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Books & Beyond Executive Summary

 

Project Aims

Books & Beyond aims to connect students from across the world through education, understanding, and teamwork. 

 

Overview

Books & Beyond is a collaborative project of the Newark Collegiate Academy (Newark, New Jersey), Indiana University’s Global Village Living-Learning Center (Bloomington, Indiana) and Kabwende Primary School (Ruhengeri province, Rwanda).  Books & Beyond is an innovative, newly established project which promotes intercultural communication, literacy skills, advancement of education and service-learning by engaging students in authoring, illustrating, publishing and marketing children’s books and/or a collection of short stories.  Working in pairs, IU’s Global Village students mentor Newark Collegiate Academy high school students and together the partners develop children’s books and short stories to be sent to Rwanda.  These books, along with teacher training guides and professional development workshops being developed for Kabwende Primary, will serve as models for the Rwandan students to create their own books.  The Rwandan students’ books will be sent back to the United States, compiled in an anthology with the existing stories from New Jersey and Indiana, and will be sold with the profit from the books returned to Kabwende in Rwanda.  Along the way, students are acquiring skills in authoring books, mentoring and collaborating, intercultural communication, grant writing, documenting and fundraising. 

 

About the Partners

 

IU’s Global Village Living-Learning Center is a residence hall for 112 students interested in learning languages, cultures and increasing global awareness.  Twenty five Global Villagers are participating in the Books & Beyond project.  Participants are majoring in Linguistics, Languages, Education, Policy Analysis, Non-Profit Management, Business and more.

 

 

Newark Collegiate Academy is part of the TEAM Charter Schools.  Located in Newark, New Jersey, TEAM Schools mission is for every student to go to college.  With only 9% of Newark residents receiving a higher education, these students are rising above the odds.  Newark Collegiate Academy students are 96% African American and 4 % Hispanic; they attend school from 7:25-5:00 p.m. and 4 hours on Saturdays.  Sixteen NCA students are participating in the Books & Beyond project.

 

The Kabwende Primary School located in the Ruhengeri Province of Rwanda serves 2300 students’ ages 5-17 years old.  Students go to school for half a day where four people share one text book.  Even without electricity these students are determined.  Studying French, English, reading and math they hope that with their education they can create a better life for themselves and their families.

 

Accomplishments to Date

Since officially beginning the project in Fall 2008, Books & Beyond has:

·       Provided mentoring workshops with the IU Office of Leadership to 25 students living in the Global Village

·       Matched 16 Global Village students with 16 Newark Collegiate Academy students to be writing partners

·       Developed a partnership with Professor Beth Samuelson from the IU School of Education.  Professor Samuelson will be developing the teacher training manuals and giving workshop to teachers at Kabwende Primary School

·       Held writing and illustrating workshops with the IU and NCA students using video technology

·       Raised awareness about the project by meeting with IU departments including the IU Foundation,  IU Office of Admissions, Kelley School of Business, School of Public & Environmental Affairs,  Department of Telecommunications, African Studies, and School of Journalism

·       Received grants from Indiana Campus Compact and Do Something.org

·       Partnered with International  Education Exchange to provide additional training for the teachers at Kabwende Primary School

·       Raised $6000 towards a Spring Break trip for Global Village students to meet face-to-face with their Newark Collegiate Academy Writing Partners

·       Raised funds to transport NCA students to and host at Indiana University in Fall 2009

·       Secured English training in Kinigi, Rwanda for the Kabwende School’s teahers

 

Benefits and Goals

 

Newark Collegiate Academy serves 96% African American and 4% Hispanic students.  79% of the students qualify for free and reduced meals.  Although TEAM Schools, of which Newark Collegiate Academy is a part of, strives to prepare their students to climb the mountain to college, with only 9% of Newark residents earning a bachelors degree, the students at NCA lack tangible role models who have attended college.  Not only has access to college-educated role models been difficult for the students, historically the socioeconomic and ethnicity of NCA's students has been a factor in access to higher education.

 

Books & Beyond not only provides students with a college-age mentor and friend, it also provides a forum in which students in Newark can voice their concerns regarding the ethnic and economic factors that have prevented many of their family members and neighbors from attaining a college education.

 

Furthermore, the planning and completion of a book or story with a current college student will help students at NCA see the level of rigor (but also tangible outcomes) involved in college-level work and planning.  Completing the project will not only be college preparation, but will also help to make the American “college experience” real through one-on-one collaboration and mutual visits by each group to the other’s school.  The demands of college will no longer be something only their high school teachers speak of.  Book & Beyond, coupled with their mentor relationship will help to move college from their dreams to a real, living, breathing project and location.  Indiana University will be a place where they have taken tours, met with students, visited classes, met faculty,  stayed in dorms, and worked side by side with their soon to be college peers.

 

Every Global Villager has the opportunity to volunteer for the Books & Beyond project.  For our inaugural year there are 25 volunteers who are divided into 4 roles: Writing Partners, Collaborators, Documenters, and Consultants.  The student volunteers have committed to taking part in this project for the rest of the academic year and through the summer.  The 16 Writing Partners have been paired with 16 NCA students.  Over the course of the year they have weekly communications with their partner.  It is estimated that they should spend 1 to 2 hours a week communicating and working on their story via e-mail, face book, Skype or over the phone.  Over spring break the GV Writing Partners will be going to Newark to put the final touches on their stories.  Writing Partners learn skills in mentoring, authoring, communication and project organization.  The 5 Collaborators support the work of the writing partners and are there throughout the process to help any group that needs it, whether it is with story ideas, writing, illustrating or just giving their opinion.  The Collaborators are also charged with developing a pen-pal relationship with the teachers at the Kabwende School and serving as experts on Rwanda.  The Collaborators learn skills in editing, communication, and research.  Collaborators dedicate an hour a week to working on the project.  The 3 Documenters are recording the entire process:  taking pictures, conducting interviews and coming up with promotional videos.  Documenters are committed to working on the project at least 1 hour per week.  Documenters learn skills in interviewing, videography, and editing.  Finally, Consultants help with specific task as needed.  Currently we have Consultants working on illustrations as well as fundraising/grant writing.  Through this program, students gain a broader sense of community and the ability to see their place in the world as active citizens, and learn the importance of communication, mentoring, and team work. 

 

In Rwanda, the Ministry of Education recognizes that for students to be successful in the 21^st century they must be able to converse in English.  The Ministry of Education recently set policy requiring all schools to teach English (the official language in Rwanda is French).  With limited number of teachers who speak English, implementing this reform is a challenge.  Kabwende Primary School being in a rural area faces increased challenges.  With no running water or electricity 2300 students in grades 1-6 are trying to get an education.  They share one book for four children and attend school for only half a day.  In addition to providing each student at Kabwende School with their own book, the project hopes to tea

 

Related Links:

• Books & Beyond Blog
• Books & Beyond Photos from Rwanda
• Books & Beyond Facebook Cause
• Books & Beyond YouTube

* YouTube video views since this project was published at TrueHero.com