injustice. Thankfully, taxpayers are finally making a long overdue
investment in the future of Rochester’s students.
But teachers, families, and especially students should never lose sight of
something more important than the upgrades: people give buildings life and
purpose. And Rochester’s schools have a history. Tens of thousands of highly
successful people have graduated from these schools, and they’ve gone on to
become doctors, attorneys, teachers, engineers, artists, and more.
Students who enter these same buildings today can do the same.
This article appears in Jun 27 – Jul 3, 2012.
