On July 7, 2015, I began my tour of the 26 public schools of Albemarle County. I visited the two elementary schools serving the westernmost part of the county, Crozet and Brownsville. As I drove through Crozet, I was struck by how the small town seemed both familiar and un. The streets still narrow sometimes, but the new library stands solid near widened streets with planted medians. It’s lovely, and homey.
Driving past “downtown”, past Crozet Pizza, the scenery turns residential, pastoral and mountainous in quick succession. On the left is the historic Crozet School now housing the private Field School. Across the road, to the right, is the modern cinder block and brick Crozet Elementary.
Crozet Elementary was built to reflect Jeffersonian architecture, but in a modern cast. The first sight as you enter is a round room housing the library; the gym and cafeteria anchor the two opposing ends of the front hall. The classrooms wrap in an arch around these two large rooms, with a breezeway separating the library from the two-story classroom arc. Kindergarten-Grade 2 are downstairs, and 3rd through 5th are housed upstairs. From the outside, the window treatments of the classroom arc looks like a modernist take on the the Pavilions on the University’s Lawn.
The grounds of Crozet Elementary were my favorite part of the physical plant. The back of the school seems to stretch into rural infinity, with no discernable view of houses or development. There’s a native garden created by a class of 2nd graders 4 years ago, a tennis court funded by local foundations, the ever-present well-used soccer field (I remember when the now-ubiquitous soccer seemed an exotic sport), and a baseball field. There are white-painted gourds for bird nests, and a butterfly garden.
Principal Crummie and I talked about the particular challenges for Crozet Elementary. Albemarle County is often represented by images of wealth and privilege, but at Crozet 30% of students receive free or reduced lunch. There is often an achievement gap between students coming to Kindergarten having had plenty of socialization and educational opportunities, and students who are just beginning to recognize written letters. We discussed at length the need for the working class and working poor students to have access to high quality out-of-school activities, and the challenges that transportation– especially in more remote areas– can create.
About 5 miles away sits the solid 1960’s construction of Brownsville. I attended Western Albemarle across the road for 4 years, so was familiar with the building, but had never been inside. The typical cinder block construction had been warmed up by wooden “wainscotting” throughout the school. While Crozet seemed large, but reasonable to me, with about 300 students, Brownsville seemed huge at more than 700 students. Touring schools in the summer is always a little unfair– all the desks are shoved into corners, as floors are waxed and cleaned and walls painted, but both schools are bright and cheerful with sturdy, child-friendly furnishings.
Brownsville uses regions of the state as ways to help students navigate the halls. A new addition that houses K-1 blends well with the older construction, and the 50 year old main structure has aged well. There’s plenty of flexible instructional space, including an older gym that now houses the music department, an outdoor amphitheater, and a oddly-shaped interior nook that has become a flexible technology space.
For Brownsville, rapid growth from a country school to an outpost of wealthy suburbia has been challenging at times. Principal India Haun spoke of a supportive PTO that supports afterschool programs that enroll upwards of 300 students each session. Challenges include a school day that ends at 2:20, supported by an at-capacity 120 seat county-sponsored afterschool program that runs until 6pm. A priority of Principal Haun’s is to continue to maintain an average class size of 19-22. While that number is low relative to other systems, I completely understand her priority. Anyone who scoffs that a few additional children can’t make much of a difference, should be promptly left in a room with 25 ten-year-olds.
I don’t spend a great deal of time in the area west of 250 in Albemarle County. I certainly am shocked when I drive out that way, and see new subdivisions and shopping centers dotting the previously rural area. Visiting these schools I thought about the tensions that growth like this can engender. Brownsville’s enrollment has increased hugely in the past 5 years. 15% of their students are eligible for free or reduced lunch, and those families tend to live in the mountainous Afton area. I would assume that the number of families in need has remained the same, but as the population of the school has grown the relative proportion of disadvantaged students has decreased. For these disadvantaged students, the need remains the same, but the profile of a school can look different, and priorities can change.
Both principals were sensitive to the needs of all of their students, and very interested in creating opportunities for success for students of all backgrounds. I came away thinking about the need for high-quality, affordable after-school care and transportation, and how important it is to build communities that bring together both newcomers and established families in a way that values the perspectives of both.
