Academic Enrichment Grant 2023-2024 Project Summary

Laura Koritz

Urbana High School • Urbana, IL

This project will focus on engaging history enrichment experiences for 11th and 12th grade students. Through service-learning partnerships locally and in the Mississippi Delta, students will be challenged to think critically about civil rights, poverty, and slavery’s impact on the world around them. There are three concurrent strands: 1) weekly after-school educational sessions; 2) monthly Saturday builds with our local Habitat for Humanity affiliate; 3) and service-learning trips to the Mississippi Delta.

The goals of the project include: 1) Foster understanding of the legacies of slavery and discrimination in America; 2) Assess the ways people and institutions have attempted to create racial healing and economic justice in the United States; 3) Deepen reflections upon the role and responsibility that each of us has as an American to participate in addressing the root causes and effects of racial and economic problems; 4) Inspire student-centered discussions that refer to experiences from each day to stimulate a thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange of emotions and ideas; 5) Mentor students in building communities in which everyone feels heard, encouraged, and valued, especially in disagreement.

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