Delta Team's learnings

Part of the goal of Project 27 is for us to share what we learn:

• While you don't have to have everything planned before going into a community, it's good to have a contact person, especially if you are going to do design-thinking or other activities that take more than 10 minutes.
• Follow up with the people with whom we interact, and share how they can continue to follow what we are doing.
  
• Rural America is beautiful.

• Be strategic about when to ask people for their time (ex: students after school/on weekends; there are other places to go too..community colleges, etc)
• Find ways to connect with people (ex: movie screening on side of RV; cookout once a week) - and give trinkets
• Important to be flexible

• Get next steps from people we meet with (i.e., who else in the community do we need to talk to about Issue X, or who is a key stakeholder/decision maker, etc)
• Could be good to create a survey for thoughts on next steps, people to connect with, places to go, etc

A Lesson on Relationships from the Mississippi Delta

Today we stopped in the Mississippi Delta to have a delicious dinner with two long-time school teachers. To say that they were the rock-stars of the place is an understatement - Elvis himself could have walked into the building and not garnered as much attention as these two. It's truly a testament to the quality and sincerity of the relationships that great teachers build with their students.

Alabama Education Association

While we were catching up with our posts and using MacDonald’s free wireless we met Cathy. Cathy is a retired teacher with over 30 years in classroom. She now works with the Alabama Education Association as a conference leader. She had some great insights. Cathy thought:

1. Legislators have decided they know about education and are making a negative impact.
2. Teachers are not included in decisions that are made.
3. Teachers are not the whole problem.
4. It is the job of a principal or a superintendent to work with people not against people.

Cathy described herself as “anti-charter school.” Although she was skeptical she was open to learning more. She had heard that charter schools can choose students and are trying to make money. She doesn’t believe in contracting anything out.

Boykin

Boykin was kind enough to take our picture at the Thomasville sign. Boykin is the father of 8 children. When we asked what made Thomasville a success story he quickly responded with “Work!” Thomasville is the home to many new mills and manufacturing plants.

Boykin, 76 also spoke candidly about how schools can be improved and the need for the older generation to push the younger generation to stay in school.

Video to uploaded when we find a faster connection.

Wal-Mart in Thomasville

We stopped at the Thomasville Wal-mart to pick up an Alabama CD and a local newspaper. While the Ann and Joy shopped Josh chatted up local resident Thomas Dumas. Mr. Dumas shared that the high school in Thomasville is “good” and has had a championship football team in the past few years. When asked what could be improved he felt strongly that the schools need more “teachers who cared” and students who had “more personal responsibility.” Dumas also spoke enthusiastically about the local trade school, Hobson Vocational Trade School.

What makes a success story?

We are in Thomasville, "southwest Alabama's success story" trying to find out.

Is it really a lightbulb?

Earlier in the week during Essentials at 4.0 Headquarters, we learned about a process called design thinking, which, explained by IDEO, allows people who aren’t trained as designers to use creative tools to solve a vast range of challenges.

Our team wanted to prototype this design thinking in a school setting.

We introduced Cameron and Sedonta to the basic ideas of design thinking: We first had them describe their own "ideal" English class, under the premise that no idea was too far-fetched or unrealistic. Then the students shared their ideas with each other, and each student was charged with designing the other’s ideal class.

Hard at work on #project27 in the Demopolis public library.

Demopolis Public Library

Thank you to the ladies at The Mustard Seed for quickly monograming Joy's new beach bag and pointing us in the direction of the Demopolis Public library.

Demopolis Public Library is at the heart of its community. There were lots of community members reading in the stacks and working on the public computers. On the wall were words of welcome in many different languages. Visit their website here.

Listen to Morgan Grimes the director of the library talk about her education experience growing up in and around Demopolis.

Welcome to Demopolis! (population 7,483)

Abandoned School in Forkland, AL

Joe told us about the abandoned Birdine School in Forkland. We do not know what happened to the school; when or why it closed. Please comment with any helpful information.

Joe

We met Joe outside the post office. He was getting ready to deliver the mail.

Joe grew up in Demopolis, AL and went to the public schools there. He purposely bought a home in the town so his daughter could go to those same schools. He felt that he received a good education and wants the same for his daughter.

At KIPP in the Delta

This morning we’ll visit KIPP Delta Collegiate High School in Helena, AR and talk with students, teachers, and some parents about their view of what is and isn't working in public education.

Three Generations of Eutaw Residents

We asked three generations of Eutaw residents, what they would like for schools in the future.

Leslie Cheetam, Lifelong Resident of Eutaw. "We need to come together."

Anthony, 11 years old, rising 7th Grader at Paramount Junior HS. "In the future, we could have a few more computerized classes."

Ada Webb is another local lifelong resident. Ada is the mother of a 4th grader and she spoke about the use of technology and preparing students to succeed in a global economy.

Greene County High school

Met the newly appointed principal Gary Rice. He shared with us his priority for the new year is student achievement. He wants kids to know that there is something more after high school.

Read more about Gary Rice here - http://greenecountydemocrat.com/?p=1474

Sent from my iPad

Breakfast Spot in Eutaw

Charles- Born & schooled in England, now living in Meridian, MS

Charles is the proprietor of Weidmann's Restaurant. He has had a very diverse education experience. He has some great thoughts on life after high school.

If you are ever in Meridian, MS be sure to stop by Weidmann's! We recommend the confederate tea and fried green tomatoes with 1870 sauce.

http://www.weidmanns1870.com/

Mallie from Meridian, MS

Mallie is the hostess at Weidmann's Restaurant in Meridian Ms. She attends the Meridian Community College.

http://www.mcc.cc.ms.us

The Final Project

[working on the English class design]

It was exciting and neat to see two very different young men listening to each other’s needs and wants and how that translated into the final designs. Both students extrapolated larger insights simply by listening and trying to truly understand what was needed.

Cameron understood that Sedonta’s “theme” for an ideal English class would be “Do what you feel, if you get your work done.” He called the room Express Yourself Central.

Sedonta understood that Cameron really wanted a “Talk Spot” that was a safe space to talk about things such as women’s rights.

Welcome to Project 27 (#project27)

Project 27 is a collaborative endeavor that 9 of the 10 4.0Schools Essentials participants are undertaking (our tenth teammate is completing graduate coursework - we miss you Tro!).

The '27' in project 27 drives from the 27 total hours that will be spent on the project (it is also half of a typical 'startup weekend,' which is usually 54 hours).

The 9 of us broke up into three groups of three people. Each group set out to learn more about community members' opinions about local public education. Our goal is to begin to collect community opinion and input from across the Southeastern US region. Honestly, we are unsure of where this experience will lead us, or what the eventual outcome will be, but all of us are excited. We are certainly tying to keep a beginner's mindset and learn as much as we can from our fellow SE US residents.

One group will drive south on Route 43 from Eutaw, AL, to Mobile, stopping in the towns along the highway to hear from folks. Another group will be exploring the Mississippi Delta in the towns also HWY 61. The last group will be hearing from residents throughout the city of New Orleans.

Please subscribe to this blog, and follow each groups' experience on twitter at #project27.

More to come!