“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.” This quote by Margaret Mead compellingly conveys and furthermore mirrors the roles that students at Connecticut College are playing as they impact not only the lives of others within our community, but also their own — ultimately changing this world one life at a time through the Extended Learning Time Program (ENRICH) here on campus.
“The State of Connecticut is looking at ways to increase learning and close achievement gaps, and with the partnership between the Ford Foundation and the Time Learning Center, to create extended learning time that is both active and engaging,” said Associate Dean of Volunteer Services Tracee Reiser. Dean Reiser said this program was a “pilot” offered to Connecticut College, made available for this semester only as a way to test whether it would be effective in closing the achievement gap and in boosting the learning of middle school students from the Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School in New London. The students selected for the program “needed extended learning time, particularly around liberal arts types of experiencess, in hopes of sparking an interest in an engagement in education and strategic reading,” explained Dean Reiser.
One hundred children are currently enrolled in this Monday through Thursday program, for which they are divided in two groups. The children that attend the program at Connecticut College on Monday and Wednesday then stay after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays to work on very specific strategic readings with their teachers. The students enrolled in this program are able to be involved in activities like swimming, basketball, visual arts, music, language, dance and poetry, an eclectic group of subjects that provides a transition from the confines of their middle school to a place where they can express themselves individualistically, each through his or her own medium.
In an interview with The College Voice, Dean Reiser clarified that “most of the educational programs and partnerships that we do are geared towards inspiring a love of education, closing the achievement gap and helping students develop a sense of what college really is.”
Not only does Dean Reiser want to inspire the children to come to Connecticut College, but she also wants them to realize what it ultimately takes to get into college. Through various activities including conversation, relationship building and very specific workshops, all of which are offered by the program, Dean Reiser hopes that their achievement and confidence increases, while visions and hopes for their own futures expand.
“For me, the best part is working with the kids. It is so wonderful for them to be proud of the work that they’re doing. To be able to have them show me, to show their mentor, to take it home and show their parents and say ‘I created this,’ is powerful,” said Marline Johnson ’13, a workshop leader who collaborates with students to create art projects they can feel proud of. For Johnson, collaborating with students in creating art is a “healing or a therapeutic process.” This belief served as an impetus for her to become a workshop leader in the ENRICH program. Seeing this program sustain itself is one of Johnson’s hopes, because the children involved “get so much out of it physically, culturally and artistically…all wonderful things that [the children] are probably not getting in school at a sixth grade level, and might only be available to them later in life.”
Some wonder why the local middle school students come to Connecticut College, as opposed to students from CC going to their school. Johnson said, “Being that [the children] are on a college campus, they get to see that life is not all about books, about studying or being in the classroom. We do so much else outside of the classroom at Connecticut College. I do a cappella, I work, I do art, which gives them the sense that there is a life outside of studying, and that I can still thrive and do wonderful things, too.”
“ENRICH has had a profound effect on me and my outlook on service work. When a child tells you that you’re their best friend and that you’ve helped them learn a style of reading that works for them, it’s nearly impossible not to feel a sense of accomplishment imbued with a warm feeling that you’re making a significant difference in these children’s lives,” said Michael Murgo ’15, a volunteer in the ENRICH Program.
Murgo has worked with his group of mentees to learn South African dances, write songs, swim and learn about civics, in addition to improving their reading and homework skills.
“Previous to ENRICH, I hadn’t worked with OVCS or done as much service work as I would have liked. Now that I’m part of it, I feel that it’s rounding out my liberal arts education and providing me with a new perspective on service work that I’ll take with me even after graduation,” said Murgo.
So if you happen to be at Harris on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday around 2:30 pm and see a school bus letting off jubilant youths eager to express themselves, or waiting to pick up children that have just done so, know that they are going to or have gone to a place where they have learned and will continue to learn—not just (in the kids’ own words) about “Chinese words and culture,” “how to control anger in different ways” and “theater and acting”—but also about themselves.
