Neighborhood Schools Project

The P-12 Project is committed to assisting Ohio’s schools, particularly those that serve underserved children and youth. Our scope includes the entire state, but we have a responsibility to be good neighbors to the schools in our local community, which are some of the neediest in the Columbus area. Because of our proximity to these schools, the P-12 Project developed a strong relationship with neighborhood schools.

The Neighborhood Schools Project was a portion of what the P-12 Project does for the broader regional and state communities. Our local efforts assisted the long-term goals of neighborhood revitalization defined in the Campus Partners Plan. Developed by a collaboration of educators, parents, and community members, the Neighborhood Schools initiative worked to improve the education of children and youth living in the neighborhoods around The Ohio State University. Neighborhood Schools Project goals:

  • Assist the Columbus City School District with improving the academic performance of school-aged children and youth
  • Work with local agencies to support families to become and stay involved with their children’s education
  • Collaborate in the development of supplementary, after-school, and summer programs that serve children and youth
  • Coordinate community and social services that enable children and their families to thrive in the education system
  • Offer opportunities for lifelong learning to students and residents
  • Incubate promising projects for broader use

Examples of programs and support in the neighborhood schools:

  • The development of a field experience program in urban elementary schools for Ohio State students enrolled in courses on teaching reading
  • Support for a supervisor for counselor education interns who staff the Counseling and Wellness program at Linden-McKinley High School
  • Start-up funds to create an after-school program at the Weinland Park Elementary School
  • A variety of after school programs, professional development opportunities, volunteer opportunities and direct service programs for schools

Neighborhood activities:

  • Service-learning courses
  • Internship and volunteer opportunities for Ohio State students
  • Ohio State credit-earning courses for teacher professional development (Urban Schools Initiative)
  • Counselor education and nurse training by Ohio State faculty in P-12 schools

The Neighborhood Schools Project was profiled in the publication Success for All Students: NSP story (PDF, 392 KB).

Subcommittees

The P-12 Project supported three subcommittees, each led by an OSU faculty member, that focused more tightly on particular aspects of neighborhood school needs.

After School and Summer Youth Development (Dawn Anderson-Butcher, Chair). The After School and Summer Programs Committee worked to extend programs beyond the school day. This committee worked to provide children and youth with activities in the out-of-school time to enhance their intellectual, physical, social, and emotional well-being. The committee’s goals were (1) facilitating and developing the community collaborative and partnership; (2) increasing parent involvement and leadership; and (3) enhancing youth development programs. One outcome of this committee was the development of  a support network through Time! Dollar Programs at Medary Elementary and Indianola Middle Schools so that no parent or resident in the community feels isolated.

Human Services (Gil Greene, Chair). The Human Services Committee examined nonacademic barriers to learning, such as nutrition (are they coming to school hungry?) health (do students get regular check ups? Do they go to the dentist?), and home life issues (abuse, neglect, etc.). This subcommittee worked to coordinate resources of various social and human services programs to maximize impact and minimize duplication.

Service-Learning Committee (Golden Jackson, Chair). The Service-Learning Committee worked with the Service- Learning Initiative and the Service-Learning Scholars Roundtable to promote service-learning courses in the neighborhood schools. Service-learning is defined as credit-earning coursework that connects a community-based service activity with specific goals and provides structured time for student reflection and connection of the service experience to learning. This committee worked to support the variety of courses offered in the neighborhood schools and provided resources to faculty who teaching these courses. Some courses that involved Neighborhood Schools included EDU PAES 542, Lifespan Motor Development; EDU P&L 271, Leadership in Community Service; EDU T&L 668, Reading Foundations; and English 110.03, First-Year Writing.

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Schools

The number of schools involved in the project fluctuated over time because of consolidation in the district. The schools included:

Elementary Schools

  • Fifth Avenue
  • Indianola
  • Literature Based @ Hubbard
  • Medary
  • Weinland Park

Middle Schools

  • Arts Impact
  • Crestview
  • Indianola

High Schools

  • Centennial
  • Fort Hayes
  • Linden-McKinley
  • North Education Center
  • Whetstone

 


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