| Given: (1) the need to serve rapidly expanding numbers of students at all levels of education in California, (2) the need to serve growing community desires for lifelong education and economic development, and (3) limited state and local funds for educational programs, services, technology and facilities development, California needs an appropriate model for development of a cooperative, joint-use educational center to meet the needs of the future. Based on case studies of two such existing educational centers in Denver, Colorado and in Yuma, Arizona, and on a case study of a developing center in Tracy, California, the researcher identified seven key elements critical to the successful design and implementation of such educational centers, and developed a new model for the California educational and political environment. These seven elements, as documented through extensive questionnaires and interviews with the CEOs and top management of each center, can be summarized as the "Seven Ps": partners; people; planning; politics; property; "pence" (funding); and policies/procedures. The elements of this model are currently being discussed at the state policy level by educational leaders in California for possible inclusion in a redrafting of the state's Education Code to encourage such joint-use ventures. |
