Is Place-Based Education a Theme for School Improvement in Rural Areas?
An invitational mini-conference focused on community and place-based educational questions and solutions
an article by Stephanye Hunter
Our communities in the Northeast are growing with ideas and initiatives. An overview of our progress is highlighted below:
On December 7th, 2005 the Rural School and Community Trust, the Northeast RESA and Northeast Regional Office of The Science House (NCSU) hosted a mini-conference focused on community and place-based educational questions and solutions.
We were pleased with the number of counties that sent teams to represent their schools. Also attending this mini-conference were many resource people from state agencies and county government. The introductory mini-conference featured invited speakers who shared different perspectives about Place-Based Learning. In the afternoon, focused time for the county teams to develop their community interest projects was included. Perhaps, the greatest benefit from the conference was the dialog that was shared throughout the day. The conversation about place-based education was diverse and rich with new ideas. Participants stated they were glad to have the occasion to discuss this type of collaborative community education. One groupcommented at the end of the day: “ We have already made plans to schedule meetings with other community partners.”
Special thanks to these community support people who gave their time to assist the school teams in developing unique community interest projects for their counties.
- The group met again in the summer of 2006 for a 4-day institute focused on integrating place-based educational strategies with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study at the Senator Bob Martin Eastern Agricultural Center in Williamston, NC.
- Work is continuing in our local counties – the PBL group shared progress and vision at a 3-hour afternoon meeting on April 26th, 2007.
Leadership in Place-Based Learning for Northeastern North Carolina
The Science House at North Carolina State University has developed a model place-based education project over the last four years in the Northeast involving students, teachers and the community in environmental research on Bennett’s Millpond in Chowan County.
The Rural School and Community Trust has provided continued commitment to the region through initiatives at the Albemarle Learning Center.
The Northeast RESA is supporting the collaborative effort in our local counties to encourage partnerships between schools and communities.
The River City Community Development Corporation is a participating partner working to strengthen the bond between schools and communities.
Please direct questions about the event to any of the following:
Colleen Karl at The Science House
Jere King Johnson at the Rural School and Community Trust
Angie Wills at the River City Community Development Corporation
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