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Dear Colleagues:
As we enter the true bloom of summer, we
are pleased to share with you the highlights of
our inaugural 2004 conference on "Community
Driven Research and Social Change in the
National Capital Region" held on Saturday, April
17th. With seven panel
sessions, 40 presenters, 25 papers, 20 poster
sessions, and
multiple networking opportunities, a single day
did not seem enough
time to
adequately cover all the important findings and
policy
implications of the CBR projects! Links to full
text of conference webpages and papers are
included at end of each article.
Also in this issue is featured Sol y Soul,
Washington DC's premier grassroots organization
promoting social change through the Arts. In
this issue, we debut a new section 'Featured
HE' to showcase DC higher education institutions
and their collaboration with the CoRAL Network.
This issue we highlight the George Washington
University. We hope that their stories and
those of our conference presenters will inspire
you to share your own at our 2005 conference.
We wish you a pleasant summer!
First Annual CBR Conference:Space for Reflection, Networking, Scholarship
On a beautiful spring Saturday on Georgetown's
campus,
over 100 conference attendees chose to stay
indoors and
take advantage of this unique opportunity to share
successes and challenges in their work on service-
learning and community-based research.
Reflective of our thematic focus on the "Roles of
Faculty, Student, and Community Stakeholders in
CBR,"
conference participants represented a broad
spectrum
of interests, backgrounds and experiences in
community-
based research. Over 60 faculty, undergraduate and
graduate students, representing fourteen
institutions
of higher
education, from the mid-Atlantic region,
provided valuable insight and exchange of ideas.
In addition, almost 40 percent of conference
attendees came from outside academia,
representing 26
CBOs offering services in areas such as K-12
education,
housing, employment, social welfare, and cultural
enrichment.
As one participant noted in our post-conference
survey, what made the conference such an enriching
experience was "the great energy among the
participants and enthusiasm to share their
experiences,
both during and between sessions." The overall
positive
feedback is an inspiration and the constructive
feedback will make next year's conference an
even
greater success. We'd like to hear from everyone
- so if
you haven't already done so, please click on the
link
below to answer the brief survey. Also, many
thanks to
Emily Athy, Sean Garrett, Phil Guthrie, Karen
Lynch,
Nicole Richardson, and Miranda Wilson for their
outstanding assistance during the conference.
As we look forward to next year's conference -
tentatively scheduled for mid-April at the George
Washington University Marvin Center - we hope to
offer
a wider range of presentations and venues:
workshops
on innovative teaching techniques and research
methodologies; multimedia virtual tours of
community
projects; interactive poster sessions; as well
as papers
delving into the important work being done
through the
greater Washington area. We hope to see you at our
2005 Conference!
2004 Conference Brief Survey
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The Engaged Provost: Getting Higher Education Institutions to Foster Community Service |
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In his keynote address, Corporation for National
and
Community Service CEO David Eisner set the stage
with strategies for top-down integration of
community-based service and learning in a university
setting. He challenged university
administrators to think
creatively about how best to leverage their
considerable
institutional resources to promote meaningful
community service. Modeling the corporate
sector's "best practices" for responsible
community engagement, Eisner's nine-point plan
recommended university leaders:
1) Make community-based service-learning in high
school an explicit criterion for college admission;
2) create incentive programs for university
staff to engage in community service, including paid
leave for volunteerism, in-kind or match
donations, and
increasing access to university resources;
3) treat students' Americorps service as
equivalent to
ROTC service, with the same level of dedicated
resources, public recognition and support
accorded to
young people in training for military careers;
4) broaden campus career training and job
placement to
embrace community service and public sector
employment opportunities;
5) forge strong and enduring partnerships between
universities and local community institutions,
such as
schools, museums, recreational facilities and
libraries;
6) make service-learning and community-based
research
a component of rank and tenure considerations for
faculty;
7) redirect a portion of the university's
endowment to
pro-social investments;
8) lead alumni organizations to support community
service and social causes; and
9) elevate the civic engagement piece of the
university
mission statement to a level equal with its stated
commitment to research and teaching.
David Eisner Bio »
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AM Panels: Stakeholders in CDR |
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Concurrent morning sessions examined the role of
key stakeholders - faculty, students, and
community leaders - in building effective
partnerships for community-based research and
learning. Over 25 faculty members from a dozen
higher universities held a round-table
discussion on "The Role of Faculty in
Community-Driven Research" moderated by Dr.
Kerry Strand (Hood College). First, Dr. Judith
Freidenberg (U-Md) opened with a presentation of
her experiences in CoRAL's 2004 Faculty Fellows
Learning Circle, summarizing the group's
discussions of cross-disciplinary considerations
for curriculum development and classroom
implementation of service-learning and CBR. As
follow-up, the FFLC summer committee will
develop a standardized questionnaire to assess
attitudinal and behavioral outcomes of student
service-learning experiences across all
participating campuses.
Second, Dr. Shelly Habel (Georgetown U) and two
of her students shared
their experiences partnering with Ward 4 Ron
Brown Middle School as a requirement for Habel's
"Race and Ethnic Relations" sociology course.
The partnership focused on short-term, applied
assignments and community-based projects to
explore the social institutions of education,
government, media, family and religion, as well
as the development of a community asset map.
Third, Dr. Katharine Kravetz (American U.)
shared a shared a teaching technique to help
students translate what they have learned about
democracy and social justice to real life. With
labels lined along the wall - "Community
Organizing," "Community Development,"
"Business," "Litigation," "Advocacy" and so on -
Kravetz asks her students to stand under the
term they believe represents the best venue for
transforming communities and promoting social
justice. Facilitating a discussion of their
reasoning, she then has them stand under the
term representing the career field they are
planning to pursue - and comment upon why the
two line-ups seldom coincide. Dr. Kravetz
explained that this exercise has immediate
applications because it enables students to
think about their life choices and make
real-life connections. The final presentation by
Dr. Sam Marullo (Georgetown U.) detailed the
ways in which undergraduates in his year-long
"Project DC" course develop CBR projects that
bridge classroom theory with practical
applications for the host CBO. Long-term
projects addressed information gaps in access to
food resources and affordable housing mapping.
Moderated by Georgetown University senior Kim
Patterson, "The Role of Students in Community
Driven Research" session explored the
distinctions between charity and community-based
learning and research, the challenges of
sustainability in student-led CBR and the
motivation to "leave a footprint that lasts a
lifetime" in undergraduates' adopted DC
community. Sociology graduate student Amy
Engelman (University of Denver) discussed how
"participation in community-based research has
provided me with a tool to connect and integrate
theory and practice in a manner that allows me
to utilize my skills and emerging expertise to
empower and give voice to marginalized people
and communities." Overcoming her initial
skepticism, Engelman found her CBR experience to
be an eye-opening and mutually rewarding one for
her community research partners in Denver,
Colorado.
Bringing the discussion closer to home, student
fellows from CoRAL's 2004 Washington Civic
Engagement and Leadership Fellowship Program
unveiled implementation plans for PHASES (Peers
Helping Area Students Engage in Service), their
student-led initiative to empower DC high
schoolers by providing them with seed money to
implement neighborhood development projects that
engage them in their communities.
The "Role of Community Partners in CDR,"
moderated by Dr. Deanna Cooke (Georgetown
University) examined the essential contributions
of community members and activists to successful
community-driven research. Dr. Tahi Reynolds
(DC VOICE), and Dr. Ana Patricia Rodriguez (UMd)
spoke about their experiences as CoRAL's 2004
Partners in Urban Research Seminar (PURS)
participants. PURS is creating a research
agenda, co-developed and -led by community
organizations and university researchers, that
includes research methodology to study positive
change in the public schools. Dr. Susan Sanow
(Virginia Tech University) discussed the
analytical and adaptive capacity needs of the
nonprofit sector and how perceptions of 'useful
research' vary significantly among academics,
nonprofits, and foundations. She also discussed
Virginia Tech's approached to community-driven
research, especially with "action-research"
projects undertaken by graduate students in
collaboration with local nonprofits. Similarly,
Dr. Nick Cutforth (University of Denver)
presented on how faculty and students have
collaborated with their counterparts at Regis
University to undertake "Making
Connections-Denver." This multi-site Anne E.
Casey-sponsored initiative aims to document
resident-driven community change. Their project
will extend five to seven years and involves
teams of students and residents working together
as researchers to document individual and
community transformations and systems change.
Clark McKnight, Shella Fon, and Walda
Katz-Fishman of Project South DC presented the
results of CDR collaborations with CoRAL and
Trinity Towers on affordable housing and the
forces of gentrification and displacement.
Working closely with community leaders in the
rapidly-gentrifying neighborhood of Columbia
Heights, Project South lends support to tenants
in the fight to maintain affordable housing
options. With the help of faculty partners and
students, Project South has made progress in
ensuring that long-time residents are not
displaced by neighborhood developments.
2004 Conference Webpage »
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PM Panels: Critical Issues in the National Capital Region |
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Concurrent afternoon sessions presented results
of recent CBR projects in four areas critical to
DC revitalization: public education; affordable
housing and homelessness; the arts and media in
service-learning; and students of color,
service-learning and justice. The "Public
Education" panel, moderated by Mr. Albert Wat,
(Georgetown University), opened with a
comparative analysis by Mr. Jason Willis
(Columbia University) of CBR education projects
in New York City and Washington, DC. Willis has
worked with community members in both school
systems on a range of topics from after-school
programming and curriculum decisions to literacy
initiatives and voucher programs, and finds CBR
methodological approaches are critical to
successful buy-in by community members and
appropriate evaluation and policy outcomes.
Second, a team from the Catholic University of
America presented on "Preparing Pre-service
Teachers Beyond the University Classroom." Drs.
Sarah Pickert, Merylann Schuttloffel, and Joan
Thompson outlined ways to incorporate academic
service-learning into a teacher preparation
program intended to enable pre-service teachers
to deepen their understanding of social justice
and diversity through community involvement. In
particular, they shared how a service-learning
requirement will be implemented in their human
development and children's literature courses.
Third, Dr. Heidi Elmendorf and undergraduates
Kara Carpenter, Giselle Mason, Marybeth Sexton,
and Melinda Weiss (Georgetown University)
presented "Deepening Disciplinary Learning
through Education Outreach in DCPS," the
introduction of a capstone experience in the
Biology Department in which students develop and
teach modules in the Life Science curriculum to
students at Ron Brown Middle School. They shared
their insights regarding the strengths and
weaknesses of science instruction and the
trajectory that early educational opportunities
predict will help inform curricular decisions
not only for the middle school students but also
for Georgetown students' undergraduate
education. Finally, Georgetown undergraduate
Sean Garrett presented "Small Successes," an
overview of LINK DC, a non-school hours service
program for middle school students located in
Southeast Washington. He detailed the extent to
which LINK meets the needs of the students and
shared his insight as to areas in which LINK's
services can be improved.
"There's no such thing as 'affordable housing'
in DC!" was the recurrent theme throughout the
panel on "Affordable Housing and Homelessness,"
moderated Dr. Sam Marullo (Georgetown
University). Mr. Clark McKnight, Ms. Lisa
Mincieli, and Ms. Shella Fon from Project South
DC, a D.C. grassroots advocacy organization,
spoke about their project to support tenant
struggles and organizing in Trinity Towers to
preserve racial/ethnic diversity and affordable
housing in the Columbia Heights neighborhood.
Georgetown University student Natasha Dasani
presented her CBR project on "Mapping Food
Service Assets for the Homeless in the District
of Columbia." Through collaboration with the
Urban Institute and other Georgetown University
volunteers, Dasani has generated a map to track
agencies, meals and services available to help
those in need throughout the District.
Similarly, Georgetown undergraduate Emily Athy
collaborated with the Perry School Community
Services Center, Trinity College students, and
National Student Partnerships Volunteers to
survey landlords throughout the city to develop
a map of affordable housing options, including
an assessment of apartment units that accept
vouchers and the responsiveness of landlords.
Session moderator Dr. Deanna Cooke (Georgetown
University) observed that conducting
community-based research in a U.S. city with a
"majority minority" population offers unique
insights into the relationship between "Students
of Color, Service-Learning and Justice."
Presenting first, Dr. Roxana Moayedi (Trinity
College) led a discussion on "Service Learning
and Civic Engagement Among Minority Students,"
focusing on the relationship between service
learning, academic performance, and civic
participation among students in the context of
structurally diverse campuses and communities.
Moayedi concluded that the structural diversity
of Trinity's student body and the community it
serves has had a positive influence on the
academic and civic engagement outcomes of
Trinity undergraduates. In her presentation on
"Understanding Success in Science Amongst Young
African American Women: The Role of Community,"
Ms. Melissa Cidade's secondary analysis of
National Educational Longitudinal Survey data
suggests that those African American women who
are active in the community are more likely to
have positive attitudes about science and may be
more likely to earn better grades in science.
Dr. Minette Bumpus of Howard University
presented on "The Service-Learner: Understanding
the Differences in Satisfaction Levels between
Undergraduate and Graduate Level Students."
Using a similar service-learning curriculum and
same site placement, Dr. Bumpus has found her
Howard University undergraduates much more open
to the pedagogical innovation and learning
challenges offered by CBR than are HU business
school graduate students. Graduate students
were less motivated by learning and skeptical of
educational or practical benefits of
service-learning placement in an area elementary
school. Dr. Kerry Strand of Hood College
concluded with a discussion of the "Cultural
Variation in Service Learning: Latino Families
in the Frederick County Even Start Program."
Hood's service-learning students found that the
racial and ethnic barriers for service providers
were more than merely linguistic when offering
services to Latino families. Cultural
misunderstandings skewed program evaluation
results and required more resources be directed
to staff training and observation.
Summarizing her panel's thematic focus,
moderator Chitra Subramanian (American
University) noted that "the arts are an
important means to bridge cultural divides" and
that given their interactive nature, the
performing arts can and do generate audience
participation and reflection on community
development issues. Opening "The Arts and Media
in Service-Learning" panel, Ms. Dorothy
Marschak, Director of Community Help in Music
Education (CHIME), presented "Banding Together:
The Glory Days of School Bands in DC and How to
Bring Them Back." With a backdrop of how
funding cuts have all but eliminated music
programs in DC schools, Marschak described the
"Banding Together" initiative, in collaboration
with the Anacostia Museum and the Smithsonian's
Center for African American History and Culture,
to document the role of school-based DC marching
bands in fostering neighborhood pride and
cohesion. Second, Dr. Ana Patricia Rodriguez
(University of Maryland) presented "D.C.
Latinidades: Visuals, Music, and Community
Action," discussion the creative ways in which
DC's Central American community has used poetry,
music, and other artistic venues to describe the
common immigrant experience and create unity
among disparate groups. In "Service-Learning
and Inter-disciplinarity for Museum Curators,"
Ms. Sarah Wilson (American University) described
the venues through which the museum curator
field intersects with the arts and
community-based learning and research. In
conclusion, Dr. Simone Seym (Georgetown
University) presented "Collaboration,
Democratization and Social Change: Creative
Dissemination Venues for Popular Education," and
the use of drawing, dance, creative writing, and
music with residents in a women's transitional
housing program to change their outlook and
transform their lives.
2004 Conference Webpage »
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Galleria of Posters, Art & Music |
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The sky-lit Galleria in Georgetown's
Inter-Cultural Center was the perfect backdrop
for a midday luncheon and poster presentations,
providing more informal networking opportunities
to discuss community projects and meet
colleagues engaged in community-based learning
and research.
Poster presentations included: "'Community
Works': Engaging Young People in Action," by
students from Northwestern High School in
Hyattsville, Maryland; "Nin@s Latin@s: A
Grassroots Advocacy Campaign" by Kim Patterson
and Vincent Perez (Georgetown U); "Community
Networking with the DC Schools Project" by
Miranda Wilson (Georgetown U); "Social Justice
Analysis: Theory & Practice" by Dr. Joe Palacios
(Georgetown U); "Project DC: Community Based
Research" by Dr. Sam Marullo (Georgetown U);
"Community Based Research in a Social Problem
Course" by Dr. Roxana Moayedi (Trinity College);
"SAIL School for the Arts Volunteer Experience"
by Lauren Bagley (American University);
"FLYouth: Facilitating Leadership in Youth in
Southeast" by Sunny Shin (American University);
and "Issues in Human Services" by Dr. Honey
Nashman's service learning course students
(George Washington University).
Linking artistic expression with social change,
Sol y Soul's Spoken Resistance concluded the
midday break with a captivating performance of
their songs and poetry. Margaux Delotte-Bennett
and fellow group members shared their spirited
verses celebrating the beauty of community unity
and love and denouncing rap artists whose lyrics
degrade women and deny the existence of racism.
After the performance, group members interacted
with the audience to discuss issues mentioned in
their artistic expressions.
2004 Conference Webpage »
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Featured CBO: Sol y Soul |
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Utilizing the amazing skills of established and
emerging
artists, Sol y Soul uses art as a vehicle for
exchange
and dialogue about pressing social issues.
Founded in 1999 by
Quique Aviles, Hilary Binder-Aviles, Ruth Young,
and Yael Flusberg, Sol y Soul is led by this
"creative core" as they promote social justice
through the beauty of art. They
host
readings, performances, and workshops through
out the
District of Columbia and work with other artists
and
activist organizations. Current
projects include artistic support of El Barrio
Street Theater and Spoken Resistance.
By providing grassroots production support for
socially-
conscious artists, Sol y Soul strives to serve as a
sounding board for new ideas and help artists
translate
their ideas into concrete action plans.
Besides handling
the logistics, Sol y Soul fosters community
collaboration
by connecting artists with schools,
universities, and
community organizations. According to its
founders, the works Sol y Soul produces strive
to give voice to "the lives and
experiences
seldom seen on-stage-drunks, social workers, women
with HIV, maids, slaves, Mexican fruit pickers
trying to
cross the border, Irish factory workers, kids
who have
been shot and those that did the shootings."
El Barrio Street Theater is a project that
brings together
people of diverse social and racial backgrounds to
examine social issues in their own neighborhoods by
teaching them theatrical techniques and forms of
expression. In 2001-2002, with collaboration
with the
GALA theater, El Barrio Street Theater looked at
the
impact of gentrification on long-time residents
of Mt.
Pleasant, Columbia Heights, and Adams Morgan.
For summer 2004, they plan to continue to look
at the rights of immigrant workers and proposals
for legislation.
Similarly, Spoken Resistance strives to promote
social
justice by igniting discussions about unjust
social norms.
Spoken Resistance's energetic performance of poetry
jams and songs sparked discussions among CoRAL
conference
participants at the mid-day networking lunch.
Listening to these talented young artists expose
the ills
of society through verse, the sense of empowerment
that resonated in their voices makes us realize
that art
is a powerful tool for promoting social justice.
It can
move hearts and minds. All anyone has to do is
listen.
Sol y Soul Homepage »
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Featured HE:George Washington U. |
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Housed within The George Washington University's
student center, the Office of Community Service
(OCS) facilitates placements for approximately
2,500 GWU students who log in over 100,000 hours
of community service each year. While Director
Carolyn Vasques-Scalera supervises OCS
professional and graduate student staff, a
unique feature is the extent to which the
programs are run by students themselves.
"Historically, the Office of Community Service
evolved from student initiatives," Ms.
Vasques-Scalera said. "Particularly the
Neighbors Project, our largest and
longest-running project, which emerged from
social change-oriented students who wanted to
work in DC communities. All of our programs are
student-led and staff-supported, because this is
the kind of campus where we create meaningful
opportunities to develop students' skills in
leadership and civic development."
The Neighbors Project, led by a coordinator and
nine student service coordinators, places
hundreds of service volunteers focused on eight
priority issue areas: Pre-K and Elementary
Education; Secondary and Continuing Education;
Aging and Disability Services; Community
Development and Environment; Family and
Intervention Services; Hunger, Homelessness, and
Poverty; Health, Government and Public Service;
and Program Development. The Jumpstart Program's
site manager and four team leaders coordinate 40
corps members to serve preschoolers in
Head-Start Programs. The DC Reads Program,
organized by two assistant program coordinators,
place approximately 500 work-study students at
area after-school tutoring programs. The
Alternative Spring Break Program organizes
service-based spring break trips in which
approximately 40 students and 5 faculty members
participate annually. The Outreach and
Volunteer Program runs multiple one-time service
events such as the Freshman
Community-Building-Community orientation, the
Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, and the
AIDS Walk. Within this office these programs
are supported by five work study student
assistants, a graduate student assistant, and
volunteers who help keep the programs running.
Beyond the doors of the Office of Community
Service, the university is making strides
towards institutionalizing service-learning by
raising the profile of student service and
expanding faculty resources. The
Manatt-Trachtenberg Prize, established this year
by Board Chair Charles T. Manatt and President
Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, honors graduating
seniors who have roused the university's social
and intellectual conscience through their
leadership, competence, integrity and goodwill.
Undergraduates Christopher Percopo and Nicole
Tarnogursky represent GW in CoRAL's Washington
Civic Engagement and Leadership Fellows Program,
playing a key role in researching social justice
issues in DC and designing a community-based
school project to be implemented in the coming
academic year.
For faculty, participation in CoRAL's Faculty
Fellows Learning Circle (FFLC) has provided an
opportunity to apply service-learning pedagogy
to curriculum development. FFLC participant
Gregory Squires, Chair of GW's Sociology
Department, will be incorporating a
service-learning component into his fall 2004
course on "Poverty, Place and Race: The
Sociology of Urban Inequality." "As a newcomer
to service learning," said Dr. Squires, "I found
it invaluable to hear the 'war stories' of
veterans. I eagerly look forward to my service
learning class this fall, confident that I am
now much better prepared. The colleagues I met
and friendships that I made through the seminar
will serve me - and hopefully my students - well
in the future." CoRAL's GWU PI Mary Anne
Saunders, Associate Dean of Special and
International Programs, thinks "the reason why
CoRAL initiatives are so important is three
fold. First, the fact that we are now beginning
to look at getting service-learning into the
classroom is helping those who have been trying
to achieve this for years access resources while
showing new faculty what has worked for them.
Second, it is establishing an overt community
within the universities among students, faculty,
administrators, and community-based
organizations. Finally, it is building a
relationship among DC universities that will be
valuable in learning from both our successes and
challenges."
GWU OCS Webpage »
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Upcoming Events & Opportunities |
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CALL FOR PAPERS: The Journal of Community
Practice invites papers that relate experiences
with community youth participation for a special
edition focusing on youth participation and
community change. Manuscripts are due July 1st,
2004.
CALL FOR YOUNG PEOPLE: Talented young
individuals are seeked to create and participate
in a theatrical skit that showcases, validates, and
expresses young people's stories in the
community. Audition is on June 12th, 2004.
COMMUNITY PARADE: Saturday, June 12th, 2004. A
parade is being organized by the residents of
the Northwest No. 1 community (North Capital
area) to showcase and celebrate residents and
organizations/institutions serving the
community. Parade will begin and end at the
Perry School Community Services Center.
SERVICE-LEARNING FACILITATORS NEEDED: Heads up
is seeking S-L facilitators to lead S-L
seminars for undergrad summer tutors.
For Details on Events Above »
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