CDF Freedom Schools - Greater Hilltop Area Shalom Zone

CDF Freedom Schools®
2013 End of Summer Report
Name of Sponsor Organization: The Greater Hilltop Shalom
Zone
Name of Site: Highland Elementary, W Broad Elementary,
W Mound Elementary
Site Coordinator(s): Luke Terndrup, Cayla McGhee,
Stephen David
Site Address: 4o S Highland, 2477 W Broad St,
2051 W Mound St
City and State: Columbus, OH
Program Start Date: June 17, 2013
Program End Date: July 26, 2013
Please fill out the following pages electronically or with pen. Feel free to include additional
pages. If the file is too large to email, please send a CD or DVD. Please complete one
form for each site.
Please email your completed report to Dana Hall at dhall@childrensdefense.org or mail the
completed report (paper, CD, DVD and other documents) to:
CDF Freedom Schools
25 E St. NW
Washington, DC, 20001
Report Back
Number of children served this summer
Level 1:
____65______________
Level 2:
_____76_____________
Level 3:
_____24_______ _____
Level 4:
____________________
Number of servant leader interns employed: 18
Number of staff employed that are not CDF Freedom Schools staff
(for example, janitorial or food service help,
psychologists/therapists, consultants, etc.): 36
Please list additional staff:
Custodians: Mr Davis, Al, Gerald, Tim, Mr Weather, Mr
Garrison, Mr Stoner
CCS LLI’s: Beth Hammond, Allison Fleming, Kimberly Peeks
UMCH Counselors: Ms Carrie G, Madelyn Stockwell,
Laurie West
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Health Dept: Geordon Burton, Dwight Hughes, Tia MorettiDoegen
Highland Youth Garden: Ms Peggy
Parks and Rec Food Service: Ms Keisha
Mediators: Sherrie Pressmore, Sara Humne, Joel Barden, John
Vogelpohl
Local Matters/Food Matters: Jessica Lucas, Monique McCoy,
Lydia Nader
Columbus Metropolitan Library: Linda Vanvickle and friends
Yay Bikes: Meredith Joy
Franklinton Cycle Works: Jonathan Ryder
Improv Comedy: Adam Higgins, Pat Kiely
Northwest Counseling: Ryan Sheffield, Kristin Torres
Shalom Zone: Lanna Smith
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Roll Call
Please list the names of servant leader interns that had perfect
attendance:
*Brooke Adams
*Shannon Lee
*Mirria Martin
*Amber France
*Alonee Gray
Number of children with perfect attendance
Level 1: 4
Level 2: 13
Level 3: 9
Level 4:
Please make sure to include your interns’ attendance sheets with this report.
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I Have a Recognition !
Highlight servant leader interns, CDF Freedom Schools staff, and/or children who
did something extraordinary this summer.
*Shannon Lee & Andrew Schermerhorn went to the local Barnes & Noble
Bookstore to select a book for every scholar at W Broad
*Amber France organized and coordinated with the YMCA to allow a swimming
field trip for the W Broad scholars
*Raymond Hatcher was an exceptional participant in Harambee, particularly with
his contribution to the “Boom Chicka Boom” chant
*SC Cayla McGhee suffered a broken hand and head injury while at National
Training and stayed for the duration of training and did not miss a day of
programming!
*Isabel Bozada provided consistently creative IRC lessons and some of the most
engaging afternoon activities for scholars of all levels. She conducted science
experiments with ice and soap, had her level 1 scholars stage a protest around the
book Si Se Puede and threw a birthday party or Nelson Mandela. Her behavior
management techniques were an example for all of the staff at W Mound. She
brought great ideas, energy, and an unflappable demeanor to school every day.
*Chris Summers was a level 3 scholar who lifted up the mood of those in his
classroom and the staff on a daily basis. He provided a great positive example to
other scholars, helped the staff clean and set up on a regular basis, and brought a
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great outlook to Freedom School every day. Also, watching him look out for his
little sister put a smile on our faces again and again.
*The custodial staff did an amazing job working with and around us to keep the
buildings clean.
*Raquel Fuentes was a second year SLI who used her past experience and bonds
with scholars to help assure the whole site ran smoothly. In the classroom she
made sure all her scholars were engaged and learning something new each day.
Raquel thought of new and creative afternoon activities and taught some of the
scholars salsa dancing for the finale.
*Amber Evans was a first year SLI and taught level 2’s. From the very beginning
Amber was so passionate about this movement and that carried over into her
classroom. During IRC Amber made sure every child had a voice and was
engaged.
*Shane Fultz brought his experience as a third year SLI and used his quick
thinking and high energy to ensure the scholars felt safe and had fun.
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Harambee!
Let’s Pull Together!!! Tell us about a time your CDF Freedom Schools program
pulled together with the community and/or other CDF Freedom Schools programs
to ‘Make a Difference.’
*The final day of programming was a cookout with the scholars and their
families at Highland and W Broad along with a Finale. It was an
opportunity for the friends and families of the scholars to see their work
and what they had accomplished during the previous six weeks.
*The final day of programming was a potluck and a Finale with the
scholars and their families at W Mound. Their scholars were able to share
what they had worked on for the past six weeks.
*One of the afternoon activities for Highland Freedom School was to visit
and work in the local youth garden where the scholars had a chance to
plant flowers and vegetables as well as take care of them and learn about
the positive impact of having a garden in their community.
*During the National Day of Social Action the scholars at Highland FS
walked to W Broad FS where they had a peaceful sit-in. The day consisted
of Harambee on the front lawn, displaying posters to passing cars and
chants to oppose gun violence.
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Excellence in the IRC
Please give two or more of examples of creative, exciting and engaging lesson
plans that the servant leader interns implemented with the children.
*Each scholar made a bucket to coincide with the “Have you Filled Your Bucket
Today” story. To continue with this theme, the scholars participated in an
incentive system to try to fill their bucket each day from then on.
*The Level 2 scholars did not have the “Mango” book and the W Broad SLI’s
improvised by performing a mango tasting with the scholars. Through this
activity they were able to create an understanding of the book.
*Isabel Bozada mentioned to me early in the week that she was unsure of how to
convey the economic impact of sit-ins that was the suggested focus of IRC for
Freedom on the Menu for her Level I class. She found a way to make the lesson
understandable and relevant for her scholars by having them spend time
designing a restaurant of their own. When it was time for them to choose their
meals at the “Chicken and Donuts” restaurant they designed, only the scholars
wearing pink were allowed service. Afterward they filled out a chart discussing
their feelings during the experience.
*Rachel Cohen took full advantage of the energy of her Level II class during
their reading of Romeo and Juliet for Kids by having them take to the stage in
dramatic performances of some of the play’s most famous scenes. They
extended their theatrical abilities the following week by acting out scenarios they
wrote inspired by Confession of a Former Bully.
*Brooke Adams expanded her Level II class’ engagement with the story of
Barack Obama by having her scholars complete Powerpoint presentations on the
different countries president Obama grew up. After working with her scholars
on aspects of computer presentations like adding pictures and text to a
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presentation, they each presented for their class. They followed this activity by
discussing their own dreams, and obstacles they had overcome thus far in their
lives.
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Spread the News
Please list any awards or press that your site received this summer. Include
newspaper clippings, CDs, pictures, websites or any other places your CDF
Freedom Schools program is featured.
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Social Action Project
Did your site participate in the CDF Freedom Schools National Days of Social Action?
X Yes
□ No
Did your scholars participate in any extended activities for the National Days of
Social Action?
X Yes
□ No
If yes, please explain:
 In addition to the CDF lessons and letter writing exercises, our scholars
participated in a public demonstration to convey their feelings about safety in
their communities.
Did you invite media to the CDF Freedom Schools National Days of Social Action?
X Yes □ No
If yes, please summarize what forms of media you invited and who attended CDF
Freedom Schools National Days of Social Action
Please summarize your National Days of Social Action. Did any elected official,
superintendents or other VIP participate? If so, who? If you have picture, flyers, or
video, please include them. (Flyer included)
* On Monday each IRC classes engaged in the CDF curriculum about gun violence
in order to frame their letter writing to the president and senators. The Level III
classes extended this activity by discussing and researching the contact information
for other local leaders to whom they could contact to express their views.
* After writing letters, each class took part of IRC on Tuesday to make signs for the
demonstration we planned for the day of action on Wednesday. W Mound had a
field trip to the local library scheduled that day where they took the bus and walked
several blocks to the branch, their scholars made signs and chanted as they traveled
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along local streets. This visible demonstration gave the scholars experience with an
additional mode of social action.
*Highland FS walked to W Broad FS with their signs and had a peaceful sit-in
where they participated in Harambee, displayed posters for passing cars and sang
various chants to oppose gun violence. The Level 3 scholars then had an open
forum discussion with Ms. Patti Burton, a single mother who lost one of her sons to
gun violence.
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Afternoon Activities and
Field Trips
How did your children spend their afternoons? Did your activities and field trips
connect with the IRC? Please describe your site’s afternoon activities and field
trips. Include pictures, stories from children and parents, and input from the
servant leader interns.
-We were fortunate to bring several outstanding partner organizations and
programs to our scholars on a weekly basis. These dedicated individuals were a
huge asset to our program and a great compliment to the activities conducted by
our SLI’s.
The Columbus Department of Public Health Y.E.S. (You’re Extra Special)
worked with each of our classes to discuss our scholars’ experiences with drugs
and alcohol in their families or communities. They worked in small groups and
used fun activities in order to build trust and explore difficult topics with our
scholars. They focused on fostering empowerment to encourage good
The Food Educators from Local Matters came to our site each week to
teach our scholars about the benefits of healthy eating, and introduce them to
new foods and recipes. After lessons about fruits and vegetables or vitamins in
different foods, they had the scholars prepare and try new
recipes. While trying new foods was often met with
much trepidation at first, our scholars were consistently
amazed by how good these new foods could be!
-Our SLI’s conducted many great activities that allowed
our scholars to be creative and express different learning
styles. We made paintings using Q-Tips to explore
Pointillism, cut potatoes to make stamps for different
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shapes and designs, and decorated blank CD’s to make fun colorful animals.
They also made their own beads out of flour for truly hand-made jewelry.
-The scholars had many chances to get moving with dance and yoga classes in
the afternoon. Many were surprised by what they were capable of, and expressed
to us how great they felt after trying new stretches and yoga poses.
-Sometimes our site functioned as a science
laboratory when we conducted fun experiments with
our scholars.
They learned about gases by
microwaving and reshaping ivory soap, saw how salt
speeds the transition between states of matter with
ice, and learned about chemical reactions mixing
baking soda and vinegar.
-In order to help our older scholars develop useful skills to build more peaceful
communities, we had mediators conduct a two day workshop on Conflict
Resolution and Mediation. They worked with our scholars to develop
frameworks for addressing conflict in constructive and affirming ways.
-Everyone at all three sites got a chance to show their creative and silly sides with
the Improvisation group that spent a day at each site. Scholars and SLIs did fun
games and activities throughout the day, catching everyone in funny poses and
with a good laugh.
-Things got wild when we took all of
our scholars to the Columbus Zoo and
Aquarium. We all spent the day with
25 parent chaperones seeing as much
as possible during our visit. Afterward
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the scholars made thank you cards for our donor who supplied tickets and
transportation.
-Our scholars got an inside look at their local library when we took a field trip to
the Hilltop Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library. Our scholars and
staff rode the public bus to the nearby branch where they saw a special
presentation by library staff. They also enjoyed bi-weekly visits from the
Bookmobile where they were able to check out books with their own library
cards!
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-Our Level 3 were able to participate in some activities just for them…the
scholars took a trip to the skating rink getting some much needed exercise and
they each took part in a 4 week program learning bicycle maintenance/repair,
bicycle safety as well as rules of the road. At the end of the program they were
given a bicycle, helmet and a bike lock.
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Parent Involvement and
Engagement
Tell us about your parent meetings. Please include dates and topics discussed.
Any comments your parents have made about your CDF Freedom Schools program
also can be included.
W MOUND
-Monday 6/17
-8 attended
-Overview of the Freedom School program, including program
components, planned field trips,
afternoon activities and opportunities for involvement
-Tuesday 6/25
-5 attended
-Resources on the west side
-Lanna Smith presented on the Greater Hilltop Shalom Zone,
- Jonnel Ranson talked about the Economic and Community
Development Institute and spoke with parents about navigating
insurance programs
-Tuesday 7/2
-0 attended
-Tuesday 7/9
-1 attended
-Discussed the Day of Action plans
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-Tuesday 7/16
-5 attended
-Program director Dorothy Lowery conducted an open forum with parents
to discuss ADD/ADHD in children, as well as general behavior
modification techniques and effective strategies for dealing with
challenging behavior
-Tuesday 7/23
-4 attend
-Program feedback and ideas for success continued success next year
W BROAD
6/17- 9 parents were present when Cayla McGhee (site coordinator) introduced
herself as well as the Servant Leader Interns and gave them a background of the
Freedom Schools program
6/26- Various resources were made available to the families: Medical/Health,
Legal, Clothing, Food, and Insurance
7/3- The site coordinator spoke to parents about issues that were important to
them and what professional presentations they would be interested in hearing
7/10- A speaker presented on the facts of ADHD, and how to engage a child
affected by the disorder
7/18- A presentation on sex education informed parents on how to talk to their
children as they reach puberty
7/24- The final parent meeting was an attempt to find out what the parents
thought of the program, and what suggestions they had to make the program
more effective and successful in the coming years
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HIGHLAND
6/17 Introduction to Freedom Schools Program/Complete paperwork
6/27 Dealing with Difficult Children (ADHD/Mood Disorders)
7/11 Clothes Give Away
7/18 Importance of School & Education
7/24 Northwest Counseling Sexual Education Forum
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Volunteers and Special
Guests
Please recognize your volunteers and special guests who attended your program.
Who stopped by? What did they do? What did they say about the program?
-We enjoyed visits from a number of fun, interesting and inspiring read aloud
guests this summer:
-Thomas Gregorie, Dean of the College of Social Work at Ohio State
University impressed the scholars not only with his reading, but his
motorcycle as well
-Bishop Joseph Sprague, a participant in the original Freedom School
shared his morning with us and expressed his well wishes for the continued
success of the program.
-Alonzo King from the Columbus Fire Department read to our scholars,
and got a good laugh from everyone by dressing Mr. Steve in his rescue
gear.
-Two former West Mound Site Coordinators stopped by for Read Aloud to
say hello to their former scholars.
-We received visits from CDF Ohio staff Sarah Biel, Pam Kreber and
Marissa Doyle Weldon as read aloud guest, and Heather Otto stopped by
several mornings to chat with our scholars and receive updates on our
program
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-Awdi Mulisano and Cheryl Malone came to observe a day of
programming
-25 young volunteers from a local church worked with the scholars
throughout the summer
-Patti Burton, a mother who’s son was a victim of gun violence, spoke
to the older scholars on the National Day of Action
-Adam Higgins and Pat Kiley, members of a Chicago improv group,
performed activities with all of the scholars
-Kristin Torres and Ryan Sheffield were presenters during one of the
parent meetings and taught a sexual education class with many Level 3
scholars
-Annette Jefferson, specializing in the performing arts, spoke to the
scholars about the historical Harriet Tubman
-ADAMH observed Freedom Schools and brought bags for the parents
of scholars
-Elizabeth Copley is a grandparent who brought a large cake for the
scholars to enjoy and celebrate birthdays
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Extra!! Extra!!
Please include anything else you want the National Office to know. It could be
work from the children, copies of letters from parents, your site’s newsletter, any
tragedies or crises your site faced, photos, etc.
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Thank you for completing the End of Summer 2013 report. We look forward to
seeing you next year!
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