Winter 2014
COMMUNITY CALL
Dr. Brian Williams, left, and Shadonna Davis, Crim Center Fellow from Atlanta Police Foundation right.
Winter 2014: The Crim Center Community Call
Dr. Brian Williams, Director of the Alonzo A. Crim Center It has been a stellar 2014 for Lecture and TEAM the Crim Center. From the AmeriCorps’ participation in launch of Girls Who Code to the AtlantaCARES our meeting with First Lady STEMFest. Michelle Obama, we are very proud of what we have accomplished this year. This edition of the Community Call highlights some of our recent events and achievements including a recap of the 26th Annual Benjamin E. Mays facebook.com/crimcenter
We also have features on Crim Center star student Carmen Cunningham’s Panther Breakaway servant leadership and also on a new partnership to educate Georgia State University’s students about health disparities. Also, check
@AlonzoACrimCUEE
out the 10th Annual Sources Conference call! As always, be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram. On behalf of theCommunity of Believers, I would like to wish you a very happy new year. I look forward to working with you in 2015!”
@AlonzoACrimCUEE
For full articles and to learn more about the Alonzo A. Crim Center for Urban Educational Excellence, please go to our website: crim.education.gsu.edu
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Alonzo A. Crim Center for Urban Educational Excellence Community Call
COMMUNITYCALL Winter 2014
Crim Center Student Carmen Cunningham Leads Panther Breakaway Urban Education Service Initiative Kweku Vassal, Marketing and Communications GRA, Alonzo A. Crim Center Student success is a foundational component of the Alonzo A. Crim Center’s narrative of urban educational excellence. A recent example of such success is student leader Carmen Cunningham's involvement with Panther Breakaway. Panther Breakaway is a community outreach initiative, operating out of the Office of Civic Engagement, which facilitates service projects during Georgia State University school break periods. Panther Breakaway is one of the university’s key pathways to expose Georgia State University students to community engagement.
face in Atlanta, as a result of poverty and limited access to necessary public health and educational resources. During the trip, the interactions and helpful tasks students participate in helps them assist communities in small, meaningful ways, which fosters valuable on-theground learning experiences.
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On November 20, 2014, Panther Breakaway participants visited the Gateway Center, an assigned homeless shelter near the GSU campus, to serve individuals in need. In a conversation with Carmen, she expressed the importance of facilitating an educational experience that remove ignorance and creates a mindset of respect in volunteers - reminding them that it’s not about “ just doing something nice for the poor.” Instead, she hopes participants in Panther Breakaway will develop a deeper understanding the systemic issues facing people in poor communities and the ways they can be addressed through collective action with the community.
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Carmen sees this work addressing poverty and homelessness as connected to the challenges facing urban education. Many students in public schools throughout metro-Atlanta are facing economic conditions that have an immediate impact on their opportunities for success in school. These students and their families lack access to basic resources that many take for granted – adequate food, clothing, and healthcare.
! The Panther Breakaway New Orleans team
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(left to right) Pierre DesDune, Carmen Cunningham, Gracie Chang, Lynesia Denson, Jasmine Holt
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The next project for the Panther Breakaway initiative will take place during Spring Break: a team expedition to New Orleans for a week of community service tasks and activities. GSU students can sign up in the Office of Civic Engagement to participate. For more information, please contact Carmen Cunningham at 404-735-4191 or ccunningham17@gsu.edu.
The Community Call team interviewed Panther Breakaway program leader and Crim Center Executive Assistant, Carmen Cunningham, for more insight on the purpose and efforts of Panther Breakaway.
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According to Carmen, the program encourages students to become active citizens in their communities, and raises awareness to the realities many individuals and families
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Alonzo A. Crim Center for Urban Educational Excellence Community Call
COMMUNITYCALL Winter 2014
“Health Happens Here”: Crim Center and GSU School of Public Health collaboration Dana E. Salter, M. Ed., Community Outreach Specialist, Alonzo A. Crim Center As Dr. Kim White, a professor at Georgia State University’s School of Public Health, prepared to redesign her Perspectives 2002 Health Disparities and the Public’s Health course last year, she collaborated with Dana Salter from the Crim Center. They focused on current innovative research and best practices in education course design to promote student learning of, and engagement with, complex real-world topics such as minority health disparities conversations. ! ! Dr. White doesn’t want the students in her course to only know the facts about minority health disparities. She explains, “ I want the students to learn the information but not be distanced from minority health disparities conversations. I want them to begin to understand the nuances of minority health disparity research and impacts, but also see themselves as active participants in creating and supporting informed actions to address minority health disparities in their communities… starting here at Georgia State University.” ! ! To that end, over the last two years Dr. White and Dana have worked together using connected learning principles to create research, collaborations, courses and programming at the intersections of public health and urban education. Briefly, connected learning “advocates for broadened access to learning that is socially embedded, interest-driven, and oriented toward educational, economic, or political opportunity.” (http:// clrn.dmlhub.net/). Thus, to design Dr. White’s goals into the class and build on connected learning principles, Dr. White and Dana drew upon the digital media worlds that
many students have participated in all their lives and connected this to the minority health disparities content that Dr. White wanted to teach. The result was a course that several students said, “opened their eyes in ways they had never expected.”! ! This semester, Dr. White partnered with the national Health Happens Here campaign. Her students created public service announcement (PSA) videos for specific Atlanta-based non-profit organizations in order to demonstrate how these organizations address minority health disparities here in Atlanta. The partner organizations include: The Healthy Heart Coalition; The Smoke Free Coalition; The Diabetes Education Coalition; The Early College High School; The Alonzo A. Crim Center for Educational Excellence; The West Atlanta Watershed Alliance; DeKalb County Extension Office; Eco-Action; The Center for Black Women’s Wellness; and The Atlanta Mobile Market. !
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The students working on the Crim Center’s PSA hope that, “...Through the creation of our PSA, we hope to show the many great qualities and programs that the Crim Center has to offer for others to become "believers" in student education.”
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The final PSA presentations for this semester were on December 9, 2014 1:00 -2:00 pm in the College of Law/ Urban Life Building. To see all the videos, please go to: http://crim.education.gsu.edu/ For more information about this collaboration contact Dana E. Salter at dsalter@gsu.edu! "Schools of education could take on the charge of creating a more educated public. We could educate people about issues."
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See online version for full story
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Alonzo A. Crim Center for Urban Educational Excellence Community Call
COMMUNITYCALL Winter 2014
Change and Equity: Dr. Jeannie Oakes Builds Upon the Narrative at the 26th Annual Benjamin E. Mays Lecture ! Anique Hameed, Marketing and Communications GRA, Alonzo A. Crim Center Education is a transformative field that shapes the educator, student, and broader community. We have traditionally heard narratives of the impact of inequitable urban schools and school systems on those same educators, students, and community members. This traditional narrative tends to place the burden of inequitable schools on the shoulders of students and communities they serve or the teachers that work with them. In the spirit of Alonzo A. Crim’s teachings, the Crim Center has embraced the challenge to shift the narrative and highlight models of success and excellence in urban education. The Crim Center does not dismiss the inequities that exist in schools. Those definitely exist and need to be addressed. We aim to join others in shifting the conversation about these inequities (symptoms) and their causes to a focus on getting out of our silos to work together on informed sustainable solutions. To that end, this year’s work in the Crim Center is rooted in the theme, Reconstructing the Narrative: Stories of Change, Equity, and Promise in Urban Education.!
“We need a movement that changes hearts as well as minds.” Dr. Jeannie Oakes, 26th Annual Benjamin E. Mays Lecturer
"This discomfort provides an opportunity to rebalance our educational system…. We know a lot more [about addressing inequality] now than we did in the 1960s and 70s."
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The Benjamin E. Mays Lecture helps to officially launch our theme by setting the tone and framing the vision of the impact we plan to make over the next 12 months. The 26th Annual Benjamin E. Mays Lecture took place on November 5, 2014 on the campus of Georgia State University. Dr. Jeannie Oakes, Presidential Professor Emerita in Educational Equity at the University of California, Los Angeles and president-elect of the American Educational Research Association, served as this year’s Benjamin E. Mays Lecturer.
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The day began with the Fireside Chat, hosted by the Crim Center’s Urban Education Think Tank (UETT). The Fireside chat provided an open forum for Georgia State University graduate students to share their challenges, successes, and other experiences in the field of education with their peers, while also gaining valuable
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insight from the lecturer. Early College students as well as Jumpstart and T.E.A.M. AmeriCorps members talked mingled during the pre-lecture reception and then ushered guests into the Speakers Auditorium as the lecture began.
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Students from the Center’s Early College program as well as Jumpstart and T.E.A.M. AmeriCorps members served as ushers for the evening. This year’s lecture opened with a musical performance by world renowned saxophonist Ryan Kilgore, and members of the R&B group Shai, Garfield Bright and Darnell Van Rensalier. The trio performed Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” while a images highlighting the history of the Crim Center’s work flashed on screen behind them.
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Dr. Oakes delivered a impactful lecture that challenged the audience members to think deeply about their explanations for school failure and the educational inequities that currently exist in the public school system. She presented an argument that connected structural
Alonzo A. Crim Center for Urban Educational Excellence Community Call
COMMUNITYCALL Winter 2014
inequalities in schools to the inequalities nurtured in the nation’s capitalist economic system. She painted an ominous picture of the cycle of social and educational inequality by which impoverished students receive poor education resulting in limited pathways to success while their wealthier counterparts are presented clear pathways to success.
Below, Dr. Susan Crim-McClendon, along with her niece, present Dr. Oakes with the Benjamin E. Mays award
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Dr. Oakes then shifted the tone of the lecture to one of hope, saying that, "this discomfort provides an opportunity to rebalance our educational system…. We know a lot more [about addressing inequality] now than we did in the 1960s and 70s." She suggested that if we become an educational community that is actively engaged in addressing the issues impacting equity in our schools, then we could work toward closing the oftencited achievement gap. She argued, "Schools of education could take on the charge of creating a more educated public. We could educate people about issues." Dr. Oakes then urged the audience to “find practices that "Schools of education could take on the charge of creating a more educated public. We could educate people about issues."
engage our democratic ideals" and to look beyond policy solutions toward solutions based on ecosystem and culture of equity. Throughout the lecture Dr. Oakes reinforced Dr. Crim’s philosophy of the Community of Believers, the idea that "schools belong to everyone," and our collective responsibility for ensuring the success of our children.
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After a question and answer session with that audience that was facilitated by Dr. Benjamin E. Mays Chair and current AERA President Dr. Joyce King, AERA President-elect Dr. Oakes was presented a gift on behalf of the GSU community by Dr. Susan Crim-McClendon, daughter of Alonzo A. Crim and Principal of Woodson Primary. The evening concluded with a special presentation from the Crim Center’s Early College Program.
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Please be sure to join us as we continue the conversation about Reconstructing the Narrative: Stories of Change, Equity, and Promise in Urban Education at the 10th Annual Sources of Urban Educational Excellence Conference. To learn more about Source Conference visit http://crim.education.gsu.edu/ research/sources-conference/. For more information about the Mays Lecture email cueeinfo@gsu.edu.
Above, left to right, Dr. Joyce King, Benjamin E. Mays Chair, Dr. Jeannie Oakes, 2014 Mays Lecture Keynote Speaker, Dr. Gwen Benson, Associate Dean for Georgia State’s College of Education, and Dr. Brian Williams, Director of The Crim Center
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Alonzo A. Crim Center for Urban Educational Excellence Community Call
COMMUNITYCALL Winter 2014
Reconstructing the Narrative: Stories of Change, Equity, and Promise in Urban Education The Challenge The problems currently facing urban schools and communities often cross the boundaries between different fields. Unfortunately, stakeholders from these fields rarely have the opportunity to connect, collaborate, and implement innovative solutions. Consequently, urban schools and communities are still looking for solutions to pervasive problems and too many of our nation’s children continue to fall through the gaps between our professional silos.
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The Solution For 10 years, The Sources of Urban Educational Excellence Conference has served as a forum to cultivate dialogue among community stakeholders concerned with advancing the potential of urban communities; particularly in education. The conference is planned and hosted by Georgia State University’s Alonzo A. Crim Center for Urban Educational Excellence. Unlike other conferences that are organized around sit-and-listen presentations, the Sources Conference is an un-conference, designed to create an atmosphere conducive to open dialogue, collaboration, and solution building.
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Furthermore, the conference offers the unique opportunity for individuals from a variety of fields and professions to become more deeply involved in creating positive change in urban schools and communities.
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The Conference The Sources of Urban Educational Excellence is a regional conference with the mission of improving urban education by providing innovative avenues for interaction and collaboration between stakeholders. During the conference, undergraduate and graduate students from colleges and universities throughout the southeast, university faculty, educators, and other community stakeholders present research and ideas related to excellence in urban education. The 2014 Sources of Urban Education Excellence Conference hosted more than 180 attendees from Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. The program included
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presentations from individuals from: Georgia State University, Clark Atlanta University, Emory University, Emory University School of Medicine, University of Georgia, Mercer University, University of North Georgia, Kennesaw State University, Berry College, Center for Teacher Effectiveness and the National Association for Multicultural Education.
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In addition to the conference presentations, the Sources Conference also invites recognized leaders in urban education to serve as keynote speakers throughout the day. Past keynote speakers have included Dr. Joyce King, Dr. Adrienne Dixson, Dr. Alfred “Coach” Powell and Dr. Layli Maparyan. Conference attendees are provide breakfast and lunch during the day as well as printed program of the conference proceedings. This is all provided to the community at no cost to the participants.
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Call for Proposals The 10th Annual Sources of Urban Educational Excellence Conference Program Committee invites proposals on all topics related to the theme of Reconstructing the Narrative: Stories of Change, Equity, and Promise in Urban Education. Proposals may be submitted electronically in .doc, .docx, or .pdf format to cueeinfo@gsu.edu
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Submissions must be received no later than 11:59pm on Friday, January 23, 2015. Download the full call for proposals at crim.education.gsu.edu/research/sourcesconference.
Alonzo A. Crim Center for Urban Educational Excellence Community Call
COMMUNITYCALL Winter 2014
T.E.A.M. AmeriCorps Facilitates Robotics Demos at AtlantaCARES
Raina Turner, Program Coordinator - T.E.A.M. AmeriCorps On November 29 our T.E.A.M. (Technology, Environment and Math) AmeriCorps program had the pleasure of Our diverse group of AmeriCorps members led robotics rd supporting Atlanta CARES’ 3 Annual STEMfest Youth workshops, supported various innovative student workshops Conference. Housed in the Alonzo A. Crim Center, and above all else, had a blast with the 300 local middle and T.E.A.M. AmeriCorps’ goal is to increase metro-Atlanta high school students. AmeriCorps member Zaire Lemonda students’ interest and understanding of math and science to explained, “The youth were asked to create their own successfully prepare marginalized children for future STEM products that help solve world-problems and I was amazed (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) careers. Crim at how creative they were. One group of middle school boys Center Director, Dr. Brian Williams and Crim Center spoke on creating a car that only ran on recyclable items.” Community Outreach Specialist, Dana Salter connected Other grade school students in attendance were excited our program with Brenda Coleman, Executive Director of about the hands on activities. “The kids definitely enjoyed Atlanta CARES, and goals couldn’t have been more the sessions with hands-on activities and with the arts,” aligned. noted AmeriCorp member Devon Dassaw.
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We commend Deiverick Brown, Marquita Martin, Kesha Mathis, Brianna McFadden, Devon Dassaw, Leesi Barinem, Zaire Lemond, Jennifer Ford, Mahendra Jagnandan, Kevin Ngo, LeBrandon Ladson and Seantel Williams for their service and tireless efforts to support and educate youth inside and outside of the classroom. For more information about the T.E.A.M AmeriCorps program contact Program Coordinator, Raina Turner at rturner11@gsu.edu.!
ABOUT THE CRIM CENTER STAY Founded in 1996, the Alonzo A. Crim Center is an interdisciplinary hub that works to ensure that no person is alienated from or by INFORMED education within urban communities. facebook.com/ crimcenter
We are a place in which the Community of Believers are able to come in order to support one another's educational needs and endeavors. Each year, the Center delivers programming and support services to over +10,000 adults and children at a cost of about $100.00 per person/child per year.
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Through partnerships, donations and support we are proud to offer programs that benefit our school communities. Volunteerism allows us to offer over 38,000 volunteer hours to the community each year.
! @AlonzoACrimCUEE
Of course, we would love for you to volunteer in any of our research and service efforts. Join us today and become a part of the "Community of Believers.”
! @AlonzoACrimCUEE
Interested in supporting our work? Contact Community Outreach Specialist, Dana E. Salter at dsalter@gsu.edu or 404. 413. 8072.
UPCOMING EVENTS
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Sources Conference May 2nd, 2015 Proposals Due: Jan 25 th Winter Wonderland Coats & Coffee
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For more information , please visit crim.education.gsu.e du
http://bit.ly/Give2Crim
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Alonzo A. Crim Center for Urban Educational Excellence Community Call
SHARE THE WARMTH
COATS&COFFEE
ANNUAL WINTER COAT DRIVE Sponsored by the Alonzo A Crim Center for Urban Educational Excellence and Ebrik Coffee Help support local families and the homeless keep warm this winter. We are requesting new and gently used coats, hats, scarfs and gloves (all sizes).
Donations are accepted
Now through December 17.
To make a donation, please contact Angelique Spruill at (404) 413-8479 or drop your donations off at the Crim Center or Ebrik Coffee Room.
Address / Contact Info 30 Pryor St SW, Atlanta, GA 30303 (3rd Floor, Suite 350) - (404) 413 - 8070
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Address / Contact Info 16 Park Place SE, Atlanta, GA 30303 (404) 330 - 0119
Alonzo A. Crim Center for Urban Educational Excellence Community Call