Tropicana Middle? Minute Maid Elementary School?  Sounds like a joke, right? Two schools in New South Wales are being used as templates for private sponsorship, and if these cash-strapped schools scream success, who knows how far this trend will go… maybe there is a Coors High in our future…

The Australian’s article Schools turning blackboards into billboards highlights two schools. “What was once just the library at Cromer Public School in Sydney is now The Panasonic Learning Common, complete with distinctive signage and product placement.”

“Parents and school communities have welcomed the private investment as a way of giving students the best technology and learning resources otherwise not available. Opposition education spokesman Andrew Stoner said they must tread carefully as there was a danger of going too far.”

Ya think?  I’m not sure if I agree with private sponsorship in public schools or not, but it does seem progressive.  I mean, if I were a school district in need, would I really care if the high school  formerly named South Central became Chase Media Learning Center?  And it sounds like the private sector might be willing to ante up enough monies to make changing a media center, computer lab, or even a school's name palatable… 

 


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