Category: place-based education

UM-Flint Neff Center and Beecher High School Partner on College and Career Readiness Program

April 5, 2017 by lstoddar·Comments Off

By Maria Salinas

The University of Michigan-Flint and the Beecher School District partnership completed the first half of a two part College and Career Readiness Program when 60 kids from Beecher’s junior class were hosted on campus on Wednesday, March 22 as part of the school district’s three day SAT Preparation Boot Camp. UM-Flint students in the secondary education teaching certificate program were key contributors to the success of the SAT Camp which was coordinated by UM-Flint Neff Center staff member, Maria Salinas, and staff from Beecher High School. The second half of the College and Career Readiness Program will occur later this spring when the same Beecher students will come back to the campus for a two-day college immersion experience coordinated by the Neff Center in partnership with UM-Flint Admissions and various academic departments that will assist Beecher students exploring possible career pathways.

Beecher’s SAT Boot Camp was held on Monday, March 20-Wednesday, March 22 during regular school day with the first two days being held in the school district and the final culminating day on the UM-Flint campus. Beecher High School staff, Mrs. Treva Daniels-Carlson and Mr. Matt Adams with participation from Genesee Intermediate School District (GISD) staff member, Mrs. Ferguson, led the event with a focus on test preparation and content skills. UM-Flint students that contributed to multiple portions of the three day agenda included student teacher, Ms. Maggie Hudkins, who led math review. Three Secondary Education students, Susan Geisler, Courtney Ruggles, and Madeline (Maddie) Wohlfeil, created and facilitated SAT Jeopardy, taught reading strategies, proctored the Grammar Test, and went over the answers with the Beecher students.

The Camp also incorporated college readiness activities and mindfulness lessons. Partners from Mott Community College Closing the Achievement Gap and the UMHS Regional Alliance for Health Schools (RAHS) assisted Neff Center staff with these elements. Motivational speakers were brought and included Ms. Lisa Sarno, Social Worker with the UM RAHS, Mrs. Simone Lightfoot, Director of Urban Initiatives with the National Wildlife Federation, Marquise Gray, 21^st Century Coordinator, Beecher Varsity Basketball Coach, MSU Star, and Beecher alumnus, and Courtney Hawkins, BCSD Athletic Director, Star Athlete, and Beecher alumnus.

This is the 4^th year that the UM-Flint Neff Center has supported Beecher through the SAT (formerly ACT) Boot Camp and the first year the school district incorporated the activities into the school day. The camp and the Career Pathways college immersion trip supported in part by a GISD Greater Flint Educational Consortium (GFEC) CARE Grant awarded to Beecher School District. The GFEC works cooperatively with local districts, post-secondary partners, and community organizations to develop and implement cooperative efforts which facilitate sharing of information and resources to improve student success, and pursue quality and equity of educational opportunities for all members in the GISD service area.

UM-Flint students interested in work-study positions as tutors in the Beecher School District can contact Maria Salinas at [email protected] or 810-640-8243.

Flint Southwestern Academy Students Complete Animal Habitat and Outdoor Learning Space

January 11, 2017 by lstoddar·Comments Off

By Nic Custer

After two years of planning, more than 100 Flint Southwestern Academy students put the final touches on a wetland restoration project next to their school. The 150-foot-long excavated site was designed and constructed as part of University Outreach’s Discovering Place program and will retain rain and snow melt to create a plant and animal habitat and outdoor learning space. Rows of donated pine trees were also planted behind the site by students. Discovering Place works with Flint-area teachers to implement place-based education projects connecting students’ curriculum requirements with their surroundings.

Teachers Linda Heck and Kim Hatfield have worked with Discovering Place for the past five years using the place-based education program to expand the connections between in-class lessons and real world examples. Over the years, students worked with Genesee County Conservation District staff to learn about the importance of wetlands for people, animals and water retention. The project, which aligns with green and blue infrastructure goals in the Flint master plan, was an important collaboration between the city of Flint and community stakeholders as well, according to City Planner Adam Moore. He said the project is part of a city strategy to responsibly maintain the city’s more than 1,800 acres of parkland.

Hatfield said the pool gives students a sense of ownership of the space having been involved in the design and physical work to change the grass to a wetland. She said it is also great that students who couldn’t help build the site will be able to benefit from the site long after it is completed.

If you build it, they will come: Southwestern Academy’s Green Infrastructure Restoration

September 8, 2016 by lstoddar·Comments Off

By Sara McDonnell

“If you build it, they will come,” that was the line from the Field of Dreams movie that Kevin Costner starred in, those of us around in the 90’s will remember that movie. I remember there being all kinds of spoofs off that movie one-liner. I never thought much of it but the saying holds true when it comes to building habitat for wildlife. Many of our Flint parks provide habitat, and many just need the extra nudge to become something special.

That’s what students at Flint’s Southwestern Academy learned last year while in Ms. Kim Hatfield’s and Ms. Linda Heck’s classes. Their school has these really cool internal courtyards that they’ve worked on to improve and create art, garden space, and habitat in. Some of nature’s friends, mostly ducks, have enjoyed living in one of the courtyards but it wasn’t providing enough food or shelter.

The students had begun asking questions, “What if there was a place at our school for wildlife to live? What types of things do ducks, birds, amphibians, need to thrive? What would that look like? Where is the best place to build something?” by getting out of the classroom, practicing place-based education, the students identified an ideal location in the park next to their school.

All of Flint’s schools were planned as school-park sites, which basically means that every school has a park located next door. Cronin Derby Downs is the park next to Southwestern Academy, you know the one with the epic sledding hill? Part of that park is wet most of the year, the grass is usually soggy, making it hard to mow and looking kept up.

Thanks to a mini-grant from University Outreach’s Discovering PLACE program, the teachers were able to work with Genesee Conservation District to design an outdoor habitat space at the park. A partnership was formalized between UM-Flint, Flint Community Schools, city of Flint, and the Genesee Conservation District to get the design work done. UM-Flint Outreach has been working with all the parties for many years thanks to funding from the Great Lakes Fisheries Trust.

The students led a design process that had been approved by adults. Student voices informed development of the habitat project next to the school. The project that supports the Imagine Flint Master Plan, and its recommendations for blue/green infrastructure – naturalize part of the park to provide habitat for wildlife, and cut down maintenance costs. How cool is that!

With no time to rest on their laurels, the students and teachers, working with UM-Flint Outreach and the Conservation District, started digging up the grass in preparation of restoring a vernal pool and planting of native vegetation. It was hard work, and there wasn’t a way the students could get it done in time. The students put their thinking caps back on and again started asking “how much does it cost to restore habitat?” The cost estimates came in and it was going to cost about $19,000 to have the professionals come in, and buy all the materials they needed.

That’s when, University Outreach, with its long standing relationship with Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network (WIN), put together a grant proposal to cover the costs of building the habitat. It was awarded! Saginaw Bay WIN is a group of funders, based out of Midland and Bay City that supports projects that protect and restore the Saginaw Bay Watershed.

Work is going to start this fall, Genesee Conservation District is leading the construction, while a retired school teacher, Ms. Linda Heck, will work with individual classrooms to design lesson plans, so students can learn science, math, and English language arts outside the school, next door in the habitat that their older classmates designed. That is the coolest part of all. The students dreamed and designed a place for local wildlife to thrive. And believe me, they are thriving!

The Discovering Place program works with Suzanne Knight and Laura McLeman, co-coordinators of the Secondary Teacher Certification Programs, Professional Education Unit at UM-Flint, to align secondary education teaching practices with place-based education. Please contact Leyla Sanker to learn how you can connect with this work at [email protected] or (810) 424-5477.

Additional Reading

Getting Students Interested in Natural Resources Sciences

Flint initiative redefines place-based education in urban schools

UM-Flint’s Alternative Breaks Program

November 23, 2015 by lstoddar·Comments Off

The University of Michigan-Flint’s Alternative Spring Break (ASB) enables students to learn about issues such as homelessness, poverty, hunger, violence, environmental issues, and other complex social and cultural issues. Students listen to and understand community needs and continue a commitment to community service and social change. This programming has been expanded and complemented with Service Saturdays and Alternative Summer Break. Alternative Breaks is now the umbrella name for Alternative Spring Break, Service Saturdays and Alternative Summer Break. With this change we have approximately 39 student leadership roles. We have 5 executive board members, 14 general board members and 20 site leaders.

The University of Michigan-Flint’s Service Saturdays program is a University Outreach sponsored program that offers a community service learning experience on the local level during select Saturdays throughout the year. Students spend time learning about our urban community and many of the social issues that residents face in Flint. On designated Saturdays, participants will meet at the selected service site to engage in meaningful action towards a greater understanding of root causes of relevant issues. Following the project, students participate in critical reflection and analysis of the social justice issues they experienced first-hand.

Alternative Summer Break (ASuB) is a University Outreach sponsored program designed to provide an opportunity for students to partake in meaningful community service learning experiences throughout the United States. During the summer semester, students spend a week serving, addressing a particular social, cultural, or environmental issue. All trips are issue-based, meaning students choose a trip based on a specific topic, not a destination. The organizations and locations are not revealed until a few weeks prior to the trip. Through active engagement, critical reflection, and analysis, students will learn about the issue and the community in which they are serving. Following the trip, students will return as active citizens and be able to translate their experiences into addressing the needs of their communities.

We are looking forward to a great year of Alternative Breaks programming! Visit our AB webpage if you would like additional information on AB programming.

Beecher Students and Staff Celebrate Global Youth Service Day

May 15, 2015 by lstoddar·Comments Off

By Maria Salinas

global-youth01 Given the opportunity to give back to their community, 109 of Beecher Middle High School students participated in Global Youth Service Day. The students enjoyed a day outside of their classrooms and getting their hands dirty. These students also worked alongside their peers, teachers, community members, College Positive Volunteers, college students, and UM-Flint staff. Students completed several projects such as planting sunflower seeds, fruit trees, berry bushes, spreading mulch and gravel, and picking up trash around the school.

The Outdoor Learning Classroom is a learning space that the students imagined a few years ago. They wanted a space where they could take their learning outside the classroom and try different things they learn, such as soil testing. Not only is it a place for them to have hands on experiences, but it is also an opportunity for them to participate in civic engagement by helping to maintain the garden that is also a part of the Outdoor Classroom.

Flint students lead National Arbor Day tree planting

May 1, 2015 by lstoddar·Comments Off

The cold and rain did not stop students from Southwestern Classical Academy and Potter Elementary Schools who worked tirelessly in their effort towards building community pride and contributing to local park improvements at Flint’s Longway Park. arbor-day-201506

On April 30, 2015, students diligently worked with community partners and volunteers to plant 650 white pine seedlings, 100 shrubs/hardwoods and spread an acre of mulch in the park as part of a National Arbor Day celebration. Their dedication and commitment in support of the City of Flint’s Tree City USA designation through the Arbor Day Foundation was key to a successful event.

The project also implements goals from the City of Flint’s Imagine Flint Master Plan for parks, open space and green infrastructure. “Given the specific components and short timeline of the initiative, enlisting partners committed to working together was tremendously important to the project’s success” said Angela Warren, Administrator of Genesee Conservation District.

Longway Park is a 36.6-acre park with several ball fields, playground equipment, and approximately 4 acres of wooded area that will be expanded by this project.

This project was made possible through the generous contributions of Great Lakes Tree Experts of Burton, Bell Site Development, Inc. of Waterford who donated mulch for the project. The Genesee Conservation District was instrumental in initiating the project by convening partners and providing education and hands-on expertise for the seedling planting and working with the students. This effort is part of the statewide On Track to a Greener Michigan initiative sponsored by Consumers Energy and Michigan International Speedway.

Jef Johnson, Senior Conservation Coordinator for Genesee Conservation District expressed his satisfaction and appreciation for the efforts of the students who participated. “I’m proud of the students involved, they all worked hard and were determined to get the job done correctly.” He also expressed appreciation for all the collaborative partners who made the event possible and is looking forward to future projects which will utilize green space within the community.

arbor-day-201503

This event supports the Master Plan as a demonstration of a naturalization project. Collaboration efforts included individuals from the City of Flint, teachers from Flint Community School District, SWA students, Potter Elementary students, Keep Genesee County Beautiful, Potter Longway Neighborhood Association, Eastwood United Methodist Church, the University of Michigan-Flint, Consumer’s Energy, Michigan International Speedway, Michigan Association of Conservation District and Genesee Conservation District.

“The collaborative nature of this project is a prime example of working together and pooling resources to accomplish objectives in our community,” said Angela Warren, Administrator of Genesee Conservation District.

Kim Hatfield, who teams with fellow teachers Linda Heck and Lynn Louchart-Kiefer to coordinate these efforts, said, “The kids get excited about these place-based projects. Applying what they are learning in the classroom to real world projects makes learning more relevant for them.”

The school is supported in these efforts by UM-Flint’s Discovering Place place-based education program with funding provided by the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative, Great Lakes Fisheries Trust, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Boyer Faculty Scholars Develop Robust Community-Engaged Courses

March 10, 2015 by lstoddar·Comments Off

by Mona Munroe-Younis

University Outreach is wrapping up the third year of the Boyer Faculty Scholars Program, which deepens the campus-wide conversation, practice, and recognition of scholarship of engagement at UM-Flint.

Since its beginning in 2012, the program has engaged 130 people (68 faculty, 25 staff, 22 community organization representatives, and 15 students) as participants in 10 professional development workshops related to scholarship of engagement and partnerships, as well as providing more intensive support to 13 faculty members through Boyer Scholar cohorts.

Members of the cohorts participate in a series of professional development sessions, develop signature community-engaged projects that show how scholarship of engagement can be done, and raise the visibility of scholarship of engagement through campus-wide and departmental presentations.

The signature projects of the most recent cohort of Boyer Faculty Scholars span across a range of disciplines and three of UM-Flint’s academic units, namely the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Education and Human Services, and the School of Health Professions and Studies.

Min-Hui Huang, Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy, developed a course in which her Physical Therapy students provided pro bono assessments of balance, mobility and fall risk to seniors living at Court Street Commons in Flint. As part of the partnership with Court Street Commons, the students’ assessments not only provided an opportunity for students to educate residents about how to improve their mobility and balance, but also formed the basis for referrals for clinical physical therapy services when needed.

Dan Lair, Assistant Professor of Communication, is leading a team of Communications faculty who will be teaching courses in the new Master in Applied Communication program in thinking about how to scaffold applied civic engagement projects throughout the graduate students’ academic program. As part of this work, Dan has forged a relationship with the City of Flint Planning Office, which will be partnering with the master program to engage students in year-long real communication projects that support the City in implementing its relatively new Imagine Flint Master Plan. The partnership is also exploring smaller-scale class project opportunities for the first year of the graduate students’ program.

Pamela Ross McClain, Assistant Professor of Education, adapted the capstone course she teaches for the Education Specialist graduate program to include a civic engagement component in order to support students in internalizing that civic engagement is part of the school leadership experience. The program prepares students to be executive leaders in the education field, such as school district superintendents. The capstone course requires each student to complete an action research project based on the challenges identified by Michigan school districts. Pam is also developing the C.A.R.E.²C.A.R.E. Model (Culturally Aware and Responsive Educators – Conducting Action Research in Education) to prepare future capstone students to work successfully in/with diverse communities.

Charlotte Tang, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, integrated service-learning into her 300-level Computer Science course and hired two Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) students to complete an applied project for the Flint Institute of Arts (FIA). Working in teams, the students surveyed guests of the FIA to learn about their needs and interests as FIA users and developed a set of recommendations for how to make the FIA exhibits and overall experience more interactive.

The Community Education Concept Returns to Flint

January 22, 2015 by lstoddar·Comments Off

Creating stronger partnerships and collaboration between community organizations and educational institutions is critical to increase knowledge sharing as well as utilizing limited resources in a way which benefits more institutions than one. Emphasizing community partnerships has become increasingly important in the Flint Community Schools as they went through an extensive planning process to eliminate their growing deficit as student enrollment rates have dropped. This issue is not unique to Flint, but is becoming more typical across the nation as funding for K-12 and higher education has been cut. In Flint, a partnership between the Flint Community Schools, the City of Flint, and a group of funders, has created a re-investment into Community Education.

Community Education is a growing concept in K-12 education. The concept focuses on attaching more community partners to public and sometimes charter schools. Community partners can offer a range of resources such as tutoring, health services, cross-generational education courses, and extra-curricular programs. Schools which embrace this concept often have extended hours and are open on the weekends. Throughout the last four months, Jennifer Burger, AmeriCorps VISTA member through University Outreach, has worked to establish strong relationships with staff and faculty at Brownell-Holmes STEM Academy. The STEM Academy is the pilot site for the new Community Education Model through Flint Community Schools. The working group of the Flint Community Schools, the City of Flint, and funders chose Brownell-Holmes Stem Academy because of its large student body and the schools emphasis on STEM education. The Crim Fitness Foundation has hired a Community Education Coordinator to lead the effort of increasing resources and partners into all Flint Schools in the coming years. In the coming months, Jennifer Burger will give an update on her efforts to increase University of Michigan-Flint programs to the Flint Community Schools.

Community Education as a nationwide model originated in Flint, as an initiative which Charles Stewart Mott and Frank Manley in 1935. Mott and Manley envisioned community schools as assets to the community which should be open to all members of the public for enrichment classes and activities. Flint was the model for community education until the 1970’s when the decline in population and students would eventually eliminate funding for the initiative. Although Flint discontinued Community Education, many Cities, Non-Profits, and School Districts across the nation continue to build on Flint’s model. Widely known models are the Harlem Learning Zone, Citizen Schools, and the Netter Center at Penn State.

UM-Flint Students team up with the Center for Hope

January 14, 2015 by lstoddar·Comments Off

by Mary Black

UM-Flint FYE students team up with the Center for Hope to help raise awareness about Flint’s homeless population

During the fall 2014 semester, students in two UM-Flint First Year Experience (FYE) classes, “I am UM-Flint” and “So U Want to Change the World” partnered with Jon Manse, director of community services for Catholic Charities of Shiawassee & Genesee Counties to help raise awareness about Flint’s homeless population and develop social media fundraising campaign projects.

Students in the “I am UM-Flint” class worked with local community members on a PhotoVoice project to help raise awareness about the homeless population in Flint. Students worked closely with community members that utilized the services provided by the Catholic Charities’ Center for Hope in downtown Flint throughout the semester.

Community members were provided disposable cameras and asked to take photos of their daily lives in Flint over a one week period. At the end of the week, each community photographer chose one photograph that best told his or her story about living in Flint. Students then worked with the photographers to record and share their stories about living and working in Flint and what the Center for Hope meant to them.

Using the photos and stories collected through the “I am UM-Flint” PhotoVoice project, students in the “So U Want to Change the World” class worked in groups to develop a social media campaign with the goal of raising one million dollars for the Center for Hope. Each student group created an unique social media campaign strategy around the “Million Donors, Million Dollars” campaign theme that asked people to give one dollar each and encourage their friends, family and community members to do the same.

The projects culminated with a community event held at the Center for Hope. Students in the “I am UM-Flint” class introduced their community photographers and shared their photographs and stories with the audience. Afterward, students in the “So U Want to Change the World” class presented their “Million Donor, Million Dollar” fundraising projects.

These projects illustrate how service-learning and civic engagement help UM-Flint students engage with the Flint community in new and exciting ways, while contributing to the great work of community leaders and organizations like Jon Manse and Catholic Charities of Shiawassee & Genesee Counties.

2012 Parks in Focus: Flint

November 30, 2012 by lstoddar·Comments Off

In partnership with the Udall Foundation, University Outreach introduced 20 youth from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Flint to area parks through digital photography as part of the 2012 Parks in Focus program. During a series of day trips and overnight outings, participants explored a number of area sites including: Ligon Outdoor Center, For-Mar Nature Preserve, Bluebell Beach and Stepping Stone Falls, Seven Lakes State Park, Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge, Bay City State Recreation Area, University of Michigan-Flint, and Holly State Recreation Area. The program was full of firsts for the participants: hiking, camping in tents, fishing, catching frogs and roasting marshmallows over a campfire. Combined, the participants took more than 2500 photos of the adventures they had and the people, places, plants and animals they met along the way.

austin-turtle For its second year, University Outreach provided support to the program by working with community partners to build a series of positive experiences for Club members ages 11-14. New this year, participants from both the Haskell Unit and Averill Unit of the Club were able to participate. University Outreach also facilitated a visit for all the youth to the campus of the University of Michigan-Flint to explore career paths, learn of college culture and admissions requirements, and explore the campus amenities including the digital photography lab where youth created portfolios from their own photographs.

About The Parks in Focus Program

The Stewart L. Udall Parks in Focus program connects underserved middle-school youth to nature through digital photography by organizing outings to local natural areas and week-long immersion trips to national parks. Their goals are to: 1) provide outdoor educational experiences; 2) foster appreciation for the natural environment and public lands; and 3) build self-confidence through personal expression. Digital cameras and the art of photography are used as tools to both help establish the connection between youth and nature, and provide a medium of self-expression by which each youth’s connection can live on beyond a single activity, outing, or trip. To date, more than 600 youth in Arizona, California, Michigan and Montana have connected with the natural world through Parks in Focus.

For more information about Parks in Focus visit their website at pif.udall.gov or their blog at www.parksinfocus.wordpress.com