This creative project includes 30 images that were selected from a body of work to present to you The Suburbanessence. This study of the suburban housing concentration in and around Fort Wayne, Indiana, (SMSA), illustrates the emphasis placed on the suburban ethic within this region over the last 75 years. The Fort Wayne area was selected due to the median classification on the list of Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas.The photographic observations of the socioenvironmental application of the suburban ethic is posed to interpret the physical evidence of a chronological growth within these housing tracts, using architectural style classifications as a reference point. The subsequent photographs are not directed to formulate a specific judgment on this type of environment. Photographed over a six month period, several disturbing irregularities are in evidence. Deciding if these irregularities actually exist, or whether an individual's taste just leans in that direction is my challenge.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the level of satisfaction of parents of children enrolled in grades six, seven, or eight of the Summit Program of the Fort Wayne Community Schools. To determine the level of parental satisfaction, 354 questionnaires were forwarded to parents of children enrolled at Memorial Park Middle School for the 1981-82 2chool year. Questionnaires were returned 258, 72 percent, of the respondents. Data were tabulated for raw scores and percentages.Based upon a review of related literature, research and data, the following conclusions were developed:1. The Summit Program has a high level of parental satisfaction.2. Staff willingness and ability t& build a program around the basic skills, fine language has contributed to a high level of satisfaction among parents. 3. The race of the respondents has little on the high level of parental satisfaction with the Summit Program.4. The educational offerings of he Program are meeting the needs and interests of parents of all races.5. The length of time in the Summit Program has little impact on the high level of parental satisfaction.

The purpose of the study was to determine the satisfaction of parents with the magnet program in which their child was enrolled as a part of the system-wide elementary magnet alternative plan of the Fort Wayne Community Schools. The level of parent satisfaction was determined by forwarding 1,651 parent questionnaires to randomly selected parents of students attending Fort Wayne Community Schools' elementary magnet schools and magnet program schools for the 1989-90 school year. Nine hundred ten of the 1,651 distributed parent questionnaires were completed, resulting in a 55 percentage response of all possible survey participants.Data frequencies and percentages were tabulated for each question on the parent questionnaire. As a result of a review of related literature, research, and data, the following conclusions were developed:1.The Fort Wayne Community Schools' system-wide elementary magnet alternative plan has a high degree of parental satisfaction. The parents were very satisfied with the educational programs, the varied educational opportunities, and the school staff. Specifically, the following lists highlight unique features of some MAP schools: a. Each school offered a unique specialty curriculum.b. The school operated on an Academy basis, which had certain academic and behavior codes.c. The school provided a full-day kindergarten program.d. The certified staff made application and were selected to teach at magnet schools.2. Race was not a factor determining the high level of parental satisfaction with the MAP plan. a. Magnet Schools(1) Ninety-four percent of the white parents who participated in the survey were satisfied with the magnet school attended by their child.(2) Ninety percent of the black parents who participated in the survey were satisfied with the magnet school attended by their child.b. Magnet Program Schools(1) Eighty-eight percent of the white parents who participated in the survey were satisfied with the magnet program school attended by their child.(2) Eighty-five percent of the black parents who participated in the survey were satisfied with the magnet program school attended by their child.3. There was no significant difference in the degree of parent satisfaction with MAP, whether a parents' child attended a magnet school or a magnet program school. Ninety-three percent of the magnet school parent survey participants indicated satisfaction with their child's school. Eighty-seven percent of the magnet program parent survey participants indicated satisfaction with their child's school.4. The Fort Wayne Community Schools elementary magnet schools and magnet program schools were meeting the expectations of parents.5. Parents felt that "help when needed" for their child was more readily available at an elementary MAP school. Specifically, elementary MAP schools were provided with additional resources above non-magnet school resource allocations, such as; an assistant principal and/or a resource teacher, an administrative aide, fourteen extra hours of school aide time per day, and more dollars on a per pupil basis.6. Although, the two primary purposes for the Fort Wayne Community Schools developing and implementing MAP were: (1) to racially balance its elementary schools, and (2) to serve the needs of students with special interests; "closeness to home" was the main reason parents selected a certain school for their child.7. Magnet program schools were very desirable to parents due to the fact that a change in one's neighborhood attendance area was not required.8. Parents who were given a "choice" regarding the school their child was to attend was more satisfied with the educational setting.9. Based on the high degree of parental satisfaction with MAP, the Fort Wayne Community Schools should explore the possibility of offering more elementary alternative programs.10. The length of time a child was in the elementary magnet school program, had no significant impact upon parental satisfaction.11. An effective transportation system was identified as essential for the success of magnet schools.12. Surveys and parental assessment instruments must be continually used by the Fort Wayne Community Schools to help develop alternative educational programs and to monitor progress.

This creative project outlines the process used in developing an action oriented and citizen based neighborhood plan for the Bloomingdale Neighborhood, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. As a member of the City of Fort Wayne Planning Department, I was the lead staff person in the development of this plan. The plan was designed to identify and resolve neighborhood issues with manageable goals and specific action steps. Though the planning department initiated the process and took a leadership role in the plan's development, the neighborhood association ultimately determined the plan's focus and direction. This allowed the association to take ownership of the process and ultimately the plan. The techniques and methods used in the process for developing the Bloomingdale Plan will be incorporated in future neighborhood planning efforts in Fort Wayne. / Department of Urban Planning

This Q study revealed Fort Wayne, Indiana donors' typical attitudes and perceptions toward philanthropy. Participants completed a 55-statement Q sort about 1) perceptions of nonprofit organizations, 2) various fundraising methods, and 3) types of organizations donors prefer funding.The researcher then entered the data into the PQMethod software and determined three factors of donors: Skeptical Givers, Generous Givers, and Untapped Givers.The Skeptical Givers did not trust nonprofit organizations and only donated a limited portion of their money to charities. Skeptical Givers also felt it was more important for them to save their money and support their family than it was for them to donate money to people in need.The Generous Givers held church as one of their top priorities. They were also taught that it was their social responsibility to help those in need. Therefore, the Generous Givers donated their time and over 11 percent of their annual income to nonprofit organizations.The Untapped Givers were business-minded individuals who were also committed to their communities and nonprofit organizations. They trusted nonprofits and considered helping the less fortunate to be a high priority. Although the Untapped Givers gave money to nonprofit organizations, they preferred to donate their time through volunteering and serving on boards of directors. The Untapped Givers were committed to giving financially to charities; however, they only gave a limited portion of their savings to charities.These three factors illustrated that nonprofit development officers should recognize that different strategies might be employed to entice separate segments of donors to give money. / Department of Journalism

The project examines the architectural and financial feasibility of adaptive reuse of the Pennsylvania Station at Fort Wayne, Indiana, as an international cultural center and railroad passenger station. The project summarizes the results of primary research which determined the history of the station's original construction and subsequent alterations, as well as the property's associations with the history of Fort Wayne. The narrative also provides an illustrated summary of the current physical condition of the site and its two structures. The proposal for adaptive reuse includes an Amtrak rail passenger facility, shops, a restaurant, and classroom and dormitory areas to be used as a campus of the International Education Center, a school based in Tokyo, Japan. The proposed rehabilitation work is described in terms of its impact upon the historic features of the property, and the design issues involved are stated, as well as the major elements of the proposed work. An itemized budget for all proposed construction is provided.Based upon current rents in the project area, financial comparison of the investment needed with projected returns determined that the project would provide an acceptable acceptable rate of return on the required investment. The study concluded that the project would be both financially and architecturally viable. / Department of Architecture

This creative project involved preparation of a cultural landscape report for Lindenwood Cemetery in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Using methodologies adapted from the National Park Service and National Register of Historic Places, the report sought to define the existing conditions, historic significance, and appropriate treatment approach for the historic cemetery. Report chapters include site history and contextual documentation, existing conditions assessment, analysis of historic significance and integrity, treatment recommendations, and recommendations for further study. Lindenwood Cemetery was found to be significant for its association with the major four American cemetery design movements and its ability to display all four eras in a single landscape. Overall, Lindenwood retained a high level of integrity from its historic periods of significance advocating a minimally-invasive rehabilitation treatment approach. Treatment recommendations focused on maintenance and repair, guidelines for implementing new uses, and restoration of certain sunken garden elements. / Department of Landscape Architecture

This study examined the social work environment and the innovation or change potential of administrators in a large midwestern school district. It examined three dimensions of the social work environment: (a) relationships, (b) personal growth, and (c) system maintenance and change. It also examined 10 dimensions of innovation and change potential: (a) challenge, (b) freedom, (c) dynamism, (d) trust/openness, (e) idea time, (f) playfulness/humor, (g) conflict, (h) idea support, (e) debates, and (j) risk-taking. The primary purposes were as follows: (a) to determine if relationships existed between dimensions of the social work environment and the administrative group's propensity for change, and (b) to determine if selected demographic variables (age, gender, race, length of service in the district, employee classification) are associated with the group's propensity for change.The study population included 214 administrators and professional and technical staff members responsible for leadership functions within the district. Two standard instruments were used to gather data. The Work Environment Scale (WES) developed by Moos at Stanford University in 1986, was used to assess the social environment. The second instrument, used to assess the 10 dimensions, was the Climate for Innovation Questionnaire (CIQ), developed by Ekvall and Arnonen in 1983; it provided a measure of the propensity of the work climate to support change as perceived by organizational members.Findings indicated that this school district is innovative, that there was a positive potential for change, that the administrative employees were committed to and concerned about their jobs, and that friendly, supportive relationships existed and were supported by organizational leaders.The personal growth dimension suggested that change within the district was moving in a positive direction and that administrators felt encouraged to be self-sufficient. Idea support (i.e., the manner in which an organization treats new ideas) was strongly related to the work environment, again suggesting conduciveness to change.Results of this study were used by the school district to move toward substantial school renewal. The process used in this research provides a framework that can be replicated in other school districts to determine possible factors in the work environment that support or inhibit personal dispositions toward change and innovation. / Department of Educational Leadership

The purpose of this study was to determine whether teachers' perceptions of principals' promotion and support of technology in the Fort Wayne Community Schools, Fort Wayne, Indiana, effected the successful integration of technology into the elementary school curricula. The selection of variables for this study was based on a comprehensive review of the literature and identified practitioners who had educational computing experience. These variables included teacher perceptions of principal support, teacher participation in staff development opportunities, availability of support with computer-related problems, and computer availability. These variables were correlated with teachers' use of computers, students' use of computers, and teachers' perceptions of their own improvement as measures of technology integration.A 75-item researcher-developed survey instrument, based on these variables, was presented to 558 elementary classroom teachers in the 22 participating elementary schools in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on two scannable pages. Pearson product-moment correlations were calculated for the pairs of variables.This research provided evidence of a strong correlation between the FWCS teachers' perceptions of principal leadership and support of technology integration and the teachers' evaluations of their own improvement in integrating technology into thecurricula. It also supported the premise that the level of staff development that teachers engage in directly affects their level of improvement in integrating technology into the curricula. / Department of Educational Leadership

The purpose of the study was to describe perceptions toward schools held by black parents of students granted racial balance transfers for 1978-1979 school year by Fort Wayne Community Schools administration officials. An attempt was made to discover if parental support for schools changed when children transferred from one school to another using racial balance transfers.Personal interviews were held with six randomly selected black parents of elementary students granted racial balance transfers for the purpose of generating questions for a parent questionnaire. Information secured from the interviews was compiled and placed into categories relative to administration, curricular offerings, quality of teaching, student progress, school environmental, school climate, and parental involvement. A questionnaire was developed from data gained from interviews with the parents. Black parents, two doctoral committee members, students enrolled in the doctoral seminar for research, and a selected jury for final editing examined the questionnaire for clarity, simplicity, and consistency in language. A Likert five-point scale labeled "strongly agree," "agree,"' "undecided," "disagree," and "strongly disagree," was utilized so parents could express strength of agreement or disagreement with questionnaire items. The questionnaire was mailed to the total Population of 232 black parents representing 337 elementary school students granted racial balance transfers. One-hundred twenty-four parents completed questionnaires.A computer program, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), was chosen to generate raw data from returned questionnaires. Data were analyzed in an attempt to answer eleven research questions relative to black parent perceptions toward school.Parents perceived that predominantly black schools previously attended by black students equalled predominantly white schools in certain respects, such as, teacher expectation of students and fair dealings of principal and teachers with parents and students. Parents perceived that previous schools offered certain benefits over present schools, such as, more teachers were able to teach subjects so children could understand. Parents were generally favorable toward present schools attended by black children. Parents wire generally satisfied with previous school environments, but perceived present school environments as more desirable for black children.Black parents of students granted racial balance transfers did not become more involved in school activities. Slightly more than one-fourth of responding parents were active in present school PTAs; about 50 percent were active in previous school PTAs.About one-third of the respondents regarding previous schools and about one-half of the respondents regarding present schools did not feel encouraged to help plan and develop school programs and activities. Fewer than one-fourth of the respondents reported actual participation in planning and developing school programs and activities.Based on the findings and conclusions of the study, the following implications seem warranted:In view of the need for parent support for and financing of school programs, gaining support for schools from all parents seems imperative. School personnel should seek information about how black parents perceive schools and the administration of schools. Knowledge of parental perceptions about schools may be helpful to school authorities in the evaluation of racial issue postures and the handling of problems related to effective instruction.School principals and teachers need to be well grounded in sociology and psychology of various racial groups. While psychological effects of integrated school settings are important, black parents seem most concerned about the effects of integrated school settings on the academic success of black children.How well black students do in school may be directly related to how much teachers expect of students. When teachers set reasonably high expectations for students, students may conform to these high expectations. The selection of teachers and the attitudes of teachers toward students are important aspects to consider where black students are expected to do well.