Service-Learning and Community Engagement
Service-Learning Initiatives and Community Engagement
National Service Programs:
Bonner Leader AmeriCorps Program
Montclair State University is one of more than 60 colleges and universities nation-wide honored to host a Bonner Leaders AmeriCorps Program. The Bonner Leader Program is part of AmeriCorps, a national service initiative that provides opportunities for participants to engage in community service in return for a modest stipend and scholarship funds. Each year over 100,000 American citizens and college students serve their communities and country through participation in AmeriCorps programs located throughout the U.S.
Bonner Leaders commit to an average of 10 hours of service a week. These hours are made up primarily of service to a community agency or project, but also from activities such as in-service workshops, training sessions, and retreats that address pertinent issues and teach valuable, transferable skills. Bonner Leaders receive a minimum of a $1,400 stipend through the program or, if eligible through the Federal Work-Study program. Bonner Leaders are also eligible to receive a $1,000 education award (scholarship) when they complete their one-year term of 300 hours of community service. This education award can be used to offset educational costs including tuition and student loans.
While the financial aspect is not the primary motivation for individuals to join AmeriCorps, it does provide valuable monetary assistance as well as empowers each student to invest their time, energy and idealism in a positive and enriching experience.
At Montclair State University, the Bonner program has launched the Bonner SPOTS Community Service Resource Room, in an effort to connect students with community partners and volunteer opportunities. The Bonner Leaders also participate in mentoring and tutoring programs with community partners, support charitable initiatives on campus and attend local, state, and national training meetings, retreats, and lead community service projects. If you are interested in information about current service opportunities, complete our online survey.
This year students complete service in the LEAP program, at Northeast and Bradford YMCA afterschool programs, in the Discovery 101 program, and in the Financial Education Corps. The LEAP program is conducted at the Charles H. Bullock School in Montclair, NJ. Members support the after-school by providing support for students in K-5. This after-school program provides academic enrichment and homework help specifically in literacy. Northeast and Bradford YMCA afterschool programs are located in Montclair. Members support the school counselor, YMCA counselor, and teachers in implementing afterschool homework help for elementary aged students. Members serve as mentors to the students and assist with enrichment activities such as art and music. Discovery 101 is mentoring program for developmentally disabled teens in the Montclair High School Transition program. The Discovery 101 program at Montclair State University is an afternoon session with MHS Transition program participants, providing activities, exercises, and opportunities to participate in projects and events to allow for self discovery, companionship, and discovery of new interests. The members work with the participants and other MSU student mentors to provide weekly programming to support social skills development among the Transition program participants. The Financial Education Corps is based in middle schools in Orange, NJ. Members provide financial literacy classes to middle school students in the Orange Public School District, a Title I district. Members teach lesson plans surrounding financial literacy education in the sixth and seventh grade social studies classes in Orange Public Schools. Members will use the Junior Achievement Economics for Success curriculum.
The MSU Bonner Leaders AmeriCorps Program is a collaboration between the Service Learning and Community Engagement program and the Center for Student Involvement.
If you are interested in being a Bonner Leader, please contact Krystal Woolston at woolstonk@mail.montclair.edu
EECO AmeriCorps Program
The Environment, Education, and Community Outreach (EECO) project is a collaboration of Montclair State University's New Jersey School of Conservation, Service-Learning and Community Engagement Program, and Center for Student Involvement. EECO project will work to assist public schools, community- and faith-based organizations, non-profits, and other civic organizations effected by the economic down-turn and the state's economic crisis by leveraging the power of AmeriCorps members to significantly expand the scope and range of MSU's community engagement efforts in order to better serve its community partners.
The EECO program, currently consisting of 15 members for the 2011-2012 grant year, provides outreach through Environment, Education and Community.
Environment: Members are based out of the New Jersey School of Conservation at Stokes State Forest. Members carry out NJSOC's mission to convey knowledge of the earth, educate/cultivate environmentally responsible behaviors, and promote sustainable environmental practices. As such, members conduct environmental education classes for visiting middle school students including water ecology, orienteering, and black bear ecology. Beyond environmental education, members are working to expand and update current programs. Further AmeriCorps programs include bioregionalism, geology, entomology, sustainability/resource conservation, and growing a vegetable garden.
Education: Members are based out of Montclair and Orange public primary schools. Members hold teaching assistantships in various subjects including art, ESL, language arts, math, music, and science. Members also assist with various extra curricular activities including after school programs, sports teams, school musicals, science Olympiad and other recreational activities.
Community: Members are based out of Montclair State University and the Montclair YMCA. Members focus on promoting a healthy, happy and engaged community in various ways. Primarily, the members at MSU aim to get college students involved with community service, by developing and implementing service projects. The member at the YMCA works primarily with middle school students in the aftercare program and focuses on nutrition education.
Besides serving at primary sites, all EECO members meet often to collaborate on additional service projects, leadership and professional training.
If interested, please contact Bryan Murdock at murdockb@mail.montclair.edu
Montclair Community Farm
In 2010, a project to develop a campus community garden was launched with funding from Capital One Bank. The mission of the MSU Community Garden is to educate, promote, and engage campus and community constituents in sustainable gardening practices, nutrition, environmental awareness, stewardship, and civic responsibility in cooperation with other non-profit groups that work with community gardens; to provide community garden space; to create safe spaces for community interaction and education; and to create local sustainable food sources for area food pantries. Toward this end, Montclair State is partnering with the Montclair Community Garden Coalition and their Miller Street Community Farm. The Miller Street Farm seeks to engage youth in personal and social change through local, sustainable agriculture. By growing vegetables for sale at a low-cost farm stand, the project strives to increase access to healthy, affordable fresh produce for lower income residents of Montclair, benefit the social/emotional and physical health of the youth farmers, and enhance the environment of neighborhoods throughout the community. The Farm is situated on small plot of land nestled in a residential community in south Montclair that is owned and donated by HomeCorp, a local affordable housing non-profit agency and a long-time community partner of Montclair State University.
Other Service-Learning Programs:
Emerging Leaders Learning Community (ELLC)
The ELLC is a living/learning community focused on leadership development and community service. Students in this program live in Blanton Hall together and take four classes in the fall semester of their first year, including Psychology of Leadership, College Writing, Fundamentals of Speech, and New Student Seminar. Residents also participate in weekly service-learning projects tied to the Psychology of Leadership class, leadership seminars, retreats, and conferences throughout the academic year. Between 85 and 100 students participate in this program each year.
Leadership Development through Civic Engagement Minor
Through engagement in the wider community, this multi-disciplinary minor assists students from any major in developing the knowledge and skills to enhance performance in current and future leadership roles. Students develop competencies in three areas: setting direction; aligning and motivating people, and managing complex challenges. Through the applications of these competencies, students address important life issues, and develop a deeper commitment to using knowledge and skills in the service of the public good. Speakers, faculty, and students discuss what leadership is and what it looks like in today’s global community. Currently there are 22 students registered in the minor. If interested, please contact Bryan Murdock at murdockb@mail.montclair.edu and Ken Brook at brookk@mail.montclair.edu.
Bringing Theory to Practice
The Bringing Theory to Practice Project (BTtoP) is an independent project established in partnership with the Association for American Colleges and Universities, and funded by the Charles Engelhard Foundation with additional support from the Christian A. Johnson Endeavour Foundation and from other foundations, individuals and institutions.
MSU was awarded a grant in July 2007 to develop and implement a demonstration projects titled: Expanding Capacity for Engaged Learning across Montclair State University: Building academic, personal, and civic development through a Service Leadership Program. The BTtoP grant provided $90,000 to develop, establish, and begin assessment of an interdisciplinary, cross-divisional leadership development program, including a leadership minor. The project’s vision is to engender and institutionalize a philosophy of civic engagement and creative leadership in students, to enable them to develop collaborative solutions to pressing issues facing today’s communities. The strategy for achieving this vision is to build the infrastructure and programming necessary to transform and add to existing resources at MSU, creating an integrated nexus of service and leadership, and utilizing a continuum of curricular engaged learning experiences and co-curricular service and leadership programming.
Silver Scribes
Silver Scribes, a writing workshop for senior citizens funded by the Wallerstein Foundation for Geriatric Life Improvement. The Silver Scribes program is a collaboration of the Montclair Arts Council’s Creative Aging Initiative, the New Jersey Play Wrights Theater, MSU’s service-learning program and the Little Falls Senior Advisory Board. Fifteen seniors from Montclair Township participated in Silver Scribes during the summer of 2009 and 17 Little Falls seniors will be enrolled in the workshop between April and June 2010.
