View from the School: Florida Then & Now

This project documents change in Florida cities, towns, communities and landscapes from a student perspective. Art teacher Polly Werner, in collaboration with the Florida State Archives, conducted the pilot project with her third grade class at Dr. N. H. Jones Elementary School in Ocala, Florida.

The students researched old photographs of their communities using resources from the Florida Photographic Collection, local historical societies, or the students' own family photos. The students then revisited the locations or themes of those historic photographs and re-photographed them as they appear today. The then-and-now photographs are displayed along with short essays by the students.