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E-mail Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2008 > May > 21
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Roosevelt, Patterson to be razed over the next month
The former Patterson Co-op High school will be torn down in June and the space is expected to be used for parking for the near future.
The school, at 118 First St., closed in 2001 at the urging of then-Mayor Mike Turner, who proposed that the city would buy the property for $5 million so that it could be developed or resold to be used as part of Riverscape.
The city signed a deal to buy Patterson but never paid any money and later asked the school district to release it from that obligation.
John Carr, the school district’s construction chief, said parking was the preferred short-term use for the site after talks with the city about its future. City spokesman Tom Bidenharn said the hope is to develop the site, but for now parking will help serve that part of downtown.
The building’s June demolition will likely follow the razing of Roosevelt High School on West Third Street, which has been delayed but is expected by month’s end.
Construction on the Patterson building began in 1952 and was finished in time for the 1954-55 school year, according to historical accounts of the school.
Patterson was the brainchild of a committee of industrialists led by NCR Founder John H. Patterson, who approached the school board in 1912 with the idea to combine skilled crafts with secondary education. That led to the Trade Extension in 1913 and that became the Dayton Night School, according to historical accounts. The Dayton Cooperative High School, housed at first in Stivers High School, opened in the fall of 1914.
Carr said there is not a plan right now for a community walk-through for the building, as the district has done with other schools. He said he was approached by alumni about such an event but they never followed up.
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TweetReplacing Percy Mack may take time
There was a lot of news happening at the Dayton school board meeting Tuesday night. In addition to East End Community School coming into the school district next year, there was news on the superintendent search, Percy Mack’s departure, The Dayton Technology Design High School and Roosevelt High School.
Here’s a quick roundup:
—Superintendent’s search: I talked to five board members about the superintendent’s search and here’s the consensus — they all want to take their time with the search. All said they were looking for someone who could connect with the community and truly care about the district and its students in the way the felt Mack did. Most wanted to do a national search for a superintendent, although all of them were open to, or preferred, a local candidate, if possible.
What does this mean for Debra Brathwaite? Here’s what it looks like. If she is offered the job at Princeton, I expect she will go. Dayton does not appear ready to jump to compete for her. If she does not get the job at Princeton, things will slow down and she’ll be in the mix in Dayton. Brathwaite told me that her second interview at Princeton went well Monday night and she expects to hear from them sometime in the next week.
—Percy Mack: Mack spoke at length about his decision to leave for Columbia, S.C., emphasizing the influence of his family on the decision:
“This weekend, I spent time with granddaughter for her promotion ceremony from fifth grade,” he said. “I remember when she started in first grade. these days have gone by very quickly. My children have fond memories of the grandparents. I hope some day my grandhchilren wil have fond memories of me because of the time I could give them and share.”
Mack also recounted the district’s advancements during his tenure in terms of test score gains, graduation rate gains, budget improvements and other changes. He praised his senior staff, teachers, students and parents for helping push the district to better achievement.
“The hardest part is leaving this team that has worked so hard to drive the improvements in the school distirct,” he said. “I wish everyone well. I wont cut my ties with Dayton schools. Dayton schools will always be a part of Dr. Mack. I hope to always be a part of Dayton schools.”
—Dayton Technology Design High School: Principal David White and his staff made a presentation about the success of this alternative high school that mostly serves dropouts. The school in its second year made big gains in the number of kids it retained, the number of graduates and the number of kids who went on to college.
—Roosevelt High School: Word is the demolition of Roosevelt High School will begin before the end of May. (NOTE: It was pushed back again after I reported here earlier that demolition would start Friday.)
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