Project Challenges 4th Graders To Design Bridges and Pathways Between Community, College

杏十八鈥檚 Center for Community Engagement is working on a youth engagement collaboration designed to bolster college and civic readiness in partnership with UC Berkeley鈥檚 Y-PLAN and San Rafael鈥檚 Youth in Arts.

This spring semester, students from Dr. Emily Wu鈥檚 Service-Learning course have been engaging with students at San Rafael鈥檚 Laurel Dell Elementary school in a real world challenge related to the theme 鈥淏ridges, Gateways and Pathways to College and Community.鈥 

For that challenge, the children are studying symbolic and real bridges to probe and expand the links between themselves as individuals, their school, their neighborhood, college, and the City of San Rafael.

The fourth grade students recently visited the Dominican campus to present some of their work to university faculty and administrators, including Dr. Mojgan Behmand, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty.



The campus visit was an opportunity for the Laurel Dell students to explore the Dominican campus and engage with students, staff, and faculty. Dr. Behmand shared her personal story with the students and then issued the Y-PLAN/ Youth in Arts project challenge that the fourth graders will be grappling with for the next two months: 鈥淲hat are the pathways, gateways, and bridges that will lead you from your home and school to college and beyond 鈥 and how can the people at Dominican University help?鈥

Dominican President Nicola Pitchford and Dr. Behmand will visit Laurel Dell in May to hear the students鈥 visions and recommendations.

Y-PLAN (Youth 鈥 Plan, Learn, Act Now) is a K-12 civic youth engagement strategy developed by UC Berkeley鈥檚 Center for Cities + Schools (CC + S). 

This collaboration enriches Dominican鈥檚 long-time partnerships with schools and non-profit organizations serving the San Rafael immigrant communities and contributes valuable community knowledge to increase access and a sense of belonging for BIPOC students.

The Laurel Dell students were accompanied to campus by Dr. Shirl Buss, Youth In Arts instructor and creative director of CC+S, and John Seligman, fourth grade teacher. The group was greeted by Dominican alumnus Pepe Gonzalez, former Laurel Dell principal and now Director of Community Partnerships for San Rafael City Schools. The Dominican team includes Julia van der Ryn, Executive Director of the Center for Community Engagement; Lily Servin, La Vida Dominican student & Summer Bridge Program Coordinator; Dr. Emily Wu, Assistant Director of Community Outreach and Project Development; Dr. Lucia Leon, Assistant Professor of Latino Studies; Lynn Sondag, professor of art and Honors Program director; and Dominican students Alyssa de la Cruz and Isaiah Amaranto.

Through their Service-Learning course at Dominican, Alyssa and Isaiah are working with Y-Plan, supporting Shirl Buss, while working with the fourth graders in the classroom at Laurel Dell. Alyssa and Isaiah hosted visits to Dominican鈥檚 science and nursing labs, while Sondag led the fourth graders through the campus art studios.

Photo above of biological sciences major Alyssa de la Cruz '23 working with Laurel Dell students in Dominican science center classroom.
 

You May Also Like