NEW FACET OF SPECIAL DARTMOUTH
PROGRAM BRINGS
PREVIOUS PARTICIPANTS BACK TO WORK ON SERVICE PROJECTS
HANOVER, N.H. - In the summer of 2001, a new program called Summer Enrichment
at Dartmouth (SEAD) brought ninth graders from urban high schools in Boston
and Philadelphia and from rural Canaan, N.H., to spend a week at Dartmouth learning
valuable skills in leadership, scholarship and community service.
While a new group of ninth graders has just completed participation in the
program this summer, SEAD II - an extension of SEAD - has brought most of last
year's participants back to campus for another week, this time to develop and
apply their individual skills toward service to others.
Twenty-six of the original 29 participants from last summer are attending the
program, which began July 22 and runs through July 30. Their time will be divided
between participating in community service projects in the Upper Valley, writing
a research paper on leadership, and engaging in various "perspective shifting"
activities, which include discussions with noted speakers. The SEAD program
is a joint venture of Dartmouth's Tucker Foundation and the Education Department,
and also receives assistance from Barnet Family Fund and a dozen different alumni
organizations.
"The high rate of anticipated return this year speaks to the powerful
learning experiences the students had and to the close relationships they developed
with mentors and SEAD staff," said Andrew Garrod, Professor of Education
and an Executive Director for SEAD.
Tucker Foundation Dean Stuart Lord, the program's other Executive Director,
observed that SEAD II "offers students the opportunity to help another
community meet its needs while also learning how to improve their own communities
upon their return home."
"We felt strongly that we needed repeated contact with these students,"
added Jay Davis, a 1990 Dartmouth graduate and Instructor in Education, who
is Program Director of both SEAD programs. "Having them back for another
year allows us to further hone and develop skills they learned during their
first SEAD summer."
This week SEAD II students will spend three days participating in a variety
of community service projects. They will assist with construction as part of
the Corps of Volunteers Effecting Repair (COVER) program, sew blankets as part
of the Blankets for Bangladesh project, and serve as mentors during an outdoor
trip to Storrs Pond for children in association with the Lebanon Housing Authority.
Setting the foundation for these community services projects was a panel discussion
with Upper Valley community members that explored issues of affordable housing,
emergency relief efforts, community-based mentoring, and domestic violence prevention.
Capstone community service experiences include "Introduction to Community
Disasters" training with the Red Cross and a "Civic Engagement"
forum with the New Hampshire chapter of City Year, a national service organization
that unites diverse leaders, ages 17 to 24, for a year of service.
Lynn White Cloud, Assistant Dean and Director of Special programs at the Tucker
Foundation, spearheaded the service portion of the program. "We want the
students to have a variety of experiences - one that is very hands on, one that
is more removed from their local community but has a global orientation, and
one that helps each SEAD II student recognize that he or she can make a difference
in another person's life, even if it is a one-time encounter. We would like
them to feel empowered to effect positive change within themselves and the world."
Davis said the SEAD II students are beginning to plan a service project to
be carried out in their own communities during the next school year. Through
the Tucker Foundation, Davis hopes to send Dartmouth students to work with the
SEAD II students in their communities this winter.
SEAD II participants will also prepare a research paper focused on heroes. They
will make use of both live discussions and library research to complete the
project. The research skills touch on another central tenet of the SEAD program:
preparation for college.
"Learning to research well is a step toward understanding the kinds of
challenges students face in college," said Mark Kissling '02, who is coordinating
this portion of the program. "It's a perfect way to introduce students
to concepts like utilizing sources, writing incisively, working independently
and developing their own ideas."
Students will participate in a variety of activities designed to provoke discussion
and thought about the world both within and outside their communities. Speakers
include National Spoken Word (poetry) champion Roger Bonair-Agard, Hip Hop performer/instructor
Clyde Evans and Dartmouth alumna and surgeon Dr. Lori Alvord.
More than 150 Dartmouth students will be volunteering this summer in both the
SEAD and SEAD II programs. They are serving as mentors, activity leaders, residential
advisors and teachers. Fifteen fraternities and sororities are providing meals
to the students and a number of Dartmouth offices and local business have provided
varied learning opportunities.
"SEAD relies extensively on the support of volunteers," said Davis.
"Without the participation and assistance of the Dartmouth and Upper Valley
communities, it could not happen."
Davis notes that plans are underway for SEAD III, which will bring participants
back for a third summer, this time to focus on college preparing. Though plans
are still tentative, Davis says that continued contact and support with SEAD
participants will help them during the difficult transition from high school
to college.
"Whether or not these students actually apply to Dartmouth - though we
hope some do - we are committed to helping them succeed both in and beyond their
high school careers."
|
