Changing Times at Roosevelt

Roosevelt approaches a second century of change.

In March, our community will have the chance to vote on a zero projected tax-rate increase bond proposal which would yield $125 million for our schools. If passed, Roosevelt would transition to the new home of the Center for Advanced Studies and the Arts (CASA) in 2022 to begin its second century of service to our community. This would be made possible by the construction of a new Lower Elementary School in Jackson Park for our Kindergarten through 2nd grade students. This new building, budgeted for with only 20% of the bond funds, is designed to better fit our K-2 curriculum and free up the Roosevelt Building for a low-impact alternative use by CASA.

Transitioning from a school of younger students to teens would not be the first dramatic change in Roosevelt’s first century. Originally built as an 8-room primary school (K-6) in 1921, the building served K-8 from 1932-1959. This capacity change prompted site expansions in 1939 and 1949. Even after the 7th and 8th grades moved to Lincoln High School in 1959, four more classrooms and a music room were needed on the Ridge Road side of the building site (completed in 1969.) The 8-room school cost $91,428 to build and had an enrollment of 313 in 1921. Classroom size was between 39 and 54 students to a teacher: nearly double the modern ideal.

The Ferndale Fourth of July Parade marched past the Roosevelt School, complete with horse-drawn carriage.

Photo Courtesy of the Ferndale Historical Society

Throughout these many years, Roosevelt has been the home of many fine student memories. Recently, Oakland County Fire Marshal Paul Benedict and family toured the building where five generations of their family have started their education. “A memory I have is the June Fair. We always looked forward to this event. My mother, Josephine Arquette, always baked a beautiful chocolate cake for the bake sale, and my dad would always go there and buy it,” said Madelynne Cudney (1949-1958).

“My memories of Kindergarten are wonderful. My mother and her three sisters all lived on Maplehurst, Hyland, and Lewiston. Between the four families, there were thirteen children; and we all went to the same church and school,” said Mary Ann Sdao (1946-1954).

The Roosevelt Building has been a model educational environment for our students for nearly a century–a fantastic legacy for this wonderful facility. However, after 100 years of use by early learners, it has become more challenging to meet the curriculum requirements of its current population of students.

Roosevelt was built for an early-20th century educational environment, and it has faithfully served 10 decades of students under this model. However, there are limitations in the existing building which restrict the use of contemporary and future learning models which cannot be rectified with a simple renovation.

The most significant limitations come down to the physical space of the property. Modern educational classrooms are 30% larger than the ones at Roosevelt, allowing for more student mobility. The footprint of the building does not leave enough room for expanding classrooms without reducing the total number of rooms. Rising enrollment trends have brought Roosevelt near capacity, and reducing the total number of classrooms would exacerbate that concern. In addition, the gym at Roosevelt currently serves as a cafeteria space as well, which limits the amount of hours our students can be physically active within the school. This creates a demand for the addition of a new gym or cafeteria. Physical limitations of the property also make this impossible.

A facility review was conducted at the beginning of the Bond planning process during which our architecture firm (GMB) determined that it would cost approximately $20 million to renovate Roosevelt. As stated previously, even with spending this significant sum to renovate Roosevelt, it would still not be possible to meet most of our objectives for our lower elementary students within the limitations of the property.

In contrast, the cost to construct a new state-of-the-art Lower Elementary School would be $25 million. This new elementary school would solve many of the challenges that exist at the Roosevelt site with classrooms which are 30% larger, a separate gym, and a new cafeteria. The property on which this school would be constructed is also more than double the size of Roosevelt’s site. This means that we would have twice as many parking spots, a pick-up and drop-off area that is designed to improve traffic flow, as well as creating a campus with double the playground space of Roosevelt and room for future expansion!

All of this notwithstanding, Ferndale Schools is committed to maintaining Roosevelt as a part of our community into the future. Utilizing the building for CASA will lessen the wear and tear on the school, which will extend its usable life. By moving CASA to Roosevelt, the student load within the building will move from 500 Kindergarten through 2nd grade students for eight hours a day to 300 total High School students over three hours each day. That amounts to a 70% reduction in foot traffic within those halls and 63% less run time for the facility systems. Classrooms will be adapted to the focused curriculum of the CASA population, and the cafeteria/gym will be transformed into a dance studio.

Annual energy savings are also a key driver for this decision. A newly built school costs significantly less to run for a full day than a building that is nearly 100 years old. A new elementary building and reduced operating time at Roosevelt by its new CASA residents would allow Ferndale Schools to save on yearly energy costs and maintenance.

We believe these exciting changes would breathe new life into the Roosevelt Building as it transitions once again at the start of its second century!

Planned Construction of a new lower elementary building in Jackson Park (left) as well as renovations and upgrades to the Roosevelt building (right) for new CASA courses would be funded by a 3-series bond at zero projected tax-rate increase. The vote is scheduled for March 11, 2020.

ABOUT CASA:

a consortium program composed of Berkley, Clawson, Ferndale, Lamphere, Madison, Oak Park and Pontiac school districts–offering sixteen Advanced Placement courses, a vibrant visual arts curriculum, and a robust Advanced Dance program

Learn more about CASA at casa-online.org