CARLSON’S CURRICULUM: FINE ART TO ARCHIVES

For more than a year, Alice Carlson Elementary has been a school without students.

But now that the Fort Worth Independent School District has leased the school (one of nine closed last year as part of a desegregation plan), the classrooms are filled once again – this time with preschoolers, office workers and archives.

Carlson is occupied by Kin-derplatz, a fine arts preschool where students learn about everyone from Bach to Balan-chine; the Gifted And Talented Program (GAT), which is funded by the Sid Richardson Foundation; and the Tarrant County Historical Commissions archives.

Kinderplatz owner Lou Bolen, who had her eye on the property for more than a year, says the facility and the limited lease that goes with it suit her fine and neighbors seem to welcome the idea of having children in the classrooms once again. Only a few details have changed since Bolen tried to persuade the district to lease the building this summer.

The Gifted And Talented students program, previously located in Arlington, moved its headquarters to the school where a staff will continue a five-year project to help Fort Worth, Arlington, Cedar Hill and Birdville independent school districts develop a curriculum based on a study funded by the Sid Richardson Foundation. Program director June Coxsays GAT’s is to help each district develop appropriate education provisions for higher learning.

Joining the twosome will be the Historical Commission headed by Duane Gage.

The remaining space may go to members of the Tarrant County Society for Hearing Impaired Infants and Children who would like Carlson converted into a school for the deaf.

James Baily, FWISD assistant superintendent for non instructional services, says the possibility of housing a deaf school there is still under consideration. Currently, deaf children attend Waverly Park.

There’s also some talk of returning Carlson, which has been designated a state archaeological site, to its public school status. Although the district can give tenants a 30-day notice, it seems unlikely that that will happen anytime soon.