Springfield, Missouri Vision 20 / 20

The City of Springfield, Missouri has developed and adopted a long range plan for development.  The plan is recorded in a document entitled Vision 20/20.  The entire document can be read at http://www.springfieldmo.gov/vision2020/. 

Central High development will benefit from a review of the document.  There are two key elements that should inform a development plan for the school.  First, the school exists in what the plan calls "Government Plaza".  Government Plaza includes state, county, city and local government offices.  The plan calls for government plaza to be a connector between downtown proper (south of Central High) and the commercial district (north of Central High).  The western boundary is placed at Campbell and the eastern boundary at National Avenue.  The city expects gateways to be developed at major intersections such as Benton and Central. 

The second key element of the plan addresses collaborations.  The plan expects that public entities (including schools) will develop collaborations with each other and with local businesses to develop their specific part of the city.  Collaborations are mentioned between Springfield Public Schools and Ozarks Technical College. 

One question that emerged in the development and visioning process was whether Central High viewed themselves as a community school or an urban school.  An urban school is a school in an urban environment that may not be engaged in collaborations.  A community school on the other hand is a school that embraces its neighborhood and opens its doors to collaborations.  The Springfield Vision 20/20 plan anticipates that Central High as a public agency will be a community school.