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As an alternative to new construction or consolidation, many rural communities are considering the option of retaining their existing schools, upgrading them through renovations, and providing community-sensitive and effective additions as needed. The feeling of being connected to one's community can be enhanced by the continuity of community institutions, and in rural areas the school is an important community institution. The integrated sequence approach to an addition or renovation project is distinguished primarily by the commitment and effort applied to analyzing the existing building and integrating meaningful existing elements with new elements. Challenges to successful school renovation include state and federal building codes and standards, the need for flexible design, and environmental concerns. Steps in the integrated sequence approach involve organizing participants; formulating a plan that considers the life expectancy of existing buildings, elements with potential for reuse, the value of existing building components, and other cost variables; maintaining good communications with the community and the builders during the construction phase; commissioning the building; and final completion. Case histories describe the sequential renovation and development of school buildings in Cambridge, Minnesota, and McGregor, Minnesota. (Contains 26 references.) (SV)

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert