Library Afterschool Program Recognized by White House

This morning at the White House, Pima County Public Library's afterschool program called Word Journeys was recognized as one of the top 15 programs in the nation, awarding the us the prestigious Coming Up Taller award. Program Director Marge Pellegrino and one of the program's teen volunteers from Amphi High School attended the awards ceremony and received the award from First Lady Laura Bush.

Marge and I have known about this since July and it has been a little bubble of joy for both of us -- and very hard to keep secret!

Word Journeys hires teens from Amphi High School to mentor elementary school children afterschool during the school year. Each week the high school students help plan a workshop based on a picture book story that includes, writing, art, and oral interpretation, and includes explorations of the library and its treasures.

For the last two years children and teens from Tucson's Somali Bantu refugee families have been included in the program, children who were born in the refugee camps and had known nothing else. Their English skills have improved so dramatically that fourth-grader Hawa told me she bravely defended Obama's tax policies when her school teacher told the class that Obama would raise everyone's taxes. She was very proud to have voted in the library's recent "Kids Vote" election.

Local coverage:

• Tucson Citizen
• Arizona Daily Star
• PCPL News

Other coverage

• Mrs. Bush's speech at the ceremony
  
• CEP News
  
• Coverage of the ceremony and the other finalists

Coming Up Taller is an initiative of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, along with the Institute of Museum and Library Services, National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities to showcase cultural excellence and enhance the availability of out-of-school arts and humanities programs to children.

Update: Marge just called, and they were interviewed after the ceremony by the local affiliate for Fox News! So cool. A representative of one of our recent funders was also there, someone from the Arizona Commission on the Arts.

And here (above) is the first ceremony photograph!

More to come, I'm sure.

Word Journeys, an afterschool program

One of the things I get to do in my new job is to help with the special programming that my library is involved with. Many of these programs are targeted to specific populations, and so are not always visible to the community. Word Journeys is one of those programs.

Word Journeys is an arts and humanities afterschool program taught by the inimitable Marge Pellegrino, and run in conjunction with the Amphitheater School District. Every Thursday this school year, Marge helped teens from Amphi High School put on a multidisciplinary program for children from two area elementary schools. Three of the teen mentors and half of the younger children are recent immigrants to Tucson: Bantu refugees from Somalia.

The teens plan and setup the weekly workshops, encourage the younger students, model listening and participatory behaviors, journal, and reflect upon the week's experience. Each workshop includes a story, a writing springboard, and time for sharing, as well as time for mentors and mentees to explore the library via books and targeted activities. The photo on the left is from this year's big celebration for which the children created displays of their writing and artwork, and took turns reading from their favorite project. I have more photos on my library's Flickr account.

Much of the intensity of Word Journeys comes from the long-term relationships that this program fosters, along with projects designed to elicit heartfelt responses to the eternal questions of humanity: How do I have compassion for others? Who am I in the world?, and How can I make the world a better place?

I love my job.

Homage to Marge

One of the inspirational people I work with is Marge Pellegrino, the author of My Grandma's the Mayor, and several other books for children. Marge is the founder and director of our Word Journeys program, an ambitious after school workshop where high school students mentor elementary school students in writing, art, and speaking skills.

Marge's Word Journeys projects are deep ones. They're designed to elicit heartfelt responses to the eternal questions of humanity: How do I have compassion for others? Who am I in the world?, and How can I make the world a better place?

The format of the workshops includes a reading, listening, and writing exercise, a paper craft or sculptural activity related to that exercise, a treasure hunt for relevant and meaningful items in the library, and finally a time sharing the work. After the younger students leave, the teen mentors write and share their thoughts, impressions, and feelings.

For example, after listening to the book For Every Child, mentors and children discussed how each of the basic human rights of children made them feel. The students were asked to translate those into a cause and effect with similes, for example: "When you keep me safe, I feel warm like a barn fire on a cold night." Each student created a collaged quilt square; when they were through, their square was tied to every other child's in the group to make the "quilt."

Another workshop used the book On the Day You Were Born by Debra Frasier to set up an activity that asked the students to create a story and image about the day they were born.

This year Marge suggested that we try something new. She proposed that half the teens and half the younger children be from Tucson's growing Somali Bantu refugee population. By doing this she hoped not only to include the children, but also to build bridges in the schools between "mainstream" children and the Somali kids, who often feel isolated in the classroom and on the playgrounds.

Why an homage to Marge today? Tomorrow we celebrate the end of the seventh year of Word Journeys at a party at the Woods Branch Library. The children will do presentations to everyone about one of their projects, and I will present Marge (shhhh!) with a plaque that commemorates our selection as a semifinalist for the White House's 2007 Coming Up Taller Award.

Another reason for this homage is her recent Op Ed for the Tucson Citizen entitled "At age 40, Woods Library defines 'home'" that perfectly describes what is so exciting about today's public libraries. Here is an excerpt:

Over the past 40 years, Woods has come to look a lot different, inside and out. The programming and offerings have kept up with the ever-changing technology and the diverse population that flocks to this fourth-busiest branch in the county.

People from 39 countries, from every continent except Antarctica, call Woods their branch.

Inside, high school mentors work with elementary students in literacy activities. Homework Help invites children to find help they might not be able to get at home.

Moms network and learn from each other and experts. Neighborhood groups hold meetings.

Anyone can come in and spend time on a computer, or browse the collection, the magazines, check out a movie.

It's a place for lifelong learning, a place from which parents sometimes need to drag their children because they don't want to leave.

[...]

From the fresh flowers on the desk to the library associates who can call neighborhood kids by name, Woods is a bright spot in the neighborhood.

Come celebrate Woods' 40th anniversary from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 19.