CURRENT FEATURES

Meeting the needs of our community

Meeting the needs of our community
School of Education Community Engagement Grant recipients and partners: Front row from left, Richmond Public Schools Adult Career Development
Center Principal Martha Suber, Department of Teaching and Learning Assistant Professor Jacqueline T. McDonnough, Richmond Public Schools School-Business Partnerships Specialist Miriam Davidow, Dean Beverly J. Warren, Counselor Education Student Networking Association President Trish Graham. Back row, Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center Assistant Manager George P. Bailey, Richmond Public Schools Adult Career Development Center Teacher LaFawn Davis, Department of Physics Chair Alison A. Baski, Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center Manager Barbara E. Gibson, VCU Life Sciences Outreach Educational Program Coordinator Anne B. Wright, Department of Counselor Education Adjunct Professor Anne M. Hughes, Department of Counselor Education Chair Susan D. Leone, FRIENDS Director of Service Programs Karen Legato, Virginia FIRST Regional Director Pattie Cook, School of Engineering Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Chair Ashok Iyer, School of Engineering Associate Professor Rosalyn S. Hobson, Department of Counselor Education Assistant Professor Donna J. Dockery.

The VCU School of Education is participating in a program that responds to needs identified by our community and supports the goals of the university’s strategic plan.

One-year grants totaling $100,000 were awarded to nine university-community partnerships by the VCU Council for Community Engagement.

Four of the partnerships are through the School of Education and involve Dean Beverly J. Warren, Ed.D., Ph.D.; Department of Counselor Education Assistant Professor Donna J. Dockery, Ph.D.; and Department of Teaching and Learning Assistant Professors Jacqueline T. McDonnough, Ph.D. and Joan A. Rhodes, Ph.D.

At a reception in May for the grant recipients, Sheldon Retchin, M.D., VCU Health System CEO and vice president for VCU Health Sciences, told attendees they were playing a critical role in increasing the level of community engagement, which was identified as a key theme in VCU’s strategic plan two years ago.

The School of Education Partnerships Are:

Improving the Access to FIRST Programs in the Underserved Community

Primary VCU Partner: Dean Beverly J. Warren, Ed.D., Ph.D.
Other VCU Partner: VCU School of Engineering
Community Partner: Richmond Public Schools, Virginia FIRST
Description: The VCU School of Education and School of Engineering will work with Richmond Public Schools and Virginia FIRST to bring a hands-on high-tech educational opportunity to students in underserved schools. The goal is to expose students to the excitement involved in science and technology. The partners will use two FIRST programs (FIRST LEGO League and FIRST Vex Challenge) to illustrate the process of problem solving and project management while learning life skills and technical expertise. FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science Technology) is a non-profit organization founded in 1989 that designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, and engineering.

“It is well documented that children from challenged environments, especially during the formative K-12 years, are less likely to be exposed to the vast career opportunities available in science and technology fields of study,” said Dr. Warren.

FIRST is well-known to VCU and enjoys high visibility within the Richmond community. A number of area schools have participated in the program since 2000, when VCU, in
partnership with NASA Langley, began hosting the Southeast FIRST Robotics Competition.

Despite the impressive track record of FIRST programs, schools in the underserved communities of Richmond have participation rates that are considerably lower when compared to schools in more affluent communities.

Two factors have been identified which contribute to the lower participation rates: lack of awareness of the program and limited or lack of access to financial resources. They are among the specific issues that this grant intends to address.

VCU Lends Helping Hands to FRIENDS
Primary VCU Partner: Assistant Professor Donna J. Dockery, Ph.D.
Other VCU Partner: VCU School of Social Work, Counselor Education Student Networking Association
Community Partner: FRIENDS Association for Children
Description: Students from the Department of Counselor Education and the School of Social Work will collaborate with FRIENDS Association for Children in a unique Community Engagement Partnership. Individual and group counseling and children interventions will be offered to foster academic, behavioral and social development for youth and families participating in FRIENDS preschool, school age and adult programs. Working with children and families from low to moderate socioeconomic backgrounds will provide the university students with opportunities to enhance their multicultural awareness, skills, and competence while collaborating across professional disciplines. Founded in 1871, FRIENDS is a non-profit child and family agency in Richmond that offers developmental childcare, youth enrichment, family support services, and leadership and career development to more than 4,000 low-to-moderate income families.

School age youth served by FRIENDS Youth Development Program who attend Richmond schools are at risk for low academic performance, truancy, high school drop out, teen pregnancy, delinquent behavior and continued poverty.

These children and adolescents often lack a connection to positive adults or programs that support their development; and their current educational experiences do not motivate them to set high standards to achieve success in life, according to FRIENDS
Director of Service Programs Karen Legato. Their confidence in their academic abilities is low and they are generally not aware of their strengths, talents and potential. The complexities of the obstacles they face negatively impact their hope for a viable future. “Improvement in these areas would enable children and youth involved in FRIENDS Association programs to have a more positive experience at school, which would ultimately improve their ability to perform academically,” said Assistant Professor Donna J. Dockery, Ph.D.

Science Connection : A VCU – St. Andrew ’s School Partnership
Primary VCU Partner: Assistant Professor Jacqueline T. McDonnough, Ph.D.
Other VCU Partner: VCU Department of Physics, VCU Life Sciences
Community Partner: St. Andrew’s School
Description: A year-long after-school professional development science program for students and faculty at St. Andrew’s School. The goal of the program is to increase elementary students’ interest and positive attitudes towards science through exposure to engaging instructional experiences and interactions with teachers who have higher pedagogical content knowledge. Faculty in the Department of Teaching and Learning, Department of Physics, and VCU Life Sciences will train teams of pre-service elementary teachers and science content majors to deliver 12 hands-on science lessons. These faculty members will also conduct three professional development workshops for all teachers at the school. A secondary goal relative to the VCU students who will be delivering the lessons is to increase the pre-service elementary teachers’ interaction with diverse students and science content. St. Andrew’s School has provided quality tuition-free education to low-income elementary students in Richmond since 1894.

“St. Andrew’s faces the same challenges shared by many elementary schools: few elementary school teachers have a science background that would give them the depth of understanding necessary for the highest quality instruction,” said Assistant Professor Jacqueline T. McDonnough.

According to a 2006 report by the National Science Board, the number of science and engineering occupations as a percentage of the U.S. labor market far surpasses the number of qualified graduates available for those positions. To ensure the U.S. remains competitive in science and technology, the Committee on Prospering in the 21st Century says it is imperative that steps are taken by various community stakeholders to increase students’ interests in these career areas at the earliest possible point in the education continuum.

VCU, a major research university with a vast concentration of human capital researching and teaching in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics related areas is in a unique position to address this issue, Dr. McDonnough said.

VCU Online GED
Primary VCU Partner: Assistant Professor Joan A. Rhodes, Ph.D.
Other VCU Partner: Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center, Honors College
Community Partner: Adult Career Development Center
Description: VCU Online GED seeks to develop a comprehensive educational program that will match struggling high school students with successful VCU college student role models, increase GED certifications for at-risk 16-to-19-year-old students, and introduce innovative Web-based instruction methods to improve retention at Richmond Public Schools’ alternative high school — the Adult Career Development Center (ACDC). This collaboration between the Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center (VALRC) in the School of Education, the Honors College at VCU, and the ACDC, will provide consistent support and one-on-one mentoring for at-risk alternative education students in order to create an alternative solution to traditional instructional methods. Through VCU Online GED, a pilot group of 16-to-19-year-old students from the ACDC will receive peer counseling from Honors College students; facilitated computer-mediated learning through the VALRC’s Web-based eLearnVA initiative; and ongoing classroom support and assessments from the ACDC.

Like most cities and counties in Virginia, the ACDC offers a program that aims to provide GEDs and job skills training to young Virginians who are not likely to finish high school. However, high attrition rates at the ACDC reflect the difficulty of meeting the needs of at-risk, urban, young adults.

“Richmond’s young adults are at a crossroads in our communities. They deserve every opportunity to achieve and every consideration as learners,” said VCU Online GED mentor and Enrollment Coordinator Jason Guard. “I hope that this partnership between VCU and the ACDC will strengthen the support network that helps our teens transition into healthy, productive adulthood.”

During the 2005–06 school year, approximately 44 percent of the ACDC’s students withdrew from school, while only 10 percent achieved their employment and educational goals. The remaining 46 percent remained on the rolls at the end of the school year without an education credential or gainful employment. “These students are in need of innovative alternative teaching methods,” said ACDC Principal Martha Suber.

“VCU Online GED expects to encourage its pilot group of 30 adolescent GED learners to remain in school, achieve their GED, and/or attain the job skills required for successful entry into the workforce,” said Assistant Professor Joan A. Rhodes.

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