Our schools already reflect our communities. Are they open, inviting true community centers, or are they closed off and reserved solely for that 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. education slot?

Students from the colleges of Architecture and Building Design at Virginia Tech are investigating an alternative to the typical temporary classroom structures on campus.

Like our congested highways, bursting water pipes and corroding bridges, decaying schools are a reminder that our prosperity as a nation is jeopardized by physical neglect.

As Bob Dylan never said, "the demographics, they are a' changing." What does that mean for schools? What is the right number for how many schools a community needs, or can afford?