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The Gerena Community School, 15 miles from
Smith in the North End of Springfield, is located in a neighborhood described as
the poorest in the state. It serves 800 elementary students: 97 percent are children
of color and 72 percent are Hispanic. In February of 2003, Smith College President
Carol Christ proposed a formalized partnership between Smith and Gerena. In just
three short years, the Smith/Gerena partnership has accomplished much, both supporting
an enhanced learning environment for Gerena students and working to support the broader
literacy needs of the North End community.
With the support of Smith education faculty and the
Springfield School Volunteers program, and in conjunction with the America Reads/Counts
Program, over 200 Smith students have volunteered to work one-on-one with 3rd and
4th grade students in an after-school tutoring program at Gerena. This outreach effort
seeks to strengthen Gerena students’ language arts and quantitative skills
while building students’ confidence as learners. In addition to their semester-long
tutoring, Smith students also volunteer as full-time January-term teaching assistants
through the Urban Education Initiative.
Throughout the academic year Gerena students participate
in organized sports with teens leaders trained through Project
Coach, an innovative youth development program led by Smith faculty Sam Intrator
and Don Siegel. Each summer, 25 Gerena students are awarded full scholarships to
attend the Smith Northampton Summer School where they take part in academic enrichment
courses and recreational activities for six weeks on the Smith campus. Gerena teachers,
meanwhile, routinely attend academic-year and summer professional development opportunities
at Smith and have access to facilities such as the Museum of Art, the Botanical Gardens
and the Clark Science Center for student field trips.
Recently Smith was awarded a three-year grant award
from the National Institutes of Health for Elucidating Barriers to Community Engagement:
Literacy for a Healthier Community. This project employs the Community-Based Participatory
Research (CBPR) model to establish an enduring partnership amongst researchers at
Smith, the North End Outreach Network (NEON) and the Gerena Community School. One
goal of this academic/community partnership is to establish a family literacy center
for North End residents within the Gerena School. Toward that goal, Smith hosted
an Education Festival in collaboration with Gerena and NEON at the site of the proposed
family literacy center. The May 2006 event attracted more than 250 parents and children
and was broadcast on the local cable station. Children in attendance each received
a bilingual (Spanish/English) book. They also met a local author, listened to a storyteller,
and visited with a doll maker who helps children tell stories of their own cultural
heritage through crafting grandmother dolls. Adults visited booths representing a
host of literacy services from agencies throughout the city. Parents also participated
in a discussion about the proposed family literacy center and expressed their hopes
for services including computer classes and supportive workshops on parenting.
For more information contact Gail
Scordilis, Director and Doug Winsor,
Partnership and Outreach Coordinator, Smith College Office of Educational Outreach.
Education Festival held at the Gerena Community School in
Springfield.
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