Infrastructure is an overlooked problem for many urban public school districts. Many of the school buildings in urban public school districts are at least 30-50 years old with some buildings at or near the century mark. With all the problems plaguing urban public school districts, infrastructure is a low priority.
Since infrastructure is overlooked, its subtle importance is under-estimated. The appearance of the school building is important to the learning process. The school building provides the first impression of the type of learning experience a student might receive. If the building grounds are littered with trash, the playground is unevenly paved and cracked, and the outside of the building has faded, cracked paint or has graffiti, a student may begin to form an opinion about their chances of receiving a quality learning experience.
When a student enters the school building and the hallways look industrial, lacking color and warmth, a student may sense that learning will not be engaging and creativity absent, a student may begin to view learning with negative skepticism. When a student enters the classroom where the black board is antiquated, the desks are old and the climate control is irregular, the student may begin to internalize a pessimistic view of learning. A student could be lost due to the appearance of the school building.
In order to keep students from formulating negative opinions about the quality of their learning experience by the appearance of the school building, more attention needs to be paid to infrastructure. The current “band aid” approach many urban public school districts use to address infrastructure concerns addresses short term solutions to long term needs. This creates a situation where a district spends more money on frequent repairs of the same problems, purchasing newer equipment instead of modernizing the building.
The school students need must give them confidence their learning experience will be positive and have quality. Building student confidence begins with the outside grounds which should be clean, groomed, and evenly paved. It continues with the outside of the building that should be modernized painted, and absent of graffiti. The outside of the building should give a student a feeling of warmth and care. The outside of the building should generate a positive attitude towards learning that will make a student fell ready to enter the building to receive a quality learning experience. Once a student enters the building, the hallways should be a space that is clean, well lit, and show the products of student works. The inside of the school building should be reflective of the learning that as occurred and continues to occur during the school day and throughout the year. The student should be excited about going to their classroom and mentally prepared to learn.
Lastly, as a student enters their classroom, the room must solidify the idea that the student will receive a quality learning experience. The classroom space should be welcoming, provide a sense of encouragement and safety, and provide a quality learning experience. This can only occur when the classroom is climate controlled, has modern equipment such as white boards or smart boards, computers that can be used in the classroom, textbooks and materials for each individual student, and most importantly, a teacher who is an engaging instructor.
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