Community-School Interactions

Ms. Saidi – Semester final Project.

Project  description below these links …

• U.S. Census home
• U.S. Census fact sheet – 48126 Fordson Zip code
• School Matters - compare school data

• Google news
• Google scholar

• Leadership Video – play from home  (YouTube blocked in school)
• Urban school awakening Video – play from home

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Community-School Interactions

Semester Final Project (80 points)

http://blog.dearbornschools.org/fhslibrary/?p=472

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

In an attempt to demonstrate all that you have learned in class this semester as thinkers and writers, your “Final Exam” grade will be based on your work developing a final project which focuses on community development/improvement.  As we have discussed in class, there are many societal ills in the world which will only be corrected if analytical, moral citizens stand up for what is right.  Empowering you as the youth of today and leaders of tomorrow, I ask you to:

• get to know your community and surrounding areas through collected data (census data, school performance data, etc.)
• analyze the data to identify problems within our community
• analyze the data to identify potential causes for the identified problems
• select a specific problem you and your team wish to tackle
• and create an intervention to fight this problem which has negatively impacted our community.

There is no more honorable proof of a quality education then to move for positive action and trust that the necessary intellect and motivation to do well is present.

Required components:

• (50 points) A research paper which articulates the reason for your choice of community intervention:
• Your paper will be graded following the rubric you’ve used for your analytical papers—strong grammar and supporting your statements with proof is most definitely expected.  Additionally:
  • states a clear thesis which identifies the community problem your intervention is designed to fight
  • defines the community you are working with (demographics, population, any other expositional information your reader would need in order to understand the rest of your paper)
  • identifies proof of the existence of this problem (data, research on effects of said problem)
  • defines WHAT your intervention is exactly with lots of details
  • explains HOW your intervention would combat the problem you identified in your thesis
    • (20 points) A presentation which visually presents what you have explained in your paper.  This may include a

movie, a PowerPoint presentation, a detailed storyboard including data, etc.  Be original and think outside the box.

• Your presentation will be graded using the same rubric used for your Literature Circle presentations
  • 5-10 minutes
    • (10 points) Rough pack complete with all research and all of your rough drafts.  Make sure to keep all work.

Tips:

• Start early!  Choose your teammates, begin your research, and print out research documents TODAY!  We will have a research day on Wednesday in the library, but this is too late if you wait until then to begin your research.  Remember we have Monday off next week.
• Choose your teammates wisely and divide the work according to the different skills and abilities within your group.  Also, MAKE SURE TO ALWAYS LOOK OVER EACH OTHER’S WORK!  It is a group grade.
• The more specific you are in your research and your thesis, the clearer your paper will be, hopefully.
• Hard work and confusion is to be expected.  Remember an “A” represents mastery.  The default grade is a “C” –for an “A” you must demonstrate some level of originality.  But I warn you now as I’ve warned you in class; if you value the work and DO NOT chase the grade, the grade will follow.
• Use the link above to take you to a set of links for your research.