The Howard B. Owens Center in Prince George's County, MD offers instruction to all grade levels to the local public schools. However, this instruction as students from county schools take "field trips" to this location for specialized science such as astronomy and the use of a planetarium, not typically available at most schools. Since this does not appear to be a traditional school but offers instruction for visiting classes should it be included as a school? There are many of these types of schools such as financial centers, arts centers, music centers, etc., with students from other schools attending on a temporary basis. Thanks for any clarification. |
Schools or education facilities like this should be examined on a case-by-case basis, however we have some guidelines for helping determine whether or not they should be collected. If the facility is listed on the school district website, the state department of education website, or the NCES site, then it can be collected as a school. In the example mentioned above, the Howard B Owens Science Center is listed on both the NCES site and the Prince George's County School District site, so it can be collected as a 'General School'. This facility also has a staff of teachers that employ a STEM specific curriculum. If other similar centers are listed on the school district or NCES websites and employ teachers that deliver an established curriculum on site, then they can also be collected as schools. |