Civic and Community Engagement Commons^™

Building Bridges: Fostering Dialogue And Shared Understanding Between Communities And Government Agencies, Eben Weitzman, Darren Kew

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Professors Eben Weitzman and Darren Kew of the Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance at the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies are facilitating conversations among state and federal agencies and minority community representatives as a means for fostering shared understanding of the challenges and opportunities inherent to their relationship. Working with the BRIDGES program, they are using group dialogue to help stakeholders build lasting, productive connections.

Umass Boston – Brazilian Immigrant Center Partnership, Tim Sieber, C. Eduardo Siqueira, Natalicia Tracy, Gaston Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Brazilian Immigrant Center (BIC) does organizing, advocacy and training to reduce marginalization of Brazilian immigrants, promoting their engagement as workers & civic participants. A worker’s center, BIC supports and defends workers’ rights under current state & US labor laws. BIC helps workers mediate complaints with employers, and refers others for class action suits, or intervention by the Mass. Attorney General or US Dept of Labor. A special focus at present is organizing mostly women domestic workers, and BIC has a new Law and Policy Clinic, a Domestic Worker Mediation Program, and an Immigration Justice Project staffed by two full-time …

New England Statnet: A Community Of Practice In Performance Measurement, Michael J. Ward, Amy E. Smith, Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center For Public Management, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

One way public organizations improve services is through the implementation of performance measurement programs. To help public managers address the challenges of performance measurement, knowing how others are using data in decision-making is valuable. Communities of practice are one way for public managers to access such information. StatNet began in 2008 as a network of municipal officials using data-driven performance management approaches. The group gathers three times per year for in-depth discussion of municipal governance, focusing on topics such as police, fire, budgets, constituent relations and DPWs.

Process Evaluation: Suffolk County House Of Correction’S Reentry Programs, Paige Ransford, Center For Women In Politics And Public Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Effective reentry is an important component of the mission of the Suffolk County House of Correction and of its reentry programing. The maintenance of public safety depends largely on the institution’s ability to help offenders successfully reintegrate back into their communities. Connecting inmates to community-based programs, services, and support before they leave prison can help ensure that they will become productive members of their community.

Jumpstart At Umass Boston, Office Of Student Leadership And Community Engagement, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Department Of Psychology, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Dever Elementary School, Early Learning Center, University Of Massachusetts Boston, John P. Holland Elementary, Yawkey Center, Dorchester Head Start, Gertrude Townsend Head Start, Roger Clap Innovation School

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Jumpstart is a national early education organization that recruits and trains college students to serve preschool children in low-income neighborhoods. Our proven curriculum helps children develop the language and literacy skills they need to be ready for kindergarten, setting them on a path to close the achievement gap before it is too late.

The Living Labs: Nantucket Island, Anamarija Frankic, Robyn Hannigan, Sarah Oktay

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Living Labs are a practical response to growing environmental challenges, including habitat degradation, loss of biodiversity, and global climate change. Nantucket Living Labs develops and implements holistic solutions to environmental challenges right here and now. The School for the Environment (SFE) established this concept in Conjunction with the Nantucket Field Station, Nantucket Conservation Foundation and ReMain Nantucket, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting a year-round community in the town center.

Umass Boston School For The Environment: Educating The Next Generation Of Environmental Problem Solvers, Robyn Hannigan, Anamarija Frankic

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Environmental challenges do not recognize disciplinary, socio-economic, or geographic boundaries. To support the development of environmental problem-solvers we deeply engage undergraduate and graduate students in solving real-world environmental problems through innovation and sustainability-focused courses and research experiences. These experiences directly engage local communities in the development and implementation of environmental solutions.

Upham’S Corner Main Street: Developing Ideas For Promoting Arts And Businesses In Upham’S Corner, Werner Kunz, Barbara Lewis, Upham's Corner Main Street

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Dorchester’s Upham’s Corner neighborhood is home to a diverse mix of neighborhood residents, many historical landmarks, and a commercial district. At one point, Upham’s Corner was one of the top five market hubs for New England. It was because of this market history that the Strand Theater was built as a community home, as a community connection, and as a network. UMass Boston’s College of Management undergraduate students have developed ideas for promoting the arts and bringing businesses to the Upham’s Corner neighborhood. Assistant Professor of Marketing, Werner Kunz, coordinated the project with students in his “Services Marketing” class to …

The Umass Boston Bachelors Of Science In Information Technology, Deborah Boisvert, Ricardo Checchi, William Campbell, Jean-Pierre Kuilboer, Roger Blake, Robert Cohen, Oscar Gutierrez

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The BSIT is a 21st Century degree that supports and extends the BATEC vision of curriculum – advanced in content and pedagogy, regionally-coordinated, and industry-linked. Every exercise assigned throughout the BSIT emphasizes collaboration, competence, and outcomes assessment. Faculty and business partners regularly participate in professional and curriculum development to ensure the program’s continued industry relevance.

The Massachusetts Early Education And Care: Professional Development Study, Anne Douglass, Alice Carter, Frank Smith

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

This study is a research-policy partnership. This study used workforce registry (n=55,768) and professional development attendance data to examine early educator characteristics and patterns of professional development participation in one state.

In the paper, we describe how these new workforce data can inform professional development. We present the concept of density in professional development participation, discuss its potential benefits, and highlight the utility of state-wide digital tracking of early educators’ patterns of professional development for informing policy. We suggest that professional development policy can impact professional development participation density, and can thus be used intentionally to promote investments that have …

Necc Early College Program: Third-Year Outcomes, Jack Leonard, Ellen Grondine

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Five-year longitudinal community-based program evaluation reports annually on outcomes for early college program between MA community college and 2 high schools (suburban; urban) for academically average students, grades 10-12. Mixed methodology uses surveys, interviews and quantitative student data to illuminate program design, measure student outcomes , investigate changes in teaching practice and examine effective leadership practices. Three-year results show impressive credit accumulation and improved college readiness skills in students. Strong support mechanisms promote student success. Program is now being replicated in other communities.

The Early Intervention (Ei) Scholars Program, Angi Stone-Macdonald, Anne Douglass

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The University of Massachusetts Boston has developed an integrated, research-based early intervention concentration in our Early Education and Care Inclusive Settings (EECIS) bachelor’s degree program. The program involves collaboration with partners in early childhood education (EC) and early intervention (EI) in the Greater Boston region; addresses the need for more high quality, culturally and linguistically diverse early intervention specialists.

Educational Engagement In Boston’S Vietnamese Community: Asian American Studies Program Student-Faculty-Alumni Engagement With Teachers, Students, And Families Of The Mather School (Bps) In Dorchester, Asian American Studies Program, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Mather Elementary School, Peter N. Kiang

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Founded in 1639, the Mather Elementary School in Dorchester is the oldest public elementary school in the US. In 2012, nearly 40% of Mather students were Vietnamese American from immigrant households. The Mather School’s Vietnamese Structured English Immersion (SEI) program is the largest in Boston. In 1993, Ngoc-lan (Loni) Nguyen, a Vietnamese refugee student in education and Asian American Studies at UMass Boston, was hired as a 4th grade bilingual teacher. Many of Lan’s students later attended UMass Boston where they reconnected educationally with the importance of Vietnamese American identity, community, and empowerment in AsAmSt courses. In 2007, Lan visited …

Connecting University Teaching, Research, And Expertise To Communities In Massachusetts And Beyond, Luciano Ramos, Lauren Anderson, Kathleen Banfield, Sandhya Kshirsagar

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Office of Community Partnerships (OCP) was created in 2011 to promote collaborative campus-community partnerships that advance UMass Boston’s mission as a student-centered research university while addressing critical challenges in society. This effort is aligned with the vision of the university to advance engaged teaching, research, and service through mutually beneficial and equitable campus-community collaborations.

Projectserve, Kenneth Andejeski, Kenyora Johnson, Projectserve, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The mission of Strong Women, Strong Girls is to utilize the lessons learned from strong women throughout history to encourage girls and young women to become strong women themselves. By building communities of women committed to supporting positive social change, Strong Women, Strong Girls works to create cycles of mutual empowerment for women and girls.

Project Serve engages UMass Boston students and community organizations in a variety of civic engagement activities in order to create positive change in Massachusetts. There are many ways to get involved in this program ranging from being a leader, coordinator, or a participant in our …

The Tech Apprentice Internship Program: Engaging Youth In It, Felicia Vargas, Olu Ibrahim, Neil Sullivan, Deborah Boisvert

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Tech Apprentice program was designed to provide Boston Public School (BPS) students work-based learning opportunities within information technology (IT) departments across a diverse array of industries for seven-week, paid summer internships. A robust technology internship program encourages BPS students to pursue IT-related post-secondary degrees. Tech Apprentice has expanded from 25 student placements in the first summer to 123 who were employed in 2012, and the program has placed over 600 students in internships since the program launched in 2006. 98% of graduates attend colleges and 78% are pursuing an IT-related degree.

Planning For The Growing Older Population: Conducting Community Needs Assessments, Caitlin Coyle, Hayley Gravette, Jan Mutchler, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Goals and Objectives: To describe the aging population of each community; To investigate the needs, interests and opinions of mature residents relating to their aging needs for age-related services in their respective communities; To provide recommendations to community partners and their stakeholders about how to create strong communities for older adults, based on needs assessment results; Generate reports and other documents to be used by the Department of Elder Services, other town offices, organizations that provide services, advocates, and community members.

Admission Guaranteed Program (Agp) At Umass Boston, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Jeremiah E. Burke High School, Boston Green Academy, Dorchester Academy

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Initiated in 1989, the Admission Guaranteed Program at the University of Massachusetts Boston guarantees admission to the university for students enrolled at partner high schools. Through AGP, students who take courses in the required subject areas and meet specific program criteria are assured admission to the university in the College of Liberal Arts or the College of Science and Mathematics.

Veterans Upward Bound: A Federally Funded Trio Program, Preparing Veterans For College At Umass Boston Since 1973, Veterans Upward Bound Program, University Of Massachusetts Boston

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The Veterans Upward Bound Program at the University of Massachusetts Boston provides a unique opportunity for men and women veterans of all ages to acquire the academic skills required for entry into higher education and/or to acquire the equivalent of a high school diploma.

Umass Boston Project Reach Talent Search, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Jeremiah E. Burke High School, Dorchester Academy, Madison Park High School, Dearborn Middle School, Mccormack Middle School

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REACH identifies and serves disadvantaged young people who have the potential for education at the post-secondary level and encourages them to continue and graduate from secondary school and enroll in programs of post-secondary education. High school and post-secondary dropouts are also encouraged and assisted in returning to school.

Project Reach Talent Search At Umass Boston, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Jeremiah E. Burke High School, Dorchester Academy, Madison Park High School, Dearborn Middle School, Mccormack Middle School

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

REACH identifies and serves disadvantaged young people who have the potential for education at the post-secondary level and encourages them to continue and graduate from secondary school and enroll in programs of post-secondary education. High school and post-secondary dropouts are also encouraged and assisted in returning to school. Project REACH was first funded by the U.S. Department of Education in September 1985 and at the time became the first Educational Talent Search Program in the nation to serve low-income, first generation college bound, urban youth with disabilities. Today, REACH remains a national model for successful inclusion of youth with disabilities …

Mass. Memories Road Show: Your Place In Massachusetts History, Andrew Elder, Carolyn M. Goldstein, Joanne Riley, University Archives & Special Collections, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Mass. Memories Road Show is an event-based public history project that digitizes family photographs and stories shared by the people of Massachusetts. We work with local communities to organize free public events where everyone is invited to bring photographs to be scanned and included in the archives at UMass Boston.

To date, the Mass. Memories Road Show has digitized more than 5,000 photographs and stories from across the state, creating an educational resource of primary sources for future generations. Over time, we plan to visit each of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts.

Office Of Athletics And Recreation, Special Projects And Programs: "The Value Of Teamwork", Office Of Athletics And Recreation, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Through our Department of Special Programs and Projects, the Division of Athletics, Recreation, Special Projects and Programs is in the forefront of providing athletics outreach to local neighborhoods, the state, and even overseas audiences. We provide complimentary use of the university's athletic facilities to community groups; we offer student athlete sports clinics for young people; we make holiday visits to hospitals; and offer many other similar services.

More than 150 school, charitable, governmental, and private organizations use UMass Boston athletic facilities for over 2,100 hours each year as participants or spectators. Along with the university's Office of Community Relations and …

The Urban Scholars Program At University Of Massachusetts Boston, David Lemmel

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Urban Scholars provides talented and gifted students—especially those from low income and minority backgrounds—with the resources to develop the skills and self-motivation needed to enter and successfully complete postsecondary education. The program accommodates 120 students, 75 students at the high school level and 45 at the middle school level.

Community Research Advisory Board Incorporated: Where The Community And Researchers Meet, Horizon Center, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

CRAB is an incorporated Community Research Advisory Board that serves as a bridge to connect Roxbury residents and other inner Boston neighborhoods to research institutions in a mutually beneficial effort. These efforts increase knowledge and promote understanding about how community-based participatory research (CBPR) can help eliminate disparities in health and health care, thereby improving the health and well-being of people of color. CBPR is a collaborative approach to research, in which the research topic is a priority identified by the community. All partners and stakeholders contribute unique strengths and knowledge, and are involved equitably throughout the process.

Urban.Boston (Urban Research-Based Action Network): Creating Connections Between Community + Academia, Urban.Boston, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Urban Research-Based Action Network (URBAN) is a national platform that facilitates community-based research, teaching and learning for action across disciplinary lines, connecting scholars and community activists within and across cities. It was started in 2011 to honor the memory of activist scholar Marylin Gitell, and has received generous support from SAGE Publications. URBAN currently has local nodes in Boston, LA, NY, and Northern California. It also has nodes that connect at the national level among sociologists, education researchers and community planners.

The Campus Kitchen At Umass Boston, Liz Moniz

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

The Campus Kitchen at the University of Massachusetts Boston (CKUMB) is a part of The Campus Kitchens Project. CKP, a national network of student volunteers, works to rescue excess food to create meals for those in need. CKUMB opened in 2010 to provide meals for the Dorchester community. By taking the initiative to run a community kitchen, students develop entrepreneurial and leadership skills, along with a commitment to serve their community, that they will carry with them into future careers.

Civic Engagement Scholars Initiative (Cesi), Camille Martinez-Krawiec

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

UMass Boston received a Performance Incentive Fund grant to institutionalize and increase teaching and learning that promotes civic and community engagement. Specifically the funds are being used to support the implementation of the Civic Engagement Scholars Initiative (CESI), which supports faculty and community partners on how to effectively engage undergraduate students in service-learning and community-based research activities that reinforce classroom learning, foster civic habits and skills, and address community-identified needs. This enhancement will be accomplished through implementation of a professional development program that improves the efficacy and assessment of faculty-driven community-engaged instruction and undergraduate research. CESI, as part of the …

Grace Grossman Youth Collaborative, Sarah Oktay

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Each year 5-7 middle school and high school groups from underserved communities across Massachusetts are treated to a 4-5 day all expense paid trip to Nantucket to stay at the UMass Boston Nantucket Field Station and spend the week exploring the island and nature. MCAS standards are incorporated into this award winning program as students engage in hands-on, placed based experiential learning and document their journey through poetry, journaling, and photography.

Upward Bound Math-Science At Umass Boston, Terri Slater

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

Upward Bound Math-Science (UBMS) strives to increase the number of low-income and first-generation college bound students who enroll in and complete higher education programs, majoring in mathematics, the sciences, and computer science. UBMS aims to increase the number who pursues advanced study in these fields. UBMS serves students enrolled in the six academies that comprise the Lawrence High School Complex.