Winton Hills Academy nationally recognized for community learning center

The Winton Hills Academy has been recognized as a semi-finalist for the Richard Riley Award as a leading community learning center (CLC).

The award, which is sponsored by the American Architectural Foundation and the KnowledgeWorks Foundation, is part of an effort to support school districts and communities that make school facilities more conducive to learning and more accessible to the entire community.

Darlene Kamine, community learning center consultant for Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS), says that the award is quite prestigious.

“It’s one of the very few national awards for community learning centers and perhaps the only one which honors both the design and program,” she says.  “It’s awarded to a very few finalists from among hundreds of nominations.”

The $10 million school for grades K-8, which opened for the 2006-2007 school year, is the first of nine pilot sites to utilize the CLC concept.

Situated in the center of the neighborhood at 5300 Winneste Avenue, the school is adjacent to the recreation center, the Winton Hills Medical Center, and two community churches.

Community partners also share space in the building, allowing community members, students and families the opportunity to share experiences, problems and solutions.

CLCs are the result of a sustained planning process.

The planning process allows the community to develop a shared vision, to identify neighborhood needs, and to map access to resources and partners.

Locally, the CLC concept is being developed on a district-wide basis by CPS as the cornerstone of their successful $1 billion facilities bond levy.

The Rosa Parks School at New Columbia Community Campus in Portland, Oregon was named as the award winner.

Writer: Kevin LeMaster
Source: Darlene Kamine, community learning center consultant for CPS