The American Immigration Council is proud to announce the
winners of the 2015-2016 Community Grants Program. The grant program is an
initiative to provide educators and/or community organizers with the resources
they need to implement a successful immigration curriculum or community-based
project.
This year’s winners have developed student-centered
storytelling projects that engage students and families in writing and sharing
immigration stories, past and present, while also demonstrating the important
and varied contributions of immigrants to our country. The awardees are
Eldridge Park School, Lawrenceville, NJ and Charles F. Patton Middle School,
Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.
According to Eldridge Park English Language Learner
teacher Angeline Sturgis, “my objective in this project is to create a legacy
for family members which clearly documents the motives, decision-making,
action, and often bravery, that led to their arrival in this country, and the
beginning of their lives as new Americans. I have realized that these stories
go untold, especially to children, and believe that they can and should be
recorded in some way. My idea combines the parents' stories with the artwork of
their children for a truly cooperative effort that will be received by the
community with awe and pride.” The intended result of Ms. Sturgis’s grant
project, “Telling the Family Story,” will be a small library of student and
parent authored books that can be shared among school and community
members. She also hopes to host an
author reading.
The focus of “One World,” a project developed by middle
school English Language Arts teacher Brian Kelley, is a student-centered and
student-run classroom podcast modeled after Garrison Keillor’s podcast “The
Writer’s Almanac.” These short podcasts would feature students discussing
writing, books, immigrant family heritage and culture with an aim to exploring
how culture influences youth and writers. Each podcast would also feature
student writing. Eventually, Kelley has plans to see his students spreading the
word about the podcast via social media and encouraging students from all over
to send in their writing and to promote deeper discussions on culture and
immigration. You can follow the project twitter account @Write1World and visit the One World website which
welcomes teens to submit essays, poetry, & short stories focused on family,
culture, or heritage.
Kelley has previously collaborated with the American
Immigration Council providing accounts of his experience teaching digital
storytelling on immigrant family heritage with students. To read his teaching
tips, please click here.
Senior Manager of Education Claire Tesh, says, “Our grant
program rewards classroom teachers and community leaders who have innovative
ideas in integrating immigration issues into their teaching. In return, the
American Immigration Council shares their results with the greater public
through lesson plans, multimedia and other projects.” Please join us in celebrating these two
noteworthy projects and stay tuned as we follow their developments in the
classroom.
Please share this post with
fellow educators to spread the word about the great work of these
teachers. To learn more about our
2015-2016 grant programs and resources, including how to apply, please click here. Our next deadline is November 5, 2015. Congratulations
to our deserving and inspirational teachers!
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