Spring 2023 Service-Learning & Community Engagement

For students:

– To begin service in Spring 2023, please schedule a meeting with a SLCE Staff member, sites and contact information listed below.
– Our Spring Chartis an active document, please review for changes periodically. 
Please review the Spring Syllabus for PRAC 096.

Our Contact Information:

After reviewing the syllabus and the service chart, you can connect with staff the following ways:

  1. You can reach out to us by phone, in-person, or via our Virtual Lobby and connect virtually with a Shriver Center staff, Monday-Friday, 8:30am – 5pm. https://umbc.webex.com/meet/shrivercenter.

2. Visit our staff’s appointment calendars to see if something matches your schedule; if not, email staff directly.  Meetings can be held virtually or in-person at The Shriver Center. That preference can be determined upon scheduling your appointment.  Please review sites below:

Eloise Grose:  Access Art @Morrell Park Elementary, BARCS, 4H@PAL, BUGSS,  Chemistry Tutorial Center, Choice College Night, Choice at Ben Franklin High School, College Gardens, Digital Harbor Foundation, Hillcrest Elementary School,  IHU/TRS Peers, OrchKids, RYP, Lakeland Math Coaches,  Global Brigades, Alternative School Break, Frederick Rescue Mission, Long Reach High School-Adult ESOL, St. Agnes Hospital, STEMCX, Supplemental Instructors, The Children’s Home, Thread, UMBC Reach Together, UMBC VITA, Walden Circle, Paul’s Place Hot Lunch, Paul’s Place After-school Mentoring (George Washington Elementary School)

Emily Passera: Arbutus Achievers, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, Creative Coders, Lakeland Higher Achievement Center, Relay Elementary School, Shriver Living Learning Community, UMB CURE Scholars, Best Buddies, Pink Space Theory, Student Ambassadors

Emily Paul: The Aafiyah Project, Esperanza Center, Latino Racial Justice Circle, IRC, Great Kids Farm, and Soccer Without Boarders

  • Email directly at empaul1@umbc.edu

Lori Hardesty:  France-Merrick Scholarship Program and the Shriver Living Learning Community

Transportation?

– Opportunities you might be interested in:
  • Local schools (Arbutus Middle School, Relay Elementary School, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School)
  • Other institutions of higher education (UMB CURE Scholars Program)
  • UMBC/Shriver Center collaborations with partnering schools (the Sherman Center for Early Learning in Urban Communities’ Early Literacy Program with Bay Brook Elementary/Middle School and Curtis Bay Elementary/Middle School; the Sherman STEM Scholars with Lakeland Elementary/Middle School)
  • Non-profits (Esperanza Center; Reading Partners, which is connected to a number of schools throughout Baltimore, Great Kids Farm, BARCS)
Arbutus Achievers, Arbutus Middle School, “End of Semester Celebration,” Fall 2019.

 

Interested in taking a community engagement course, SOCY 396 in Spring 2022?

This course is offered in both fall and spring semesters and is taught by Shriver Center Director Michele Wolff.  This Spring, class will meet virtually, beginning mid-March 2022, Mondays 1-1:50 pm.  It is offered for up to 3 credits, and is pass/fail.  For those with a course conflict, Mondays 1-1:50pm, there is an option for an independent study.  For SOCY 396, 096 Prac Community Service & Learning is a co-requisite!  The 096 Prac placement must first be established before permission for SOCY 396 will be given.

For Faculty:

Applied learning experiences are meaningful to all stakeholders. In early 2020, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching designated UMBC with its distinguished Carnegie Community Engagement Classification. Carnegie defines Community Engagement “by essential elements that inform identities, relationships, processes, and outcomes with external partners.” Key elements are reciprocity and mutuality/mutual benefit.

An increasing number of courses include community engagement to create meaningful experiences for students, faculty, and the broader community. If you are considering including 096 Practicum as an expectation and/or option for your Winter or Spring 2022 courses, please be in touch with Assistant Director Eloise Grose at elgrose1@umbc.edu as soon as possible to ensure that expectations are clear for your students to be successful in their community engagement.  If as Faculty, you are interested in collaborating on a course, at this stage, let’s begin planning for Summer 2023 or Fall 2023.

 

For potential new SLCE Partnerships:

SLCE’s Vision is in alignment with UMBC’s Vision to redefine “excellence in higher education through an inclusive culture that connects innovative teaching and learning, research across disciplines, and civic engagement. We will advance knowledge, economic prosperity, and social justice by welcoming and inspiring inquisitive minds from all backgrounds.”

In early 2020, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching designated UMBC with its distinguished Carnegie Community Engagement Classification. Carnegie defines Community Engagement “by essential elements that inform identities, relationships, processes, and outcomes with external partners.” Key elements are reciprocity and mutuality/mutual benefit. Community voice was essential for Our Partnership Values, Principles, & Practices.

Diversity of partnerships supports the following student learning objectives for UMBC students:

  • Increase awareness of community assets and needs
  • Enhance sense of social responsibility
  • Increase ability to critically self-reflect and learn from experience
  • Increase self-confidence and self-awareness
  • Develop leadership skills
  • Increase intercultural awareness and perspective-taking
  • Strengthen interpersonal communication and collaboration
  • Enhance clarity of educational and career goals.

If you are interested in partnering with the SLCE team this semester, please contact Eloise Grose elgrose1@umbc.edu or Emily Passera epassera@umbc.edu. Requests received beyond September 2022 will also be considered for Winter 2022/23 or Spring 2023 semesters.