A Proposal for

Common Knowledge: Pittsburgh

from

Morningside Elementary School

1802 Jancey Street

Pittsburgh, PA 15206

412 665-4995

Submitted by

Diana Armstrong, Principal

Janine Heiser, Fifth Grade/Spanish Teacher

Kelli Moreno, Parent

Amy O'Neil, Third Grade Teacher

Bonnie Richards, Learning Support Teacher

Jacqueline Rosenthal, First Grade Teacher

Anita Sadler, Art Teacher

Michael Sciomacco, Music Teacher

Patricia Seligman, Second Grade Teacher

Julie Swartzentruber, Librarian

Lucy Ware, Fourth Grade Teacher

Jody Wolfe, Parent

Tony Woods, Kindergarten Teacher

March 1997

Table of Contents

Executive Summary i

Problem Statement 1

Instructional Activity 2

Project Team 6

In-Kind Contribution 8

Implementation and Evaluation 10

Appendices

A: Letters of Intent from Project Team Members and Partners

B: Sample Staff Survey Form

C: School Profile

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In honor of its one hundred year history and in keeping with our school motto, "The New Face of Tradition," Morningside Elementary School plans a long-term, multi-grade, interdisciplinary project called "Timelines." During the school day, all students will take part in curriculum-based studies that build on their own personal and family history and extend to include their community, their city, their country, and their world. At the same time, with the collaboration of our feeder schools and the support and assistance of parents and community organizations, we will create an educational and cultural resource center in our school library that will be available several evenings a month as a place where families, neighbors of all ages, business people, and our partner groups can come together as a community to continue their growth as life-long learners.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Morningside Elementary School (M.E.S) opened this year as a K-5 facility presently serving approximately 135 students. While Morningside is a well-established Pittsburgh neighborhood with many long-time residents, the community is isolated from many resources and services such as public libraries, universities, municipal facilities, businesses, and cultural institutions.⁽¹⁾ Many of our students are aware that such resources are "out there," but they don't see the connection to their own lives and education, and they don't currently perceive of themselves and their community as part of the city and region.

Some of the children from our classrooms have experience with video game technology but do not think of using computers as a tool to gather and generate information. There are no facilities in the community which provide instruction in or access to computer and internet technology, and only 24% of our students have computers at home, so many of them come to us as "computer illiterates."

In addition, most of our students' parents work outside the home and have limited opportunities to visit the school during the day and to interact with their children's classmates, teachers, and with other parents. Because of the lack of resources available within the community after school and work, parents, children, and other community people do not have convenient access to libraries and cultural facilities to bring them together. We want to make our school resources available to our students and the community as an educational center--a place for people of all ages and backgrounds to come together where they can use our library for reading, study and socialization and receive instruction and assistance in using our internet connections.

We envision M.E.S. becoming an important educational and cultural center for everyone in the community and a place where all are welcome to continue their growth as life-long learners.

INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITY

Our project uses network technologies as a means to research, analyze, and publish information about the history and ethnic heritage of the neighborhoods of Morningside Elementary School (M.E.S.). Our school's emphasis at all grade levels and subjects is based on the standard elementary curriculum adopted by the Pittsburgh Board of Education and on student-centered activities. Each grade has one self-contained classroom (one teacher for all academic subjects). All students also have regularly-scheduled periods for art, music, physical education, and library, and students identified with special learning needs have access to the Learning Support classroom.

With computers and internet access available in each room, students and staff will be able to connect with other classrooms, other schools, other cities, and other countries. As the students gain knowledge about the Internet through their study of family and community history, they will become familiar with the research capabilities (and limitations) of network technologies. Using world wide web (WWW) browsers, newsgroups, and electronic mail, teachers will also benefit from open communication on the network, thus diminishing traditional classroom isolation. The goal of this study--and rationale for needing the internet--is to provide our students and their families with another means of accessing data that spans generations, reaches out beyond the boundaries of the school and its community resources, and enables children to see that a computer is not a toy but an instrument that can gain them access to the world.

As stated in our Comprehensive Education Improvement Plan (CEIP), we want to help our students learn how to learn, to build skills that will transfer to their future schools and jobs, to develop independent work and study habits, and to build self-esteem through success on each grade level and in all subjects, academic as well as the creative arts. The availability of computer and internet resources to facilitate our interdisciplinary Timelines Project will motivate our students to develop valuable research and critical thinking skills. With the assistance of teachers, parent volunteers, and our partner organizations, they will learn to collect and synthesize data, to discriminate between relevant/useful information or biased /extraneous information, and will practice summarizing and presenting what they learn in a clear and concise manner. They will observe firsthand how quickly information changes, will practice note-taking and interview skills, and will have access to a wealth of resources beyond our library and classrooms to read and study. Students will also be giving information back to their neighborhood and city through their research, their interviews with current and former residents of their community, and the collection of historical artifacts.

In our interdisciplinary Timelines Project, all students will learn about local history and culture in many ways. Many activities--such as collecting oral histories, learning about careers, and making a school/community quilt to represent our rich multi-cultural heritage--will cross all grade levels and will actively involve the community. Other "Timelines" objectives are tied specifically to the curriculum at each grade level and are designed to build on students' previous experiences and prepare them for the following grade(s).

"Timelines" projects tied to specific curricular emphases include the following:

LANGUAGE ARTS -- Students will:

• Use the internet to gather information about the settings for the stories in their reading book, and compare and contrast those settings with their own.
• Exchange letters, notes, and pictures over the internet with pen-pals in the places in which their stories and social studies lessons are set.
• Use online library catalogs to see if a book used in the classroom can be found at the Carnegie Library and to locate additional books by a favorite author.
• Design an interview form that could be used by our students and our Peabody High School student partners and posted on our internet site for neighbors, community members, and parents to share their recollections of local history.
• Visit regional history archives through the internet and interview local historians, seeking primary and secondary sources of information in order to examine the lifestyles of Pittsburgh residents 100 years ago.
• Publish an online newspaper about their "Timelines" discoveries with ongoing additions and updates.

SOCIAL STUDIES -- Students will:

• Use the WWW to research the ways people live in the different cultures they read about (e.g., food, clothing, houses, celebrations, languages).
• Research topics related to their own ethnic heritage using internet and print resources.
• Make maps of their school, community, and city, and compare and contrast their work with contemporary and archival maps they locate online.
• Use e-mail to contact other CK:P schools to generate online dialogue about the various holidays, cultural events, and celebrations that may be taking place within our school and others.
• Search the internet for the names of famous Pittsburghers to find out how their lives have enriched our country and community.
• Use internet and print sources to research their own genealogies, and determine if any descendants of the original colonists are living in our community.
• Exchange e-mail with the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation and other local cultural organizations, university archivists, and businesses for historical information about the major industries, immigration patterns, living conditions, prominent entrepreneurs, and other influential individuals in Pittsburgh's past.
• Predict what types of careers, building styles, transportation, and schools will be common in our community in the future, and post those predictions as part of an online "time capsule."

SCIENCE -- Students will:

• Download daily weather data (temperature, precipitation, and wind speed) using the internet.
• Research a local bird species or other animal to find facts to include in a report; "visit" online zoos and aviaries housing the animals they are studying.
• Use internet resources to obtain the current acreage of tropical rain forests, deserts, or other habitats studied in order to note patterns over time.
• Examine the history and structure of bridges, particularly those near our school. This will include real and "virtual" field trips and the making of models.

MATH -- Students will:

• Become knowledgeable about geometric terms and concepts and converse online and in person with civil engineers concerning bridge construction.
• Graph downloaded weather data throughout a day, week, or year to note averages, changes, and patterns.
• Design a survey asking community people how long they have lived in the neighborhood; use a computer database to tally and graph the results.

ART -- Students will:

• Access various museums (such as the Smithsonian) via the WWW in order to find specific examples of the particular period or style which they are currently studying as well as to broaden their knowledge of the art world in general.
• Draw or scan images of their work to post on the school's art web page and exchange ideas with students from other schools who might be studying the same things.
• Study the architectural styles and building materials presently seen in Morningside and compare them with those in Morningside's past and in other parts of the city and state (as seen on the WWW).

MUSIC -- Students will:

• Use the WWW to explore how music has changed in the last one hundred years.
• Download MIDI (Musical Instrument, Digital Interface) software applications from the internet and use these to perform and compose music.
• Compose a new school song in honor of our school's hundredth anniversary and place it on Morningside Elementary's web site.

LIBRARY -- Students will:

• Use the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh 's online catalog to identify fiction books set in the eras and cultures they are studying and to identify fiction and nonfiction resources to help with their class research projects.
• Post book reviews (of their historical fiction and nonfiction books) on our school homepage.
• Receive training in online search strategies and appropriate use of the internet.
• Serve as "tour guides" and internet tutors for their parents and neighbors who come to use the library during extended hours.

SPANISH -- Students will:

• Practice their written Spanish by communicating via e-mail with Spanish students at Frick Middle School and Schenley High School and with Spanish-speaking students from other states and countries.
• Serve as pen-pal tutors to help native Spanish-speakers with their English.
• Survey Morningside residents about the languages they speak at home and graph the results.

PROJECT TEAM

Our Morningside Timelines Project was designed and will be implemented by the entire faculty (11 teachers), the principal, and several parents and community representatives, with the very active support and collaboration of the developmental advisor, school support staff, and numerous additional community organizations (see Appendix A).

Being a new and relatively small school, we knew it was essential to include all stakeholders in our plans for this project from the beginning. Two faculty members who had previous experience on the technology team of another Common Knowledge: Pittsburgh (CK:P) school initiated the idea of responding to CK:P's request for proposals, but their enthusiasm quickly spread to the rest of the staff and several parents. As we discussed our ideas in faculty and community meetings and during informal conversations, our pool of ideas for curricular activities and potential contacts rapidly expanded. We went as a team to visit the Peabody CK:P site, and also talked with individuals on the current project teams at Frick International Studies Academy and Carrick High School, asking them what has worked well for them and how we could profit from their experience.

We envision a two-part approach to our Timelines Project. During the regular school day, teachers--working with parent and partner-school student volunteers--will implement the curricular portions of the plan, outlined above under "Educational Activity," and during the evenings, our students' families and other "wired community" members will be working and learning together in our extended day library resource center. (See the "Implementation and Evaluation" section for more specifics.)

Each classroom and special subjects teacher is primarily responsible for planning the specific developmentally-appropriate telecommunications activities that will enhance each grade's curriculum. Our block schedule allows teachers to collaborate with each other and arrange for cooperative learning experiences between classes, and our plan to place computers in every classroom will enable students to use computer technology and telecommunications in numerous ways on a daily basis. Since we have a full-time librarian in the building, whole classes and smaller groups of students will also be able to come to the library during open periods to do research and receive additional training and practice using the computers and internet for their parts of the Timelines Project.

Staff training will be presented by current staff members--with the collaboration of CK:P staff and personnel at other CK:P sites--in small group sessions customized to individuals' skill and comfort levels with computer hardware, software, and telecommunications. (See a sample staff survey in Appendix B.) The staff members who are already knowledgeable and experienced in each area will help teach and mentor others who are beginning, and we will publicize opportunities for school staff and our partner organizations to take special internet classes offered through CK:P and other school and community organizations.

Members of Morningside School's Timelines Project Team are introduced below:

Diana Armstrong, principal, is looking forward to communicating with her teachers and colleagues in other schools across the district and country via e-mail. Because she is aware of the curriculum and activities in each class and is already the main link between our school and the parent and community groups with whom we work, Ms. Armstrong is also in the ideal position to serve as our site coordinator for the Common Knowledge: Pittsburgh (CK:P) project.

Janine Heiser, fifth grade and Spanish teacher, is looking forward to using the vast resources available through the internet to expand her students' horizons, particularly in the areas of Social Studies and Spanish.

Kelli Moreno, PTO president, and Jody Wolfe, Parent-School-Community Council representative, will help to recruit volunteers and publicize our "Wired Community" extended-day resource center.

Amy O'Neil, third grade teacher, has previous experience at a CK:P site where she taught her intermediate students to locate and use appropriate materials on the WWW to enhance their studies. At Morningside, Amy will assist with staff training and curriculum implementation.

Bonnie Richards, half-time learning support teacher, works with all students identified with special learning needs and will help the rest of the staff to incorporate activities appropriate for those students.

Jackie Rosenthal, first grade teacher, has been teaching primary children for 5 years and is eager to incorporate simple online research and e-mail communication into her curriculum..

Anita Sadler, half-time art teacher, will introduce students to the many art-related resources available through the internet and will collaborate with classroom teachers on planning ways to connect the art curriculum with their classroom Timelines Project studies.

Michael Sciomacco, Morningside's music teacher, is a long-time computer user and has already brought two computers into the school to increase students' access to technology. He will be responsible for implementing the music portions of our instructional activity and will assist with staff training.

Pat Seligman, second grade teacher, has taught word processing for many years and is looking forward to learning more about using the internet effectively with young children.

Julie Swartzentruber, librarian, has been using the internet for several years and has previous experience on the project team at a CK:P school. Since every student comes to the library two to four times each week, she will be able to do much of the basic instruction in how to use internet resources effectively. Also because of the flexibility of her weekly schedule, Julie will serve as the M.E.S. useradmin and the local facilitator for staff and parent/volunteer training.

Lucy Ware, fourth grade teacher and Instructional Team Leader (ITL), will be guiding fourth-grade students' use of the internet, as well as assisting other teachers with curriculum and management concerns.

Tony Woods, the kindergarten teacher has 18 years of early-childhood teaching experience and has used computers with young children for eight of those years. He will assist with staff and volunteer training and will serve as a consultant for other teachers on the primary team.

IN-KIND CONTRIBUTION

We envision our school and library becoming an important educational and cultural center for everyone in the community and a place where all are welcome to continue their growth as life-long learners. The principal is committed to providing the schedule flexibility needed to carry out the teaching plans for our Timelines Project. She is also exploring ways to provide flex time for the librarian and other staff members to be on hand during the evenings our school resource center is open to the community. The M.E.S. Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) and our Parent-School-Community Council (PSCC) have agreed to provide volunteers, as has nearby St. Raphael's School.

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (CLP) Youth Services division and Pennsylvania Department are enthusiastic about sharing their wealth of materials and information with us--through field trips, teacher visits, and their online "Bridging the Urban Landscape" exhibit--and are also looking forward to adding the fruits of our research and interviews to their collection. Vintage House in East Liberty already has internet access and their clients will be e-mail pen-pals and interviewees for our students. Staff and clients at Vintage will assist our students with collecting oral histories and posting them on our internet site through their Pittsburgh Project. The Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, the Heinz Regional History Center, and Gateways to the Performing Arts are delighted with our plans to increase children's awareness of their community's history and culture, and will assist us particularly in the areas of architecture, exhibits of local artifacts, and integrating the arts into our Timelines curriculum.

Several other Pittsburgh Public Schools have also volunteered to collaborate with our Timelines Project in various ways. Peabody High School has agreed to assist us with information from their Career Pathways studies and possible student volunteers to help tutor young computer users and to assist with interviews of older members of our community. Frick International Studies Academy will provide e-mail pen-pals for our Spanish students. Carrick High School will be a resource for helping us set up a home page for M.E.S. alumni news. Amy O'Neil (third grade) and Anita Sadler (art) have made contacts with individual teachers at Phillips and East Hills Elementary CK:P sites who are eager to do electronic work exchanges and critiques with our students in the areas of writing and art.

Once the program is underway, we plan to invite local colleges and businesses to send volunteers to help with upgrading staff members' computer skills and assisting community members as they use the computer/internet resources in our extended day program. We might be able to offer neighborhood businesses free publicity on our web page in exchange for help of any kind (monetary, material, or human resources) with our Timelines Project.

Our building is already partially wired for internet connectivity, so a greater-than-normal portion of the CK:P grant funds can be dedicated to purchasing computer hardware and equipment.

IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION

As stated above, we envision a two-part approach to our Timelines Project: a curriculum-based interdisciplinary study during the school day, and an extended-day community library/resource center open after school hours. The Timelines Project team will meet at least once every six weeks throughout the next two school years to assess our progress with implementing the project and to adjust our objectives and time-frame as necessary.

During the first two months of our project, teachers will receive basic computer and basic internet training in small group sessions customized to individuals' skill and comfort levels, as described under "Project Team." Staff members who are already knowledgeable and experienced in each area will help teach and mentor others who are beginning, and we will also invite our partners and volunteers to participate as learners and/or trainers as appropriate. Simultaneously, during the regular school day, teachers--working with parent and partner-school student volunteers--will begin to implement the curricular portions of the plan, outlined under "Educational Activity." Classes at all levels will start working on the areas of the overall Timelines plan that are not computer and internet-dependent (such as interviewing family members or inviting guest speakers), then will gradually add the internet-specific activities as students' familiarity with basic computer and telecommunications skills increases. Individual teachers will be responsible to design a classroom management plan to provide equitable supervised student training and access to the computers in their rooms, and will need to communicate regularly with each other about their classes' progress. Because the Timelines Project is built around students' personal and family experiences, we anticipate that they will be intrinsically motivated to take ownership of their projects and see them develop into a finished product. Samples of each student's work will be maintained in a cumulative "online portfolio" throughout the grades.

Secondly, during the 1997-98 school year, we will host several community open houses in honor of our school's 100th anniversary. Community members, alumni, and our current students' families will be invited to bring photos, memorabilia, and stories from Morningside's past. At that time, we will present our Timelines Project to the community as a whole and will invite them to participate in our extended day library resource center. The school library will be open at first only one or two evenings a month, but as community participation grows and our pool of trained volunteers expands, we hope to extend this to one or two evenings a week.

1. M.E.S. is a neighborhood school, but because of the complex nature of school feeder patterns, only 51% of our students actually live within the boundaries of the Morningside neighborhood as defined by the city of Pittsburgh. Another 28% live in East Liberty, 11% in Garfield, and 5% each in Highland Park and Stanton Heights. Throughout this proposal, whenever we refer to the Morningside neighborhood or to "our community," we actually mean all the physical neighborhoods in which our students live.