Western Center Looking to Rebuild Records Database

It was a late night in the early spring months of 2009 in the midst of the and construction at the . Administrators received a call of a fire at the large barn at the school - a barn that held school vehicles, student transport vehicles and a small room that all paper records dating back to the school's 1966 genesis.

By the time action was able to be taken by police and fire, the barn had already burnt to the ground.

"There was someone going around, as we later found out, that was starting fires in this area," said administrative director Joe Greb. "Nothing was salvageable in there. It was a complete loss on there. It really set us back on a lot of things. We depend on some of that equipment for the programs that was being housed there."

So, why were the records being kept in a barn? Greb explained the construction at the school was going on while students were still in the building. So, as construction moved from wing-to-wing, certain rooms had to be clear, including the school's record room.

"A lot of the regulations show that you have to keep records for 100 years or so," Greb said. "There’s different requirements. The space we had – we had this large barn. It was five or six bays out there and sort of an area that was easily locked up.

"It was a room with one entrance, one exit, no windows, that was built within this structure – I don’t know what it’s original purpose was for – but at the time we thought it would be perfect to store all these records in, because it was one access point and someone couldn’t just wonder in there. So, we moved everything down there, which would be all past student records, employee records, financial records. You’re going back to the 1960s, so it’s a lot of paper."

Greb explained that most Pennsylvania vocational programs were developed in 1966 through an act passed out of Harrisburg. The Western Center has, in form, stayed the same in having three sending districts: Lower Pottsgrove, Upper Perkiomen and . Therefore, the history of students from those schools at the Center obviously went up with the barn.

"Really everything from pictures, old yearbooks, any kind of records we might have," Greb said. "Sometimes people call up and ask us for records to use for their jobs. In that time, there wasn’t even computers for that stuff – it was all paper. So, it’s all gone. Apart from the last four years, which our record management system is housed with a student-database offsite, all the old records are gone, as well as the other information that we had kept."

At this point, the school has lists of employers that work with the school through co-ops or occupational advisory committees, which are state-mandated. A lot of the participants happen to be alumni. They serve on these committees to help Western Center teachers shape their programs.

"We’re always trying to bring new people in," said Greb. "At this point, I’d like to expand that slightly through technology, Twitter, Facebook or something, because it would be nice to collect and create a database to just have access to these people. Even if it’s just to say 'Hi, you’re local school is going to be in the in two weeks, come out and support us.' To have that database there to make a connection to the community is nice and it would be great to build that."

Greb reported that this is just the beginning of the process, though. Getting through the construction, which was completed by 2010, and forming the advisory committees to state regulations was key before any efforts were made to rebuild the database.

The administration is asking that any donations or information be brought in for consideration to be added to the new database - that even includes old yearbooks, trophies and historic materials.

"Naturally, we’d love it for our displays or looking back, or just for the history of the school," said Greb. "Whatever’s out there would be beneficial, just so the school can create and maintain the history, as well as for the community just to show what the school has done in years past."

Overall, the process is a new one and one that is open to suggestions.

"Even if it’s just dropping a name and address saying 'Hey, I’m a 72 graduate of carpentry and now I run XYZ Lumber Company,'" Greb said. "We’d love to hear from you. Like I said, we’re just at the beginning of it, so any ideas people have to help this, we’re open ears."