  
For thousands of years the area now known as North Port has been home to human civilization. There are many historical and cultural landmarks that chronicle the special places within the vast expanse that is North Port. The North Port community has changed its look over time from a sleepy town in the woods to a fast growing community on the forefront. Driving in from the 1-75 you are immediately welcomed to North Port by a beautiful display on Sumter Blvd. Continuing further down this thoroughfare you will find the newly designed and constructed city hall and Sumter then opens up after Price Blvd to encompass a four lane recently renovated avenue. Trees line the streets in North Port reminding us that the woods are still much a part of this community. People are proud that North Port is growing and welcoming new business and residential expansion yet maintaining its mid-town charm and identity. Another point of pride for the community is the inclusion of a community and youth center that will allow our children a safe and fun place to interact afterschool hours. The importance of a place where students can enjoy themselves cannot be understated. As defined by Meier in the book “In Schools We Trust”, the term for school in Greek translates as leisure. (Meier, 2002). An overview of the site plan even shows a room specifically called the “leisure room”. This youth center will provide a safe and fun location for our community.
The mission statement of North Port states:
“ The City of North Port will provide the health, safety and welfare services to our residents which would not be provided or could not be provided efficiently or equally without the intervention of government at the local level. The City will provide said services in a professional and cost-effective manner, and only be listening to those who have put us in the position to serve them, our residents.” (City Commision, 1995, quoted from The Public School Facilities Element, 2008)
One of the concerns that the North Port community has regarding education is linked to the growth of the area. Recently, as we have seen across communities, there has been a change in the real estate market which has decreased the influx of people actively moving into the area. Yet, North Port remains focused on understanding growth over time and how this relates to meeting the educational needs of both students and adults. Therefore, one planning aspect that has been developed is an educational plan. Within this plan the community has addressed several issues including: tracking current school resources, construction of new school facilities, school funding, and balancing school construction with the use of open space in the community.
Even with this plan there can be a disconnection between what is produced from the political sector and what is put forth from different groups within the community. In the Marshall-Gerstl Pepin reading it states “The individuals with power in a school site can define what key problems are and whether they need attention”.(Marshall-Gerstl Pepin, 2005, p.116). In many situations this can lead to a dominance of a particular group at the cost of excluding another. We see in the figure the demographic makeup of North Port and the majority of the populace is White (Non Hispanic).
Although many schools, including ones in North Port, have advisory boards as well as School Improvement teams, this does not mean the decision making is left to them alone. Often, as it has been in recent years, more pressure from the federal, state and district level has meant that decisions have been more top-down. As this happens the groups that are affected, such as school/community level stake holders, are put in a situation of compliance. Therefore voices may be silenced as more growth happens. Some questions remain regarding growth and the future of North Port Schools. These include:
How will the North Port community become more involved in the decision making process at the school level? How can all stakeholders be included so that voices are heard but not ignored?
What kinds of links will be made between the growing business sector and the school community?
What opportunities will students have to be involved with the North Port City Hall?
Citations:
1. North Port City, (2003). Retrieved October 10, 2008, from North Port Homepage Web site: http://www.cityofnorthport.com/default.asp
2. Meier, Deborah (2002). In Schools We Trust. Beacon Press. |