Design, Sustainability and Community

MONDAY, AUG 18, 2025 • Vanna Le 

In spring of 2024, the Richardson Independent School District (ISD) voted to close five schools. The reason? Lack of state funding and waning enrollment.

Frank Dobie Pre-K was not spared and closed May 2025, leaving families frustrated and confused. This is nothing new. Across North Texas, K-12 public schools are closing for similar reasons. The abandoned schools become husks to remind marginalized communities of their lost opportunities.

But, in Professor Lorena Toffer’s eyes, she saw the former school as an opportunity.

Professor Toffer teaches at the University of Texas at Arlington’s (UTA) College of Architecture, Planning & Public Affairs (CAPPA). She dedicates her time empowering students and disadvantaged communities using architecture. Since 2017, Professor Toffer has added service learning to her classes to foster social responsibility in her students. In her ARCH 5670 Advanced Design Studio class, her students proposed a prioritized space infrastructure to their chosen neighborhood. Likewise, in her ARCH 2552 Basic Design and Drawing II class, her students helped a residential development with a South Dallas community.

On December 3, 2024, the Dallas County Commissioner’s Court approved the La Esperanza Community Center Project. Led by Dallas County Commissioner Andy Sommerman and Dallas City Council member Jaynie Schultz, the project aimed to turn the closed Frank Dobie Pre-K into a community resource center. The center would give the community access to economic, educational, and social resources for both adults and children.

Seeing an opportunity, Professor Toffer once again her beliefs into practice by involving her ARCH 3351 Basic Design for Architectural Engineering students in the La Esperanza Community Center Project.

Professor Toffer structured her class to follow a service-learning model; her students collaborated with Richardson ISD students, industry experts, and community residents to design meaningful, community-driven solutions. This partnership allowed her students to exercise agency and critical thinking while meeting the needs of the community. Not only that, but her methods gave her students real-world relevance to the concepts they learned in class. Considering what they learned about environmental justice, her students developed sustainable, equitable designs using the school’s preexisting facilities as blueprints. By using this model, Professor Toffer bridged the gap between education and the community while revitalizing the neighborhood.

Professor Toffer sees the La Esperanza Community Center project as a beneficial, long-term collaboration between CAPPA students, the North Dallas community, and UTA faculty. The students benefit by gaining hands-on experience while engaging in real-world issues. The faculty benefit by emphasizing the role of education in civic engagement. The community partners benefit by gaining access to resources and sustainable infrastructure.

This mutual relationship shows not just the success of Professor Toffer’s collaboration but also the value of service learning in education. Service learning instills in students a sense of purpose and the motivation to improve their own communities—a quality the youth need.

The Esperanza Community Center will rollout services in August 2025 and have its grand opening in December. Once doors open, the community will access to resources like childcare, elderly care, mental health care, and a food bank.