Field Report: Youth Rebuilding New Orleans

 

I can’t believe it’s been another month already!

Before Isaac came along, I had anticipated that I would use this blog to provide an update on what has been cooking at YRNO over the past month: The Youth Engagement Coordinators for the Future Leaders Initiative have started working full time at KIPP Renaisance and Sci Academy; We had (almost) secured 2 Tulane CPS interns for the fall; The project sites have been coming along nicely; YRNO was planning for a huge, 80-volunteer service day with the OG Cares Foundation.

However, the coming (and going) of Hurricane Isaac has given me a different perspective on the past month. Before Isaac hit New Orleans, my boyfriend and I were fortunate enough to be able to evacuate to his parents’ home in Mandeville. There, we were able to safely ride out the storm. I was thankful that his family was so welcoming of me into their home, that we did not lose power and that the house did not sustain any serious damage.

It wasn’t until I returned to the city, however, that I was able to fully appreciate how truly fortunate we were. This was my first hurricane. Returning to a city of flooded streets, downed power lines and debris was shocking. Soon after returning, my roommate, Betsy, and I volunteered at the NOLA 311 call center. Although I was probably more trouble to the call center than we were worth (I seem to be a magnet for technical difficulties), it was an eye-opening experience. We received calls from all across the city, heard stories of countless hardships brought on by the storm and did our best to provide assistance. Although I had complained of cabin fever from my experience, the call center made it really hit home that my experience was nothing in comparison to what many in the city faced.

Serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA during the hurricane has given me the unique opportunity to witness the ground level of the recovery effort. I am endlessly inspired by the amazing non-profits that take the initiative to keep the city afloat. I am amazed at the selflessness and the kindness demonstrated by so many members of the New Orleans community.

The leaders at YRNO are in the process of planning multiple large-scale days of service to assist those whose homes were flooded in Laplace and Lafitte. I am fortunate to be working at an organization that continually demonstrates such willingness and ability to help. Thank you, in advance, to all of those who are volunteering with YRNO!

Best wishes,

Lauren

 

-Lauren Lim, Tulane AmeriCorps VISTA, Youth Rebuilding New Orleans

 

Field Report: Firstline Charter Schools

I write this field report – my first – the week after Hurricane Isaac shut down the city for nearly a week. As always, we continue on. And so I begin my sixth week as the K-8 VISTA Community Outreach Coordinator at FirstLine Schools.

It began with an orientation and tour of the schools from David Durand, the Director of Community Partnerships and my supervisor. FirstLine Schools currently operates four K-8 schools and one 9-12 (Joseph S. Clark Preparatory High School). Its mission is to create and inspire great open admissions public schools in New Orleans. While each campus maintains its own unique culture, they all share the primary objective of preparing every student for college and a fulfilling career.

Samuel J. Green Charter School, located in the Freret neighborhood, was oneof the first to be operated by FLS. It is also the birthplace of The Edible Schoolyard New Orleans (ESYNOLA), which is a flagship program being developed at each of the FirstLine campuses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arthur Ashe Charter School opened in 2007 with fewer than 50 students. Now, the school serves over 400 at a brand new, state-of-the-art campus in Gentilly.

Langston Hughes Academy came under management of FLS in 2010, but officially became a FirstLine school this year. The LHA campus was the first newly constructed school building to open its doors since 2003, and boasts a thriving ESYNOLA program in the back yard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Dibert Community School became a part of the FLS network that same year in 2010, by request from the community. The Dibert Family Organization is the strongest parent group among the FLS K-8 schools, a fact I hope to take advantage of as I work with parents from the other campuses.

That was week one: becoming familiar with the four schools I would be working with. I was also provided a desk at the FLS Main Office on Canal St. I share an office with Rebekah Cain, Director of Development & Communication, and Darcy McKinnon. Darcy was one of FirstLine’s earliest employees, and she fills a number of roles, including branding.

 

I will admit, my job is confusing.

 

FirstLine is a large, thriving organization with many employees. Finding my place – being both productive and not stepping on toes – is a challenge. I already ran into one boundary with grant writing. David had tipped me off about a potential grant opportunity, so I began to investigate. I contacted the granter, had multiple conversations, but made the mistake of not notifying Rebekah. As it turns out, that is her job and she was already working on that particular grant application. Lesson learned.

Another part of my VAD is to help plan events for and make use of a large literacy grant just awarded to some of the FLS schools. I quickly discovered that FLS already has a full-time Family Literacy Coordinator, Donnica Conway. She is also on board the Literacy Grant Team charged with taking advantage of the funds. So, my role there must also be limited.

Furthermore, I was finding it difficult to build relationships with the individual schools. Not only are they in different parts of the city, they were busy in their first couple weeks of school. The administration either didn’t know me or at least didn’t know why I was there.

Finally, while I do technically have a predecessor, he remains a mystery to me. His position was only at Green, so it was a fundamentally different job. There is no sustainability binder from that position, so far as I know. Luckily, the VISTA who was placed at Clark last year left behind a plethora of valuable resources in Dropbox.

 

Now for the good news.

 

I have come to the conclusion that my role should be focused more on the individual campuses rather than the network main office. In VISTA terms, that office appears to be at capacity. So, I have been making an effort to connect with school leaders and parents, and to get a sense for their goals and needs. While the balance between direct and indirect service seems a blur sometimes, I feel the need to take on enough responsibilities to warrant interns or other sustainability measures. This will take time.

I have two specific projects right now: newsletters and parent organization.

Each K-8 should have a quarterly newsletter, starting this month. One thing my predecessor did leave behind was a newsletter template for Green. The other schools also have similar templates. Kathleen and I are on-boarding an intern this week to handle a few jobs, including the K-8 newsletter production.

Before Isaac, I had managed to nail down a parent liaison from each school, and soon I will organize a meeting between them, Donnica, and David. We need to seek out parent leaders who are not employed by FLS – ironically, ¾ are – and formulate a strategy to grow parent involvement through training and outreach.

My VAD includes many other goals throughout the year, and I look forward to the challenge. For now, I will continue to reach out and build bridges as best I can.

 

-Jason Lacoste, Tulane Education VISTA, Firstline Charter Schools

 

 

Field Report: Benjamin Banneker Elementary School

It started the first few days I was in New Orleans, even before I began working at Banneker. I would be at a party with friends, or strike up a conversation with a stranger at a coffee shop. At some point, the following exchange would occur:

 

Me: “I’m actually going to be working in a school.”

Other Guy: “What school?”

Me: “It’s called Benjamin Banneker. It’s in the Black Pearl neighborhood.”

Other Guy: “Oh…isn’t that the school that like…has a nun who runs it?”

 

Although they weren’t completely correct, all these strangers were close. Sister Marie Noel has been the assistant principal at Banneker for over ten years. I thought it was unusual that a nun would be an administrator in a public school, especially since I got most of my formal education from private schools run by nuns. Certainly the novelty of Sister Noel’s position as a both school leader and a nun was what caused people all over the city to know about her, right?

 

Over the past year I learned that people know about Sister not because of the peculiar fact that she works in a public school, nor because she constantly tells everyone she encounters that she will include them in her evening prayers. They know her name because she has an unmatched work ethic and devotion to education. I found people who had only met Sister Noel once, but had witnessed her selflessness and enthusiasm. She is truly an amazing person.

 

Of course, I witnessed all these things myself. Today is my last day at my work site. I am excited for what lies ahead of me, but there are many things I will miss about my time at Banneker. Sister Noel is at the top of that list. But I will also remember the lessons she taught me about education, devotion, and most importantly, being a good person. I am honored to call her my friend.

-George Doonan Martin, Tulane CPS Education VISTA, Benjamin Banneker Elementary School

Field Report: Kedila Family Learning Services

 

Kedila prides itself on being an organization “Where the Journey to Learning Begins.”  The past few weeks have been pretty busy as we have been trying to pinpoint exactly where and when the journey will begin.

For the past six years, the journey to learning has begun at Benjamin Banneker Elementary and Middle Schools where Kedila holds its after school tutoring and enrichment program.  Banneker Elementary and Middle schools fall under the jurisdiction of the infamous New Orleans Recovery School District.  Until the Thursday before Banneker was set to open its doors for the fall semester, the Recovery School District had not set an exact opening and closing time for the school each day.

That Thursday, we were informed that the school will open at 8:40 am and close at 4:50 pm, creating a school day which starts late (after most parents probably have to be at work) and ends late.  The end time was especially significant because it meant that our after school program would run from 5-7 pm.  Most elementary and middle schoolers are unlikely to be able to focus, during those late hours, after a grueling day at school in order to do extra after-school tutoring and enrichment.

As I walked around Banneker that Thursday with Mr. Dipo, everyone inquired as to what Kedila would be doing about the after school program with school ending so late.  Their concern demonstrated the genuine need there is for Kedila’s after school program at Banneker and what the program means to the students, teachers, parents, and Banneker staff. This experience was evidence that Kedila is an organization that is truly making a difference in these students’ lives.

We are still in the process of determining when the journey to learning will begin, but I know that our program will continue to make a difference this year.  I hope I can help Kedila grow in any way possible to help sustain the program in future years and possibly even at additional sites.  We can only hope that the children will have patience with the Kedila staff and their tutors.  Although the journey is starting out slightly differently this year, we will forge forward on the journey to learning in the coming year.

Enjoy some pictures from the Kedila Summer Camp closing ceremony!

 

 

 

- Betsy Bateman, Tulane AmeriCorps VISTA, Kedila Family Learning Center

Field Report: Youth Rebuilding New Orleans

My First Couple of Weeks as a VISTA

 

This first couple of weeks as a VISTA has been quite a ride! I am joining Youth Rebuilding New Orleans as it is in the middle of planning for its newest program: Future Leaders. Although I’m coming in during the middle of the start-up process and, I have a lot to learn, I really look forward to being part of it. I am confident that this well-planned program has great potential to make a positive impact on the community. More information on the program is provided below (I helped write this for a grant proposal, so I’m pretty proud of how it turned out!):

The Need

The youth of New Orleans do not have adequate access to job opportunities, leadership development, financial literacy training, civic engagement and college preparation due to a lack of funding and resources within the educational system of New Orleans. Many youth are not being properly educated and trained so that they have fair and equitable opportunities upon graduation. This puts them at a disadvantage when seeking secondary education and job-placement opportunities.

 

The Project

YRNO believes that the Future Leaders Initiative will offset the educational disadvantages of these young scholars. Starting on September 1^st, we will incorporate 2 full-time employees into our team whose sole jobs are to provide academic support to the youth of New Orleans. These full-time mentors, known as Youth Engagement Coordinators, will be coming to us through the Lousiana Delta Service Corps (LDSC). This year, they will be working with the freshman classes of two of our partner high schools in New Orleans. Each freshman class consists of about 150 students.

The Youth Engagement Coordinators (YECs) will serve as consistent role models for the students that they interact with, many of whom don’t have a constant mentor to look to for guidance in their lives. Their responsibilities will include tutoring and mentoring students in various settings, including classical classrooms and more independent after-school tutoring. They will also work with our partner schools to develop and teach a curriculum that consists of lessons on personal life skills, job readiness, home-ownership and financial literacy. The last prong of these employees responsibilities will be to mix in-class service-learning exercises with on and off-site service opportunities. These opportunities may range anywhere from building benches on campus to traveling to one of YRNO’s sites to assist in the rebuilding of a home.

The Future Leaders Initiative has great potential for expansion. Once developed, YECs will modify the curriculum so that it could be taught by any teacher, anywhere. YRNO’s goal for this program is to make the largest possible impact on the community. In having a curriculum that can be taught by any teacher, anywhere, the potential of the program is limitless. The curriculum will allow YRNO to easily place more LDSCs in more partner schools. Establishment of a curriculum will allow the program’s benefits to persist into the future.

 

In other news, my roommate Betsy and I have been having a ball cooking “family” dinners together. We often feed the boys (Jack and Richard) who live right down the hall. It’s been working out much better than either of us expected, especially because we can get the boys to wash dishes and take out the trash! It’s a symbiotic relationship.

 

-Lauren Lim, Tulane AmeriCorps VISTA, Youth Rebuilding New Orleans

Field Report: Green Light New Orleans

 

July

In order to connect with the volunteers for the ELCA event, we’ve designed a social media map to help them and their families find out about the projects they’re working on. We’ve designed a google map with different icons at the location of each project (like a vegetable at each address where a backyard vegetable garden is being built, a lawn mower at each empty lot that is being cleared, etc). The icons will all be colored red and then changed to green when they are completed. As soon as a volunteer group finishes a project, they will take a picture of themselves and send it to the Green Light office. People working in the office will upload the pictures to the map at the address of the project and change the icon on the map to Green so we will have a live update when volunteers finish a project. We will also be posting the pictures of the volunteers to Facebook. Hopefully getting to see their projects on the map will give the volunteers more of a connection to Green Light and the project they are doing.

 

August

            The ELCA event was pretty successful over all. We definitely couldn’t have pulled it off without our awesome NCCC team, River 7! They were incredibly helpful in preparations for the event and leading groups of volunteers during the event. The only unfortunate thing was that almost all of the projects got rained out on Friday the 20^th. In the morning, the buses all arrived at the different sights and the volunteers waited, hoping the thunderstorms would stop. After a while, it became clear that it was not going to stop raining, and the streets were started to flood. Eventually, we decided to send the morning volunteers home. We hoped that the afternoon volunteers might be able to work, but the rain continued throughout the day, and eventually we had to cancel the afternoon groups too. That was disappointing, but Green Light is partnering with 400 volunteers from the AARP in September and they will be able to complete all the projects that were not finished on Friday.

I ended up working in the office during the event, answering phone calls and live updating the impact map, which I wrote about in my July field report, as volunteers sent pictures. The impact map was pretty cool, especially for bragging purposes. A lot of the volunteers never ended up sending pictures of their groups, so we don’t have pictures of everyone, but for most of the projects, we were at least able to list the names of the volunteers.

 

You can check out the impact map here: http://www.greenlightneworleans.org/ELCA/ELCAeventimpact719.html

 

Things are going to be much quieter here now that ELCA is over, but soon we’re going to start planning for the AARP event in September. 400 volunteers are going to seem pretty easy to deal with after 2,400!

 

-Selena Poznak, Tulane AmeriCorps VISTA, Green Light New Orleans

 

Field Report: Alliance for Affordable Energy

 

Seafood in Georgia?

I was on vacation over the fourth of July. I was looking forward to getting away from the LA heat for a few days, but it seemed to follow me all the way to Georgia. It was a boiler there as well. The visit was still good, and as always when visiting family I ate and drank way too much. It was interesting to leave New Orleans, where seafood is on everyone’s menu and indulge in a clam bake in Stone Mountain, GA. I even got to help prepare the ingredients and surprisingly it turned out superb. It was my first clam bake since I was a kid growing up in Pennsylvania. I love seafood, but everywhere I‘ve lived the seafood has been so expensive to eat until I came to New Orleans. I eat more seafood now then I have ever done before.

I was just famished after taking a 12 hour bus ride from NOLA to visit a relative in Stone Mountain, Ga. The last time I took a Greyhound bus anywhere was almost thirty years ago. I was 19 years old and it was my first trip outside my home state. Anyway, I arrived around 8:30pm in Georgia and didn’t get home until almost 10pm. A bowl of delicious clam chowder with some good red wine made my first night back perfect. Here’s the recipe for the amazing clam chowder I ate the first night I arrived home and the Clam bake recipe I helped prepare and then devoured with a family member and her cool friends on the fourth of July. Enjoy!

A note from my favorite Chef: I’ve enclosed the recipe for the New England-style Clam Chowder, but the recipe for the Clam Bake I had to wing. Like the Clams Casino, your grandmother never wrote the recipe down, but she taught me how to make both of them at the Franklin Seafood House in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

New England-style Clam Chowder

 

Ingredients:

1 Can (51-ounces) Chopped Sea Clams

1 1/2-inch cube salt pork, diced small

1 onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons flour

3 medium potatoes, peeled & diced

3 cups milk

3 tablespoons butter

Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper

Directions for the Clam Chowder:

Drain clams and reserve 2 1/2 cups clam juice.

Cook salt pork slowly in a small skillet until the fat has been rendered (melted) and the scraps are brown. Strain and put 2 tablespoons of the fat in a large pot. Heat fat, add onion and cook slowly until golden. Sprinkle the flour over the onion and cook, stirring constantly for 3 minutes.

Add potatoes and clam juice/water. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Add clams and simmer 10 more minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add milk, butter and salt & pepper to taste.

Heat until butter is melted. It makes 9 cups or 12 (6-ounce) servings.

 

Cook’s Notes:

(1) If there isn’t 2 1/2 cups of clam juice, add water to make up difference.

(2) I use Sea Watch Chopped Sea Clams.

(3) I use Half & Half instead of milk for a creamier chowder.

(4) You can add one can of whole baby clams for added flavor and texture.

(5) Never heat the chowder to boiling or the milk will curdle.

 

Franklin Seafood House Clam Bakes

This recipe is only a general guide. I’ve also added mussels to the bake in the past. Some people (not me) add a whole small octopus. All you have to do is keep in mind that the cheesecloth you’re going to use to wrap the clam bakes in before you add them to the steam pot only holds so much.

 

Ingredients:

8 medium small red potatoes, scrubbed.

1 pound littleneck clams in shell, scrubbed.

1 pound unpeeled large raw shrimp.

4 Corn-on-the-Cob, husked and cut into two or three pieces.

4 Fish fillets (your choice) wrapped in parchment paper.

1 Lobster tail medium size

Directions:

 

In the bottom of a clam & lobster steamer pot, stockpot, steam pot or a large double boiler (size of pot depends on number of bakes) pour water, seafood stock or clam juice. Lay the cheesecloth-wrapped bakes in the top. Cover with lid and bring the liquid to a boil, then simmer over medium-low heat until everything is tender, the clams are open and the shrimp is pink. Serve with crusty French bread slathered with butter and frosted mugs of beer.

 

It really was a great visit and the food was to die for, but that’s always been my experience when sharing a holiday with family and friends.  The food and drink always tastes better when shared. The rest of the month was pretty much like last month except for having to update my fall intern descriptions on-line. At the end of July, I had to say goodbye to most of my legal interns we had volunteering over the last six to eight weeks. They really helped the Alliance for Affordable Energy by updating and organizing electronic energy policy docket files.  It really was a pleasure to get to know these people, who have another year or so to go before taking the Bar exam and becoming lawyers. I wish them all a successful year.

July came and went far too fast for me to really delve deep into what I’ve learned this month as an AmeriCorps/Vista volunteer. Between reconnecting with family after almost two years apart, dealing with roommate issues, shipping my mountain bike from Georgia to New Orleans, and trying to balance work and play while striving to live a healthier life then I have in the past. I continue to stumble here and there with myself and with others, but I do value the experience that July has given me and I look forward to August, and of course, eating more seafood.

 

-Jon Scott, Tulane AmeriCorps VISTA, Alliance for Affordable Energy   

 

Field Report: Carrollton- Hollygrove CDC- Market and Farm

 

 

 

 

Hollygrove Market and Farm is proud to announce the re-launch of its Youth Garden Tour! The tour highlights an urban farm, community garden space, chicken coop and local produce market. By encouraging participating youth to sample herbs and harvest garden produce, the Youth Garden Tour presents a fun and engaging, hands-on learning experience.Our Garden Educator Interns provide lessons on food systems, nutrition and sustainable growing practices. The tour is offered to schools, summer camps and youth programs at no cost and can accommodate up to 50 participants. Visiting groups are encouraged to provide a small donation if they select to receive a garden salad or local produce snack. Hollygrove Market and Farm is currently available to lead tours on Monday and Wednesday mornings between 9:00am and 12:00pm. The summer session of the Youth Garden and Farm Tour will run until August 18^th. Check out the pictures below from some of our recent tours!

 

-Lora White, Tulane AmeriCorps VISTA, Carrollton- Hollygrove Community Development Corporation

 

August Friday Schedule

Friday VISTA Schedule for the Month of

AUGUST

 

3- Service Project

VISTA Site Benjamin Banneker Elementary From 9-3

 

10- Leadership

Training on Age Diversity

 

17- Documentary Series/ Program Evaluation

Partnership Development Series will take place this day as well with our Assistant Director of the Campus Community Partnerships, Amanda Bruberger

 

24- Professional Development

Training with Janet Johnson- Economics of Poverty

 

31- Professional Development

Training with Janet Johnson- Nonprofit Sector

Field Report: ARISE Academy

As I near the close of my VISTA term I hope to leave you with a few wish words that I have learned over the course of this year.

This year is all about trial and error.

So if at first you don’t succeed:

Take a step back.

Examine what went wrong.

Engage in dialogue with those affected.

Re-Strategize.

Get to work.

You will get nowhere or nothing done if you do not build relationships!

In order to build capacity you must be willing to smooze and chat it up with the best of them.

If this is out of your comfort zone, GET OVER IT! Find alternatives ways to network.

This year will stress the poo out of YOU!

Take time to relax.

Whether that is sitting in a closet, reading a book or going to the spa, you’re on a VISTA budget but you can make it work.

 

While there may be days and months that you may not enjoy your site, try to find the glimmer of happiness and hope.

If you do not feel challenged enough, don’t sit around and have a pit party…. Take Initiative.

Think of new task and projects and present them to your supervisor.

It’s about making the most of the year. You’re there for a year, you’ll be fine!

~~~

Well folks, it’s been real! I truly enjoyed sharing my year with each and every one of you.

Time to go into the real world! YIPPEEEE!

-Malliron Hodge, Tulane CPS Education VISTA, ARISE Academy