According to teachers, a large proportion of the school population comes from South Philly, but as Palumbo's reputation has grown, more and more students come from across the city. This decentralization of the student body, however, has not seemed to adversely affect the community engagement of the school. Teachers cite a, "Home and School Association which is getting much stronger. They donate goods, help fund-raise and volunteer at events," as well as community partners in churches that also fund-raise and donate to the school and school functions. Other local businesses and organizations have become donors through Palumbo students working or volunteering within the community.
"Students are required to complete 30 hours of community service a year in order to graduate. We have a community service club (Key Club) that many students join, plus events such as an Aids Walk that a lot of kids participate in."
"Students are required to complete 30 hours of community service a year in order to graduate. We have a community service club (Key Club) that many students join, plus events such as an Aids Walk that a lot of kids participate in."
As a team, we reached out to the Hawthorne Empowerment Coalition, the neighborhood civics group, to see what was going on in the community, and how we, as student teachers, could help plug students into the community for both support and volunteer work.
The Hawthorne Empowerment Coalition, HEC, is a vibrant group of men and women from diverse socio-economic backgrounds that comes together once a month to plan for their community. They put on events such as Shakespeare in the Park, stargazing, and clean-up days. Additionally, they advocate for the community in meetings with potential developers, and seek to organize local businesses and organizations to maintain a unified community.
HEC is very active in the local government, making sure to keep in touch with their city council representative, Councilmen Kenyatta Johnson, and have a member of his staff attend their meetings every month to update them on any news from the councilman. They also keep in close contact with the local police department and fire department to facilitate a positive relationship and to keep their neighborhood safe for the many people who come through it daily.
As a way to reach out to the student population in the Hawthorne neighborhood, HEC is actively looking into increasing their educational programming. Hawthorne is home to two Philadelphia magnet schools, Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Preforming Arts, CAPA, and Academy at Palumbo. They want to engage these two groups both by offering tutoring and volunteer opportunities for high school students. They are eager to create a supportive community of education across grade levels, as stated by their neighborhood goal of creating a "more educated Hawthorne."
We spoke with the community members to see how they would like to see Palumbo students get involved in the Hawthorne community and we got overwhelmingly positive response to having students engaging in the community. The community is eager to give Palumbo students volunteer opportunities such as street clean ups, park clean ups, tutoring younger students, and even drawing on the talents and expertise of Palumbo students in areas such as IT support and web design.
As student teachers, there's only so much we can do to initiate these types of programs, but we hope to cultivate interest and support on the school end to bridge these sources of community capital. It's exciting to imagine: school and community center working together as resources for the entire community. The skills and enthusiasm are there, and, if these can unify in purpose, the entire community could only benefit.
The Hawthorne Empowerment Coalition, HEC, is a vibrant group of men and women from diverse socio-economic backgrounds that comes together once a month to plan for their community. They put on events such as Shakespeare in the Park, stargazing, and clean-up days. Additionally, they advocate for the community in meetings with potential developers, and seek to organize local businesses and organizations to maintain a unified community.
HEC is very active in the local government, making sure to keep in touch with their city council representative, Councilmen Kenyatta Johnson, and have a member of his staff attend their meetings every month to update them on any news from the councilman. They also keep in close contact with the local police department and fire department to facilitate a positive relationship and to keep their neighborhood safe for the many people who come through it daily.
As a way to reach out to the student population in the Hawthorne neighborhood, HEC is actively looking into increasing their educational programming. Hawthorne is home to two Philadelphia magnet schools, Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Preforming Arts, CAPA, and Academy at Palumbo. They want to engage these two groups both by offering tutoring and volunteer opportunities for high school students. They are eager to create a supportive community of education across grade levels, as stated by their neighborhood goal of creating a "more educated Hawthorne."
We spoke with the community members to see how they would like to see Palumbo students get involved in the Hawthorne community and we got overwhelmingly positive response to having students engaging in the community. The community is eager to give Palumbo students volunteer opportunities such as street clean ups, park clean ups, tutoring younger students, and even drawing on the talents and expertise of Palumbo students in areas such as IT support and web design.
As student teachers, there's only so much we can do to initiate these types of programs, but we hope to cultivate interest and support on the school end to bridge these sources of community capital. It's exciting to imagine: school and community center working together as resources for the entire community. The skills and enthusiasm are there, and, if these can unify in purpose, the entire community could only benefit.
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