Axis Philly, in conjunction with Plan Philly, NBC Universal, and The Notebook, launched a site designed to give power back to communities whose schools are closing. Though the Philadelphia School District has outlined a plan for community involvement in selling the school buildings, it only involves a few members prominent of the community.
Schoolhousewatch.org pulls statistics and data about all closing school buildings, and makes it easy to navigate and understand. It offers a page for each closing school that allows readers to leave comments or ideas, and displays the estimated value of the property.
The site also features links to resources and recent news surrounding the school sales process. Though a website cannot shape the entire process alone, schoolhousewatch.org will make data and resources accessible to communities who want to have a strong role in the fate of closed school buildings.
· Schoolhousewatch.org launches as hub for ideas and accountability [Axis Philly]