Title of Grant: Rosenwald Schools and African American Activism in Virginia Full ID: F2014-1113P-FF Date of Funding: Fall 2014 Name: Alyce Miller College: John Tyler Community College Email: amiller@jtcc.edu Abstract: We have created a far-reaching coalition in order to pilot a replicable Rosenwald school history/historic preservation model within our service area that can be used by communities throughout Virginia to preserve their Rosenwald schools and their histories. This will become part of a larger state-wide initiative created by applicants (and project collaborators). In addition to its effects on community vitality, this project will allow us to engage traditionally underserved segments of our service area and to increase our outreach to minority communities. By involving students, we hope to increase engagement, resulting in higher satisfaction, retention, and goal completion or graduation Anticipated Outcomes: 1. This project will constitute a meaningful service learning opportunity for students. We hope that by fully engaging students in the college and community and by providing ample opportunities for interaction with classmates and faculty/staff, that we will be able to increase student satisfactions, retention, and goal completion/graduation rates within the group of involved students. 2. Students will benefit from the incorporation of research findings into the applicants classes. This contributes to the college goal to enhance and promote excellence in teaching and learning and to the college mission to provide quality educational opportunities that inspire student success and community vitality. We have already incorporated modules on Rosenwald schools into our history classes and will continue adding to them and improving them. 3. The college will benefit from the positive public relations within our service area, particularly as a result of reaching out to underserved populations. The VCCS will, by extension, benefit from this as well.
4. Students and the college will benefit from the close collaboration with the university to which most of our students transfer. Students will benefit from getting to meet and build a relationship with the partner faculty member from that transfer institution and the college will benefit from increased positive association with this transfer institution. We hope that all involved will benefit from the creation of a smoother pipeline for our students when transferring. 5. The disciplines involved will benefit from the creation of a brand new model/tool for historic preservation and community histories. 6. Faculty collaboration with external institutions and organizations will contribute to the college s mission to strengthen a positive image of the college, and effectively promote services and programs to the community. Actual Outcomes: This project has consituted a meaningful service learning opportunity for students and faculty. Students have visited Rosenwald schools, conducted oral history interviews, taken photographs, will participate in a service day at a Rosenwald school, taken part in Rosenwald meetings, etc. Quotes from participating students include: The different events they were able to share with us just basically makes you not want to take for granted education because education is very important and to see what they had to go through to get their education and to see how easy it is for us to get an education it makes you push more because it s like okay they did it. I know I can do it. Because they had to go through [hell and high water] to get their education and its easier for us to get it. So it definitely puts a value on education. you get to learn what they went through. Another student said, Something that stuck with me was about how MLK and everybody really fought and wanted to be treated equal and now you kind of take it for granted everyday. So having someone sit there and tell you their experiences it kind of lets you in. And listening to their story makes you appreciate what you have in life and how you carry yourself and the little things that you might take for granted. It s different when you hear it face to face, when you re the one asking the questions..it s different when you see the expressions on their faces when you re asking the questions and they re explaining things, it s something that they really felt, it s a real life experience. This is one thing that s important to emphasize here these are authentic, active, and service-oriented learning experiences, and the students definitely seem to get that. Another student (and I should note this is not a history club member or a prospective history major) said that I think history is one of the most important aspects of school. History is everything." Here we got students to refer to history as fun and to say they enjoyed themselves while learning! Further, Miller and Silvent (with exterior colleagues), have presented at JTCC Black History Month, the Virginia Forum, the Virginia Association of Museums Conference, and will be presenting at the National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference. The project was also featured on the 3/12/15 Virginia Currents. Discussion and Critique: Students also got a chance to meet Rosenwald alumni when, in February, for the second year in a row, JTCC co-hosted with Preservation Virginia, a statewide event dedicated to this Rosenwald schools initiative. We collaborated on the event with colleagues from the Virginia Department of Historic
Resources, the Virginia Association of Museums, the Virginia Historical Society, and the Tusculum Institute at Sweet Briar. There were approximately 130-140 people in attendance, including a significant number of Rosenwald alumni in attendance as well as groups interested in preserving their local Rosenwald school structures and histories form across the state. JTCC faculty and students were represented as well. The students in attendance made contacts with Rosenwald alumni and are excited to have forged these new relationships and to be a part of this project. They were also excited about contacts they made in the community. Another JTCC student brought his wife and young daughter to an open house at Second Union Rosenwald School in Goochland County because he wanted to share the school building, its history, and the stories of its alumni with his daughter. Numerous other students have come to see Cris Silvent or myself and excitedly told us that they went home and told their parents and grandparents all about the Rosenwald schools and what they learned and they found out that they had relatives who had attended these schools. All of a sudden, what they re doing at school is completely relevant to them and their family. We ve hooked them. Now learning matters. They care. They re engaged. These stories of local educational activism, or ordinary, local people making a difference, has resonated with our students. And once again, even in places like Chesterfield County where no Rosenwald schools are extant, these buildings (or the memory or spirit of these buildings) have become a center for learning and community. They ve increased educational opportunities for yet another generation of Virginians and engaged another generation as active and eager students. I believe that the biggest recommendation for change would be that the timeline originally given was overly optimistic given the number of people and organizations needing coordination. Evaluation: Faculty continued to conduct archival research at UVA, the Library of Congress, and the Library of Virginia. Faculty continued to enhance their Blackboard module on Rosenwald schools. Throughout Fall 2014, faculty will continue developing additional materials that will continue to be made available to colleagues. In Spring 2015, faculty co-hosted an event on Saving Virginia s Rosenwald Schools with Preservation Virginia. This event increased from 75 participants last year to 130 this year. Faculty have completed an article and submitted it to a national journal for peer review. The evaluations were all very positive. Faculty have continued working with VCU Special Collections on the creation of the exhibit featuring their research and oral history interviews. Exhibit expected to be completed in Fall 2015. We partnered with history faculty from the four-year university to which the majority of our students transfer. This has resulted in significant interaction between this faculty member and our students. We have continued fostering interactions between our students and these external faculty members, which has helped these students in their transitions. The project was covered on a segment of Virginia Currents: http://ideastations.org/radio/news/movement-grows-save-virginias-rosenwald-schools. The project was also covered in numerous other news outlets and calendars throughout the state. We also presented at the Virginia Association of Museums conference and the Virginia Forum. We will be presenting at New Horizons in April 2015 and at the National Trust for Historic Preservation conference in June 2015. We have presented to student clubs across the college (History, Philosophy, Sociology, Art, and Future teacher Clubs). We have also held three faculty professional development sessions.
Dissemination: We have disseminated our findings and results in a number of different ways. We have presented to student clubs across the college. We have also held faculty professional development sessions. We have also created a Blackboard organization site with sample assignments, resources, and areas for discussion. We have presented numerous times in the community and at the JTCC Black History Month. We held a statewide Rosenwald Schools event on Febraury 20 that was attended by 130 people from across Virginia. People traveled from: Nansemond County Nottoway County Westmoreland County Mathews County Richmond City Chesterfield County Amelia County York County New Kent County Ft. Monroe Albemarle County Warsaw (Richmond County) Goochland County Henrico County Petersburg Hopewell Colonial Heights Cumberland County Greensville County Caroline County Gloucester County Bowling Green Northumberland County
Southampton County Fluvanna County Franklin County King William County Newport News Hampton Dinwiddie County Surry County Charles City County Prince George County Mecklenburg County Campbell County Buckingham County Fairfax County Hanover County Louisa County King and Queen County Lynchburg Maryland North Carolina Pennsylvania The project was covered on a segment of Virginia Currents: http://ideastations.org/radio/news/movement-grows-save-virginias-rosenwald-schools. We also presented at the Virginia Association of Museums conference and the Virginia Forum. We will be presenting at New Horizons in April 2015 and at the National Trust for Historic Preservation conference in June 2015. Dr. Miller submitted an article for peer review (with Dr. Brian Daugherity (VCU) to a national peer-reviewed journal. We hope to continue involving more students and more VCCS colleges/colleagues, and to eventually create a gallery space on campus for display of associated student work. We expect the remaining school inventory to take 3-5 years.