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Brevilier Bridge Project

REACH grant proposal submitted by Iroquois High School.

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PSLA Special Education Application

Name of School: Iroquois High School
Name of School District: Iroquois School District
Name of School District Business Manager: Kim Smith
Name of person submitting grant: Carol Heid
Title/Position: Teacher
Title of Project: Brevilier Bridge Project
# of Students participating: 25
Dates of project: March 5, 2001-June 1, 2001

REACH Grant Proposal

A. Vision
Brevilier Bridge, a community service project that will be implemented in a nine-week community service elective course, consists of eight relationships-building activities for the residents of Brevilier Village, a nursing home facility in Erie County. Through hands-on activities, community service students will build an intergenerational bridge with the older population in their community. At the completion of this project, residents of Brevilier Village will have a better understanding of young adults while the community service students will learn the value of helping the elderly in their community.

B. Project Design

Community Need:
The Brevilier Bridge project meets several needs of the community. According to the Profile of Americans 2000, the number of persons over the age of 65 years numbers 34.5 million. In Erie County alone there are over 38,000 elderly citizens. This older population will continue to grow significantly in the future and by 2030 there will be 70 million older persons in America. New services, sensitive to the varying needs of older Americans, will have to be addressed. The benefits of the Brevilier Bridge project are to fulfill a need for high school students to learn the value of supporting the elderly, which ultimately serves the good of the community. Since senior citizens and high school students rarely work with each other, they have little or no awareness of the other group's uniqueness. There is a need for them to have more opportunities to interact with each other, to be sensitive to each other's needs, and to communicate effectively with different generations. This weekly experience can assist students in practicing good citizenship as they become familiar with the issues of the aging in their community and nation.

Program Design
This project will begin in the community service classroom. After students are introduced to the Brevilier Bridge project they will begin evaluating the needs of the elderly in America. Students will read, chart, analyze, and graph information about the challenges and concerns of the aged in their community. This will include a discussion on the residents' limitations, visual impairments, hearing challenges and agility problems. Then, they will plan intergenerational activities, which would include reading the newspaper to groups, writing letters for residents, playing games, directing craft activities, or simply carrying on a conversation with a resident. Finally, students will be matched one-on-one with residents from Brevilier Village who choose to be involved in the project. Students will also prepare small gifts and treats for the residents, which they will bring each visit.

Participant Roles
Residents of Brevilier Village: 25 older persons who are receiving assisted living care and live are Brevilier Village.

Community Service Students: 25 heterogeneously grouped tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade students who represent a diverse cross-section of our students population will act as planners, facilitators, evaluators, and learners.

Partnership:
The social goals are to develop a partnership among different populations of the community, make students visible in a positive way outside the classroom, promote student caring for others, and inspire enthusiastic involvement in the community. Community service students will partner with the senior citizens one-on-one for 75 minutes once a week for eight weeks as they learn about limitations and needs of older people and practice good citizenship in their community.

C. School To Work
Community service students will be introduced to the field of gerontology and nursing as they work closely with the elderly at Brevilier Village. Also, each student will be required to keep a portfolio to document his/her work and responsibilities at the skilled-care facility, This will include post-secondary job skills such as the following: writing agendas, memos and texts; conducting research; manipulating pictures and text using computers; communicating with different populations of the community; and reflecting on process and product outcomes.

D. Academic Connection
The educational goals of the Brevilier Bridge project are to increase students knowledge of the concerns and limitations of elderly citizens, design high-quality activities that meet the needs of the target group, and apply critical thinking, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills in planning the intergenerational programs. These goals all align with the Iroquois School District community service curriculum, which is based on Pennsylvania standards.

Pennsylvania academic standards met will include:
5.2.12 Civics
A. Identify individual civic rights, responsibilities and duties in systems of government.
B. Evaluate the importance of knowledge to competent and responsible participation in civic life.

SCANS foundations are evident throughout the project as students work through the various stages of the program. Participants will problem solve as part of the planning stage for their visits to Brevilier Village. Students will demonstrate understanding, friendliness, adaptability, empathy and politeness in new and positive view of themselves as they make a positive impact on the lives of the residents of Brevilier Village.

Outcomes:
Community service students will
· Read the selected materials on the elderly
· Plan appropriate activities and strategies for the elderly
· Solve problems that arise through team-building strategies
· Complete assigned jobs on all phases of the planned visits
· Present weekly hands-on activities for the residents of Brevilier Village
· Develop an intergeneration relationship with senior citizens
· Write post-presentation reflections
· Document participation in a community service portfolio

Brevilier Village participants
· Participate in all planned activities
· Develop an intergeneration relationship with high school students
· Develop a feeling of being appreciated and needed in the community

Reflection:
After each presentation, students in the community service class will complete a reflection about their service activities. This can take the form of a journal entry, collage, newspaper article, poem, videotape, etc. It should answer the following questions: What was the impact of my efforts? What did I learn? How could I have improved my visits with the residents? How do I feel about my involvement in this service-learning project?

E. Youth Voice
Responsibility and initiative are key components of the community service program. Community service students will be responsible to implement the Brevilier Bridge project. Students will be expected to select and plan all activities, present and work one-on-one with the residents on each hands-on project, and evaluate their own efforts at the conclusion of each visit. Student's grades will be based on completion of their own efforts at the conclusion of each visit. Student's grades will be based on completion of their portfolios documenting their work in the Brevilier Bridge project. The results of their participation will be a contributing factor in their success in the community service classroom.

Proposed Budget

Ladlaw Transportation
9 visits for 1.5 hours per visit $30.00 per hour $405.00

Misc. food items for projects $45.00

Misc. craft items for projects $50.00

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