WGBY Feature: “Divided We Stand: A Street in Our School”

WGBY announces the launch of “Divided We Stand: A Street in Our School,” a special Connecting Point series that will present various sides of one of the area’s longtime community issues: the tunnel beneath I-91 that runs through the Germán Gerena Community School in Springfield’s North End.

Built in 1973, the school currently serves 700 children.  Because of the building’s close proximity to I-91, a tunnel was built on the lower level of the school so that students and members of the larger community, divided once the interstate was constructed, could safely walk from one side of their neighborhood to the other. Over time, “the tunnel,” as residents refer to it, became more than a passageway linking Plainfield and Main Streets. It became a pathway providing access to varied community services. A generation came to depend on the organizations that filled space within the tunnel itself.

Yet, due largely to extensive flooding and structural damage, time has changed this once vibrant space. Community spaces now stand empty.As residents and city leaders discuss their vision for the Gerena School and tunnel, WGBY explores its past and present. Viewers will learn just how much happens in this place they don’t see.

For the first time, WGBY will provide Spanish subtitles for the series of segments, airing periodically between March and May. The series’ first segment, available online, included a discussion about the school and the status of repairs to the tunnel with Springfield Mayor Dominic Sarno and School Superintendent Daniel Warwick.

Future air dates are as follows: March 27, April 24, April 30 & May 20-22.

WGBY invites viewer feedback and especially encourages people who live near Gerena, largely members of the city’s Latino community, to contribute memories, stories or opinions throughout the series’ run.

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Seven elements for effective community-school partnerships

By Meris Stansbury, Associate Editor, eSchool News, February 3, 2013 — According to the Harvard Family Research Project report, “Partnerships for Learning: Community Support for Youth Success,” data collected from a community schools initiative called Elve 8 show what successful partnerships for learning look like—and the effects these can have on learning.

When partners work together to combine resources strategically, aligning their goals with the curriculum, a “seamless web of supports” is created that provides children with a “holistic learning experience,” says the report.

According to the report, by offering an array of combined services, community schools are able to create five “conditions” that research indicates are necessary for youth to succeed:

1. A shared vision of learning: Partners share a common understanding of the goals and resources needed to support children’s learning.

2. Shared leadership and governance: Partners have an equal say in leading efforts to support children and families

3. Complementary partnerships: Partners share complementary skills and areas of expertise to create a seamless and comprehensive set of learning supports for children.

4. Effective communication: Partners communicate effectively and frequently to ensure they are aligning their activities and are working in harmony with one another.

5. Regular and consistent sharing of information about youth progress: Partners have access to crucial data that help them better understand the youth they serve.

6. Family engagement: Families serve as key partners to help address the complex conditions and varied environments where children learn and grow.

7. Collaborative staffing models: Schools and community organizations create staffing structures that intentionally blend roles across partners, so that staff work in multiple settings to provide adult support spanning school and non-school hours.

Read the entire story here.

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Superintendent Dr. Alan Ingram Supports Springfield’s Community Collaboration for Reading Success

Photo Credit: Superintendent's Blog

Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Alan Ingram has great enthusiasm for the progress and community-wide collaboration to support Springfield’s children as they strive to achieve reading proficiency.  WGBY’s Bark About Books initiative was just one of the many programs mentioned in his statement.  You can read his thoughts on the Superintendent’s Blog. Thank you, Dr. Ingram for your recognition of community programs and their contributions to school success!

 

 

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