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2000 Edgehill, Summer 2022

Legendary eighth grade project carries USN’s culture of change

By Sierra Smith, Communications Specialist

As eighth graders file out of classrooms and into the hallways of the third floor of the Gordon Wing, conversation buzzes around a new assignment. The excitement of possibility and potential permeate the air; students are eager to take action and make change.

“I knew about the big Eighth Grade Change Project already, and I knew it was going to be a fun project, but figuring out exactly what to focus on was tough,” shared Victoria White ’26.

Each year millions of possibilities cross the minds of Middle School students as Eighth Grade Social Studies Teacher Jared La Croix introduces the legendary assignment — the annual Eighth Grade Change Project.

Eighth Grade Social Studies Teacher Jared LaCroix

“The goal is to actually make it happen,” LaCroix explained. “This shouldn’t be a theoretical project, it should be a solution to a problem you see at school or in your community that you want to fix.”

The range of project ideas and solutions is as broad and unique as the identities of the students presenting them. In school years marked with the challenges of the novel coronavirus, many recent projects have been inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic.

With LaCroix’s call for actionable change in mind, the problem Lexi Straus ’25 set out to solve passed right before her eyes. She watched as her friends and classmates crossed Edgehill Avenue en route to Vanderbilt University’s Magnolia Lawn where many Middle School and High School students spent their lunch and snack time daily to adhere to COVID-19 mitigation protocols.

“When I finally picked the subject of my project, it wasn’t even from my list,” Lexi shared. “One day on our way to lunch I was just struck by how chaotic and stressful it was not just for us stu dents but for our teachers and for everyone in the neighborhood. We looked like a herd of buffalo, and as safe as I know our teachers were trying to make it for us, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a way to improve.”

Lexi launched into the research portion of the project. She studied street crossing safety measures, read reports on deaths caused by hazardous conditions for pedestrians, and looked up state and municipal regulations for cross walks. With existing crosswalks where Edgehill intersects 19th and 21st Avenues, Lexi’s initial hopes of having a crosswalk installed directly in front of the entrance to the school was infeasible.

Middle School Spanish Teacher Sibley Edwards Kelly ’91 and Eighth Grade Science Teacher Pamela Malinowski lead students through the crosswalk at the intersection of 19th and Edgehill Avenues as they head to eat lunch on Vanderbilt University’s Magnolia Lawn.

“Of course, I was disappointed when I learned that because of city regulations there couldn’t be another crosswalk installed on the street,” Lexi said. “But I also knew I couldn’t just quit; that’s kind of the nature of the project, that you have to keep working until you find the best way to fix something for everyone.”

Undeterred, Lexi continued to pursue potential solutions. After measuring the distance and average time it took students to walk to one of the existing crosswalks, she proposed a sensible change to Middle School and High School students’ routines — rather than stopping and directing traffic in front of the school entrance, faculty should remind students to walk down the sidewalk and cross at the existing 19th Avenue crosswalk. Lexi hoped faculty would enforce that rule by clearly communicating the expectation to students and making it the standard procedure for sports practices, Commencement, and other events held on Magnolia Lawn even after administrators lifted pandemic-related restrictions. In September 2021, a vehicle struck a Vanderbilt Acorn School teacher and toddler while they were walking through a crosswalk at 19th Avenue South and Edgehill Avenue. Metro Nashville Public Works responded in mid-January 2022 with a four-way stop sign at the intersection, making it easier for students and faculty to cross the street during lunch and breaks as well as increasing overall pedestrian safety in the neighborhood.

Lexi wasn’t the only student whose project idea came to them almost instantaneously, as an aha! moment.

“I was really struggling to decide on a specific project; I love nature, so I knew I wanted to do something with that, but noth ing really stood out to me,” Ellie Klein ’25 shared. “Finally, I was sitting at my desk at home one night, I was brainstorming ideas, and I had hit a wall, so I just started looking around at the things on my desk.”

Her eyes landed on a potted plant her cousins had given her a few months earlier for her birthday.

“I started to think about the plant and how much it had grown since I got it, and I realized how rewarding and fun it was for me to take care of it and how much more I liked my desk space because of it,” Ellie continued.

To share the joy her plant brought her with others she proposed Middle School have what she called “green classrooms” — adding two or three potted plants to existing classroom spaces to improve them without diminishing the functionality of the room for students and teachers.

To support her idea, Ellie began a broad research campaign on the benefits of plants and quickly found a treasure trove of supporting evidence to back up her theory that greenery would do more than simply improve the aesthetics of a classroom.

Ellie Klein ’25 earned $500 to fill Middle School classrooms with potted plants.

“I pretty much knew that plants had positive effects on your wellbeing, but I was really pleasantly surprised by all the information I found on how plants can improve students’ performance in school and even raise test scores,” Ellie said, beaming with enthusiasm.

Change starts with learning process

The Change Project has been a mainstay of eighth grade education at 2000 Edgehill since the 1980s when retired Middle School Social Studies Teacher Gil Chilton implemented it to challenge his students’ beliefs.

“Most of us, when we see something wrong, want to try to do something about it,” Chilton said. “In my classes, I always stressed how individuals throughout American history had made a difference — from the colonists to the abolitionists, and I wanted [my students] to see that they, even as young teens, could make lasting changes in their communities, too.”

The project doesn’t stop at simply identifying a problem and solution though; it’s multifaceted and comprehensive, spanning several weeks each year. Once students have developed airtight pitches complete with substantial evidence and faculty support, they’re required to create a document and presentation to help sell their idea to others. Students present to a classroom of their peers and teacher; from there, the life of the project can go in many directions.

“Right after we finished our presentations, I was out for a few days. I came back, and we were all headed outside for break. Everyone was walking down 19th [Avenue] instead of cutting across [Edgehill Avenue],” Lexi shared. “I asked my friends what was going on, and they were all like, ‘They’re doing your project,’ and I was so shocked. I knew it was a very simple solution, but it still felt good to know that the people in charge shared my concerns.”

Meanwhile, LaCroix selected Ellie as one of the top projects, meaning she would make her presentation once again, this time to a panel of school administrators for the chance to win a $500 grant from the Middle School to launch the project.

“Ideally students take away from the project a deeper understanding of exactly what it means to create meaningful and lasting change — it doesn’t happen overnight,” said Head of Middle School Jeff Greenfield. “With the addition of the grant, we’re really requiring students to invest in the process and equipping them with the skills and confidence they need to be agents of change going forward, not just at school, but anytime they’re pas sionate about a problem or issue.”

Gil Chilton, Ph.D., founded the Eighth Grade Change Project while a Social Studies Teacher. He retired from USN in 2015.

With the stakes suddenly higher, Ellie made her pitch to much success. She was selected to receive the seed money to launch her green classroom initiative.

“I was definitely a lot more nervous the second time. After I was finished, even before I knew I’d won, I felt really proud of myself and satisfied with my work. Once I found out that I won, I couldn’t wait to tell my parents,” Ellie said with a grin.

After winning, Ellie presented an itemized expense budget accounting for the use of the grant funds for final approval. From there, she coordinated with Middle School teachers to deliver plants to classrooms at the start of the 2021-2022 academic year along with a watering can and notecard with details on how to care for each plant.

Anyone can make change

At the close of the 2021-2022 academic year, LaCroix chose Addi King ’26 and Victoria’s plan to add American Sign Language to world language curriculum as the Class of 2026’s winning project. In their presentation, the pair said the hand gestures used by people who are deaf constitute the third most used language in the United States and offering ASL to grades 7-12 would increase the school’s inclusivity and help students to be better listeners, communicators, and multitaskers.

Victoria White ’26 (l.) and Addie King ’26, pictured during the eighth grade trip to Washington, D.C., plan to bring American Sign Language to USN.

Yet campus change isn’t limited to the faculty-selected project alone. And the impact of the Change Project permeates the halls well beyond the Gordon Wing. The assignment often inspires leadership and decision making from others across campus.

Libin Abdulle ’26, Maeve Stevenson ’26, and Lin Zheng ’26 sparked a communitywide conversation with their proposal to install menstrual product dispensers in the girls restrooms on campus.

A post on the school’s Instagram account featuring their project’s opening slide prompted parents following the account to inquire further and tipped off High School student journalists to publish a story on the subject in The Peabody Press. As buzz around the project grew, it became a favorite topic in MS debate classes and gave groups like High School’s Feminism Club renewed energy on the subject.

As the school year closed, senior class officers worked with HS Dean of Students Nicole Jules to make the Class of 2022’s gift to the school the dispensers Libin, Maeve, and Lin included in their proposal. Just as Chilton intended at the project’s inception in the ’80s, the assignment made students feel empowered to lead and shape USN into a better school.

“It was cool to see how excited other students were about our project, and it felt really good to hear that the seniors thought this was so important too,” Maeve shared. “Going through High School, it will be nice to have the peace of mind that these dis pensers will be there.”

While Libin, Maeve, and Lin saw their proposal gain traction immediately, Jadyn Sheats ’22 can attest that, at times, executing the project is a much more significant time investment. In Middle School, Jadyn proposed a plan to ensure the curriculum high lighted African American contributions throughout history. As a result, she met with the school’s History Department, audited Middle School classes, and worked with teachers to update their lessons to reflect her goal. What’s more, Jadyn presented her project at the National Association of Independent Schools People of Color Conference as a ninth grader and has continued to work with history department faculty as she takes their classes.

“When I started out, I just wanted to do something so I could learn about people who looked like me. Since the project was so ongoing, as I got older, I realized it wasn’t enough to make sure I was learning about people like me, I wanted to learn about all kinds of people; everyone deserves to see themselves in their studies,” Sheats shared. “I just realized there’s still so much work to be done.”

In recent years where students donned Black Lives Matter but tons, formed a Young Activist Club, organized to bring awareness to harassment, spearheaded an international feminist organiza tion, and launched Meatless Mondays in Sperling Cafeteria, the effect of the Eighth Grade Change Project has exceeded Chilton’s intentions and expectations. USN scholars know what doesn’t change at 2000 Edgehill is that change is constant, encouraged, and often led by students across all three divisions.

Communications Director Juanita I.C. Traughber and Head of Middle School Jeff Greenfield contributed to this article.

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