Public schools as community hubs

There has been a lot of debate recently over the new Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, and her commitment to vouchers as a means of enabling parents to send their children to private schools, especially Christian schools. DeVos’s husband even suggested in a 2001 interview that “the church” should be the center of the community, not the school. But it is both impossible and antithetical to American values for the church to serve as the center of the community. Churches cannot serve as community centers for the simple reason that even where religious views are fairly homogenous, e.g. primarily Christian, tremendous denominational diversity exists. According to a 2002 study conducted by Glenmary Home Missions, Pennsylvania has 113 different kinds of churches. The Gettysburg area alone has close to fifty different churches, representing various religions and denominations. This means that there is no single “church” to serve as the center of a community. Moreover, such a goal is incompatible with American values, which obviously include freedom of worship and separation of church and state. Therefore, not only is it impossible for any single church or denomination to serve as a force for social cohesion, it is also directly oppositional to our Constitution. In fact, the health and vibrancy of rural America depend on the strength of its public schools. They can and should serve as a force for cultural cohesion, and the entire political spectrum of Americans should support that aim.

My argument, therefore, is that instead of attempting to give families more choice, we should ALL be investing more heavily in our local schools – specifically because they should function as community hubs. Since my experience has primarily been in secondary education, I will use high school as an example of the ways in which a vibrant community school can enhance the quality of life for everyone in the area. Public schools, and in particular high schools, do not just benefit students; they benefit the entire community. I emphasize this because it is not uncommon for people who do not have children in the school system to object to paying school taxes. Paying property taxes, though, should be seen as an investment in a community center that has the potential, at least, to pull everyone together and serve as a hub of activity.

There are multiple examples of interactions between school and community, too numerous to cover here. In general, they break into four categories: sporting events, public performances and exhibits, fundraising activities, and presentations. In addition, volunteer experiences are always available. A few examples from each category follow.

High schools offer a wide variety of sports, including not only football and wrestling, but soccer, field hockey, basketball, track, and many others that are open to the public. Sports loyalties help to solidify community spirit, providing a source of pride and a common foe to root against. Not only do schools offer sports; some of our area’s most successful programs are in the performing arts. One can attend high quality performances of orchestras, small ensembles, marching bands, indoor drumlines, jazz bands, and color guards. High schools present plays, musicals, and choral concerts. This year, several local musicals have been recognized by the Totem Pole Playhouse, which is presenting a variety of awards for their outstanding presentations.

Schools also operate many fundraisers that are open to the public. Events such as Mini-thon, Color Runs, Dodge for Life, food drives, and coat drives are commonplace and often raise money for specifically local causes. Service organizations such as Leo club (the youth organization of the Lions Club) and Solutionaries (a problem-solving club run by the Institute of Humane Education) sponsor events as well.

My final example involves outside speakers who come in to the schools to share their expertise. Recently, to cite just one case from my local school district, juniors and seniors participated in a Real Life Financial Literacy day, run by Junior Achievement. A large number of volunteers came in to help, and students universally found this to be an extremely worthwhile experience. This kind of interaction, in this case focused specifically on life skills, is invaluable to both students and volunteers alike.

This is just a small sampling of things that go on at high schools, based mostly on my own experience at one of the smaller and less affluent districts in the county. I can attest personally to a strong community spirit that permeates our school and draws together people of a variety of religious, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds in common cause. I invite the wider public to support that spirit, to investigate opportunities for participation, and to consider it part of their civic duty to support and champion public education as a force for strengthening community cohesion.