Our MissionThe mission of Berea Little Red School House Foundation is to preserve and restore the Berea District 7 Schoolhouse, an historical site and on the National Register of Historic Places, and to provide a facility in service to the community and perform other civic functions to improve our quality of life with emphasis on education in the arts.
Our History
The Little Red Schoolhouse, Berea District 7 School was built in 1914 on the site of a one-room school in what was then Middleburg Township. There were ten such school buildings in a five mile radius built at that time to accommodate an exploding population. Only two are still standing-- Berea District 7 and Middleburg District 10 at the corner of Sheldon & Fry Roads, empty for decades.
The District 7 School was outgrown as a primary and secondary school and was closed 1923. For the next dozen years it stood empty and much neglected. In the fall of 1935 the Berea Fine Arts Club acquired the building. During WWII it was used as a recreation center for servicemen. The Berea Fine Art Club continued to hold arts and dance workshops, house a theater group, and hold exhibitions and performances until the late 1970's. Berea was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. The schoolhouse was sold to the Berea Jaycees in 1980. In September 1998, The Berea Little Red School House Foundation, Inc. was formed, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization comprised of representatives of The Berea Jaycees, the original Berea Fine Art Club and Berea City Government. The ByLaws of the Foundation stress the preservation & restoration of the building and it's operation as a cultural community asset. A variety of affordable art classes and workshops, staffed by local professional artists, have been offered at the Schoolhouse since 2006. |
Board of TrusteesThe members of the Berea Little Red School House Foundation, Inc. Board of Trustees governs the Foundation’s activities and facility. They are civic, community, and business leaders from the Berea community who volunteer their time, service, and expertise in support of the Foundation’s purpose.
Trustees: Gary Cole Lisa Kradlak Ken McCarthy Kevin Preston Andrew Timko |
Our commitment to ArtThe Berea Little Red School House Foundation, Inc. is a not for profit 501(c)(3) corporation registered in the State of Ohio. Our Mission, aside from preserving and restoring the Berea District 7 Schoolhouse is to enrich the quality of life in our community by providing education in the arts.
For more than a decade, we have delivered a wide variety of low-cost art classes and workshops for all ages in formal painting and drawing, illustration, photography, ceramics, graphic art & design, calligraphy and sculpture We have a collaboration with the Berea Fine Arts Club, established in 1935, to provide an ongoing schedule of new and exciting venues for art experiences including a gallery, Kids' week-long Summer Art Camp, Art shows and now live art demonstrations. You can find them at www.bereaarts.org. |
|