2020 NNSP Annual Conference

This session will explore the founding of Hudson Scholars and the way in which the program provides meaningful opportunities for enrichment, for service learning, and for growth for all participants: Scholars, upper school mentors, and teachers. We will begin with a brief overview of the program and how it came to be, discussing things that worked, things that didn’t work, and challenges faced. We will then discuss the meaningful partnerships that Hudson Scholars has created within the local community and the curriculum around these partnerships that has allowed for great service learning opportunities and a deeper connection to our communities. We’ll conclude with a conversation/panel with a handful of our upper School mentors who can talk about their experience volunteering with the program and the impact it’s had on them.

What happens when students select a social issue they want to investigate in their community? How does this affect students’ sense of agency, development of critical inquiry skills, and understanding of social justice? And what are the challenges and possibilities of integrating this project-based approach into classroom teaching, while meeting other curricular expectations? Join us for a deep dive: exploring and discussing artifacts and images of high-quality service learning from a 4th grade classroom at the McCall School in Philadelphia.

In 2014, Chewonki, an independent school and camp in Wiscasset, Maine, committed to a minimum of ten years in collaboration with our two neighboring public school districts, focused on nature-based education projects that encourage active, place-based learning. Through joint efforts with other mission-aligned organizations we were able to connect our local districts to two multimillion dollar statewide projects with foundation support. Transitioning away from a vendor-client relationship and stepping towards a deeper “whole school partnership,” we sought to discover the most effective collaborative models that would best serve our local learners and educators. Enlisting University partners to lead data collection and analysis, we are piloting and evaluating pre-k to 12th grade learning pathways - nature-based and youth-development activities - integrated with public school curriculum. This work includes strengthening resilience and capacity in teacher-leaders through professional development, jointly designing STEM-based curriculum, acquiring teaching materials and equipment, reimagining learning spaces, and on-boarding a 6-year mentorship program. Join us as we celebrate successes, reflect on challenges and consider what the next 5 years of partnership should include.

The maker movement continues to influence STEAM education in all levels of schooling. Many elementary, middle and high schools continue to develop their STEAM programs to include aspects of the popular Maker Movement. However, access to equipment, human capital, professional development, and support structures in K-12 schools are far from equitable and inclusive. Design to MAKE a Difference (D2MD) aims to reduce the gap in availability to quality maker-ed, by providing access to equipment, training, and pedagogy through a common-themed design challenge.

Today’s youth are more interested than ever before in helping others, joining social justice causes and speaking out about their ideals. This momentum is leading to new aspects of business and industry referred to as altruistic entrepreneurship. D2MD capitalizes on this momentum by utilizing PRODUCT-based learning, having teams of students create products that benefit others either locally and/or globally.

This session will share details about the D2MD to explore opportunities that exist for schools to work together to engage students in social justice initiatives that will have an impact on their local and global community. Learn about program details and best practices to help inform your community engagement efforts. Also, learn about program details and best practices to consider how product-based learning could be utilized in your school.

This session will expand on the use of a creative collaborative approach to engage and sustain community partnerships. Through the use of this process, our organization has been successful in creating sustainable programs that are used throughout the greater community. Examples and resources will be shared to illustrate this journey.

Inspiration for the approach was taken from the Design Thinking model. and includes five cyclical components.

Peaceful Schools NC is a vibrant, growing school-climate initiative of Carolina Friends School in Durham NC. The Peaceful Schools community consists of six Charter Schools, three Universities, and is hosted by an independent Quaker School. Each year we host a Student Day in which 100 stuents from each of our partner schools come together for programming. We also host a conference for educators called School to Peace Pipeline in partnership with Duke University. We believe that healthy relationships are central to creating schools in which everyone flourishes. Working with teachers, administrators, staff, students, and parents, we work to support other schools as they develop and sustain a healthy school climate in which all students can thrive socially, emotionally, and academically.  During this lively, interactive session, participants will learn some of the history behind how we developed this program, the way we engage with our partner schools, how we plan to continue expanding our programming, and the valuable lessons we have learned along the way. Participants should expect to be actively engaged, not just sit and listen, and will leave informed about how we create the kinds of classrooms and school climates that foster equity, authentic student-teacher connections, restorative justice practices, and wellness.