More than 70 years ago, Karen Sloan started kindergarten at Clearwater’s North Ward Elementary School.
The school, built in 1915, was one of Pinellas County’s first public schools. Sloan, 76, would eat lunch with her classmates under the trees when the weather was nice outside, and she still remembers the songs she learned in class.
“I don’t have any bad memories,” she said.
The elementary, north of downtown, has decades of history, but has sat vacant since it closed in 2009. Community members and former students have remained invested in the school’s future, and this week they had the opportunity to provide input on what happens with the storied elementary.
–
North Ward falls in the boundaries of the North Greenwood Community Redevelopment Area. Community leaders worked for years to earn the designation as a redevelopment area, which allows the city to direct taxes toward projects and efforts that bring economic opportunity to the neighborhood.