Shuttered school buildings can be a challenge to reuse.

Several exist across the county as the Warren County School District has consolidated its operations over the last couple decades.

One that appears on the path to a redeveloped future is the former Sheffield Elementary School located on Pickering Street.

It was sold to the Tionesta-based Taylor Diversion Program back in 2022 for $20,000 and that organization’s executive director, Michael Cummings, gave an update to the school board this week.

First off, Cummings invited the community to an open house on Feb. 1 and Feb. 2 to see what they’ve done to the former school.

Taylor Diversions Programs is a self-styled youth and family-focused support program that aims to serve at-risk youth.

Cummings said that they provide services for court-committed youth and a maximum of 12 can be housed at the former Sheffield Elementary.

He said that they focus on rural at-risk youth.

“We focus a lot on workforce,” he stressed.

Cummings told the board that many of the programs they can provide are open to members of the broader community – a boxing program, exercise and fitness spaces, welding, the arts, a community garden and more.

He said it will provide opportunities for kids and adults in the community to learn skills, as well.

“(We’re) repurposing the building in totality,” he said. “It gives an opportunity for everyone to be there… an opportunity for the community to become stronger.”

Cummings said he’s been speaking with township fire department officials that are “really embracing our efforts…. Sheffield has been nothing but over the top supportive.”

There may also be space for partnerships between Taylor Diversion Programs and the Warren County School District.

Cummings outlined a day treatment program which would see at-risk youth come to them for their education and programming but then return home in the evening, ideally reducing the need for full placement.

Director of Pupil Services Dr. Patricia Mead said that she’s been seeking a day programming option for a decade.

“We’ve all been attending meetings with the Taylor Diversion administrative team,” she said, with the goal to “establish a relationship with them because they’re here in our community.”

Dr. Mead said she visited their program last week and was “thoroughly impressed” and “looking forward to opportunities in the future whatever those may entail.”

Board member John Wortman asked how other communities have responded to their presence.

“The majority of communities are very welcoming,” Cummings said, acknowledging there is a stereotype to overcome. “People in the communities have embraced the kids as their own.

“It takes a community to really invest in our kids and for them to be embraced, as well.”

He stressed that the Sheffield school will be a “place for the community,” rather than a private entity.

“It’s going to be an open opportunity for everyone to learn.”