The company working with the district to develop a 30-year facilities recommendation for Dearborn Public Schools is asking community members to offer their input via an online form.
The district hired Fielding International in September to look at the district’s 37 buildings and develop a long-term recommendation that goes beyond just identifying the physical needs of the schools. The final recommendation will provide the district with an overview of how physical school space can best support future instructional needs and practices and teaching environments. The goal is to present a final report to the Board of Education in March 2023.
As part of the study, Fielding International has created a survey assking community members their thoughts on “the future of teaching and learning in Dearborn.”
“As problem solvers and designers, we at Fielding International like to have contextual information to help gain a deeper understanding of Dearborn, its people, and the hopes those people have for its future. We welcome as many people from the Dearborn community to take this survey, as it will help shape our long-range study of future facility uses and needs,” the survey says.
There is both an English survey and an Arabic version of the form. The survey will be open until Dec. 2.
The form asks about the respondents visions and priorities for education in the district and provides some multiple choice and some open-ended questions.
This winter, Fielding International plans to hold town hall style meetings to learn more from the public about their concerns and visions for Dearborn Public Schools. Earlier in November, the company held a series of focus group meetings with district staff, students, city officials and parent group representatives. More than 400 people attended those gatherings. Employees from the firm have also started visiting each building in the district to learn more about every facility.
In March 2022, a citizen’s committee recommended the district pursue a bond referendum on the November 2022 ballot to fund needed infrastructure work in the district. The Board of Education decided to expand upon that plan and asked for a 30-year facilities study to provide a better long-term picture of what building and educational needs are going to be in the coming decades.
Those interested in staying abreast of issues related to facilities planning and needs in the district are encouraged to visit or subscribe to the district’s Facilities Planning website at https://dearbornschools.org/facilities-planning/