Jennifer Jacobson
"When Children Save The Day®"

$2,500

The 2004 Brimstone Award of $2,500 to WHEN CHILDREN SAVE THE DAY® was restricted to support the Residency at Crocker Farm Elementary School, a Title 1 School in Amherst, Massachusetts. In addition to working at Crocker Farm, in 2005 I brought WCSD Residencies to two other third grade classes and to a pre-school. Each Residency varied in terms of content and time spent at the school.

This report focuses solely on the Residency at Crocker Farm, which took place during the school day, in a single third grade classroom. Twenty-one students, a Supervising Teacher, a Graduate Student and three or four translators participated in the project. One third of the students were English language learners. Crocker Farm is considered among Amherst’s most socio-economically and culturally diverse schools.

In the Brimstone Application, the original Residency was to take place in school over five days. In reality, I spent 15 one-hour sessions in the classroom, at least 15 hours of prep-time with the teachers and over 200 hours in my office creating lesson plans, support material, evaluations, programs, press releases and funding documents to support the program. The project began in January and culminated in May.

At the school, the Residency consisted of five distinct phases:

Demonstrating a Commitment: Principals and teachers had to write letters of support as part of the Brimstone application. This “buy in” is critical and should be required for every grant.

Research and Outcomes: To better understand the curriculum as well as the social dynamics in each classroom, I met three or four times with the Supervising Teacher, Elaine Stinson and her Graduate Student, Sarah Shaddick, asking them to identify specific goals and outcomes for the project.

Delivering the Curriculum: The first two class visits allowed me to model storytelling. Folktales included “Nyangara, the Python,” “Tipingee,” and Laura Simms’ “Sunman.” The “true stories” I told came from community events, stories that children sent to me, and narratives that I created to reflect a social issue or curricular interest. These included tales about an animal rescue, bullies in the playground, and a child changing schools.

Elaine Stinson describes how the stories helped her class to focus on social action:

These performances were a natural launching point for a discussion about where kids could make a difference. The combination of stories allowed the children to identify what was important for them. Often kids feel like they have to save the burning building but when we unpacked these stories we saw kids doing lots of things. The options allowed us to talk about personal acts of making a difference.

First we talked about needs of the school, then the larger community of Amherst. In our second conversation we focused on what the kids were passionate about, what they would change if they could. We targeted animals and moved from helping the local animal shelter to larger organizations. This was informed by our work in science, studying endangered species, and by our reading curriculum about the Giant Panda. Identifying our social service project was a beautiful way to have a many parts of the third grade curriculum come together.

The class decided to support The World Wildlife Fund with a specific focus on helping endangered animals. Ways the children considered to raise money included a car wash, a can drive, and a babysitting marathon. The class talked with me and I offered one more idea: “How about using your storytelling festival as a fundraiser?” The children were delighted.
At this point, I invited the class to collaborate on a Storytelling Contract to make our work together feel safe. This idea came from Karen Chace’s wonderful handbook Story By Story: Building a School Storytelling Club. The Contract was one more opportunity to foster a cooperative, positive group dynamic. Then, teachers focused on the social service campaign while I taught storytelling techniques. I offered a variety of exercises to get kids comfortable, including mime, improvisation, “and then what?” stories. Other exercises had to do with learning the story, voice, character, pacing, opening and closing. The students worked in pairs, small groups, and were also encouraged to tell in front of the classroom.

Whenever we gave feedback I asked that the children reflect on, “What is working for the storyteller?” “What is strong?” “What they remember?” Students responded with, “I loved the way your voice changed when Grandma came into the story” and, “You moved like a lion when it was his turn to speak.” Children gained confidence in their performance by getting positive feedback from their peers.

At Crocker Farm, the class decided to tell original stories. Elaine and I asked the students to “map” their narratives on storyboards. We chose this technique so they would not get overly concerned about writing and memorizing each word. Mapping was an effective strategy for the proficient as well as less than proficient English language speakers to use. We also had the children use the Story Grammar Marker® which is a tool to guide students through a story.

Performance: After the children felt comfortable performing for their peers, we talked about a larger performance. Where should it be? Who should come? How could this raise awareness for their cause? Once these issues were resolved, I worked individually to get the children ready to perform.

Crocker Farm students designed a performance to showcase their personal stories and to raise awareness about endangered animals. That night I arrived early to help Elaine set up. I thought, “I’ll be happy if half of the class shows up.” After all, it was a warm May evening, baseball practice had started, and this was a new program. It was 6:00 p.m. when I taped up a sign in English and Spanish that read, “Festival this way,” and children started to arrive. They came with mothers and fathers. Grandmothers and great aunts brought food for the potluck. We had to get more chairs. Brothers, sisters and cousins sat on the floor. Every student in class showed up. Baseball was postponed. It was the first time in the history of the school that all of the Spanish speaking families were there.

After the performance, I distributed Storyteller Awards that reiterated the commitments we made to each other in the Storytellers’ Contract, celebrating our work as tellers and activists. These awards hang framed in children’s homes next to athletic trophies. For many it is the first time their efforts in language arts have been acknowledged.

Evaluation: After each performance, I invited audience members to share their thoughts, reactions, and ideas in a “Response Book.” One parent wrote, “This type of program is so important in schools with more and more focus on achievements such as MCAS. Building the social interactions and skills with children at this age establishes a strong foundation for successful adults. The confidence my son, Sam, realized was immeasurable — something we see every day.”

Elaine reflected: “When kids are doing something that they are passionate about, when we create a safe place for group work, the children then create their own energy and it moves beyond the classroom into the community. When kids have a say in what they are learning, where they will focus their energy, when that happens it is very powerful.”

Written evaluations were distributed to teachers asking them to reflect on how their original goals were achieved. The formal and informal feedback provided insights about ways to strengthen the project. This included creating lesson plans for our work together. Teachers also wanted the opportunity to strengthen different parts of the way they conducted the social action component in their classrooms.

Lesson plans, Storytelling Contracts, Storytelling Awards, press releases, programs and evaluations were created and distributed for this project. These were not on-line materials. Copies are appended.

Based on the success of the model in 2005 and support of a growing advisory committee, I am incorporating WHEN CHILDREN SAVE THE DAY® as a 501c3, not-for-profit organization through which we hope to offer the Residency to urban, rural and inner city children. Our goal is to establish an operating fund that will subsidize programming for low income and underserved youth. I am delighted to report that funding has been secured to underwrite legal fees for incorporating along with support to create a WCSD Curriculum Unit (14 lesson plans) articulating ways that project meets and exceeds National Standards for Language Arts.

This represents the first part of a three-year plan to develop the curriculum. Next year, we will create a unit based on service learning and social justice that identifies ways of integrating the project in science, math, social studies, and character education. In 2007, we will draft curriculum that will discuss how to deliver the project in developmentally appropriate ways for pre-K-12 students.

In addition, I will create a Working Committee to advise the Board on best practices for creating a WCSD training program. If Brimstone Committee members have ideas about possible advisors, funding sources and outstanding models, please contact me.

This project was featured in eight articles: Stories appeared in five regional newspapers and three trade publications: HEARSAY, MUSELETTER and NSN’s Storytelling Magazine. Hard copies accompany this report. Sorry, no on-line copies are available.

In addition, the project will be featured on Global Harmony Institute’s website: www.GlobalHarmonyInstitute.org. Global Harmony Institute is dedicated to creating compassionate leaders and giving people the inspiration, resources, and connections to put their compassion into action. This web exclusive can be found on Global Harmony’s home page under “Compassion Circles” and will be on the site through the spring.

Outcomes are arranged into four categories: the Residency, WCSD as an organization, outcomes at Crocker Farm, and in people.
Residency:

I grew brave with possibility as the storytelling community considered funding for my project. The Award itself was a prominent endorsement that filled me with courage every time I had to take a step that I was not sure about, from creating lesson plans to contacting press.

I can’t tell you the number of times I turned to Karen Chace’s manual, Story By Story: Building a School Storytelling Club for all kinds of ideas, prompts, structure, resources. Finding this clear reference book was terrific. Also, reading Storytelling Magazine provided me with profiles on tellers like Marni Gillard and Susan Danoff. This effort was its own reward as most tellers reciprocated with ideas and encouragement.

As an artist I created a clear framework through which to do research, select and develop stories. I gave myself (some) time to read folktales and to develop the true stories that I use in the repertoire.

As an activist I was anchored by the social justice curriculum that Elaine Stinson shared with me. This will forever infuse the work I do.

In addition, as described above, the Crocker Farm performance and when Jenny first spoke in English were high points. Another moment was meeting Elaine for the first time and recognizing a kindred spirit. She brought energy, dedication and passion to the project as it unfolded in her classroom. I wish every teller a collaborative partner just like her.

Finally, hearing people’s response to and enthusiasm for the project, starting with the Brimstone Committee and Cristy West (who has been an incredible mentor in this process) and ending with parents and community members who have contributed many services, resources and time to make this dream come true; this has been a tremendous high point of my work.

So instead I asked for money to test the pilot which meant that I had to do everything at once: mange the school contacts, implement a program, think about the artistic content, make it relevant to the curriculum, support the teachers around the social service piece, figure out the best way to have the students write their own stories, bring together a ‘curriculum’ of storytelling techniques that would enhance the students written as well as oral work, coach students, coach teachers, produce a performance, create and distribute an evaluation, try to find additional hard cash to support the project AND DO THIS ALL FOR THE FIRST TIME. I wish I had known better!

When I think about replication I want to learn from my past and say, the project needs more time, to develop the artistic content, to anchor the program in language arts, to create an easy-to-follow guide for teachers, to define its boundaries, to make the social justice part of the curriculum clear and inviting. I could hand my notes over to another capable teller tomorrow and send them into a school but that would not be doing the project or the teller justice.

WHEN CHILDREN SAVE THE DAY® is a powerful opportunity to use storytelling in project-based learning. It should be able to fit into every school across the country. What it needs is about another two or three years of development (see future plans) to articulate a replicable model that can go anywhere. To that end, I am looking for multi-year grant commitments to develop the curriculum and test the program in schools at various age-levels and at youth service agencies. If anyone on the Brimstone Committee can help with this initiative, you will earn yourself a gold star in the WHEN CHILDREN SAVE THE DAY® hall of good deeds.

I learned that finding your voice is the first step to changing the world. If we commit ourselves to giving children the opportunity to find their authentic voices, (not the ones babbled at them by the media miasma), if we give them an audience and if give a sense of their own strength to make positive choices, then they will change the world.

After each performance, I invited audience members to share their thoughts, reactions, and ideas with me in person and in a notebook. I told them that this feedback was important both for the future of the project and in terms of letting funders know how their money was invested. Parent and student comment sheets are included in this report.

Written evaluations were distributed to teachers asking them to reflect on how their original goals were achieved. To develop this evaluation I met with Roxy Baker of Sun Associates, an organization that conducts District-wide Evaluations of Educational Technology. The Sun Associates workbook for evaluators was an invaluable tool from which I was able to draft an evaluation that looked at indicators, rubrics and observations as a means of evaluating the program. A sample evaluation and copy of Elaine’s evaluation is included.

The impact of the Brimstone Award is multifaceted. It has been a launching point for me to harness two career paths behind one vision of empowering children to make a difference in the world. A national award from one’s own community serves as an outstanding endorsement for a new project. I hope to be able to use the catalytic effect of the award to leverage additional funding commitments for the project and to provide opportunities for young people to discover their voices, to come to know themselves.

In closing, I would like to revisit my article that was so graciously included in HEARSAY and the Museletter:
At Crocker Farm, close to 100 people gathered to listen to third graders tell stories (in English and Spanish) about how they have made a difference in the community and about how The World Wildlife Fund is helping endangered animals. At the end of this incredible evening, it was my turn to share:

Once upon a time there was a girl who had a dream. She wanted to be a storyteller who could change the world. I am that girl. This is our story and the world is listening.

Thank you for your support. This has been an incredible year.