A tradition continues with teaching, learning and kindness (Ashley Jones – Smithberger Farms)

2021-2022 School Year (In-Person Learning) Story written by Darla Cutright for APS

Smithberger Farms of Randolph, Ohio is a fourth-generation family farm beginning in the 1950s. David & Tina Smithberger’s daughter Ashley Jones is a fifth-grade teacher within Akron Public Schools (Portage Path CLC). Ashley wanted to find opportunities to bring agricultural experiences to the urban school and students. While the district was 100% remote during the 2020-2021 school year, the Smithberger family donated 180 mini pumpkins to the school’s drive-thru fall festival. This year, Mrs. Jones’ classroom watched videos about why pumpkins are orange and why we decorate them at Halloween. They also enjoyed reading the book, How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?

            The Smithberger’s shared the humbling experience of gifting the students with a pumpkin and the joy that the small gesture brought to the school and community. This year, the Smithberger family farm doubled their pumpkin seeds in hopes of donating more mini pumpkins to the school drive thru event. On October 21^st, the family donated over 200 mini pumpkins to the school’s fall harvest event. This partnership continues to receive positive feedback from the school community and hopes to grow in the years to come. “It is such an amazing opportunity to bring joy to the students at my school through a small piece of our farm”, said Ashley Jones.

2020-2021 School Year (Remote)

Gratitude is often a focus of classroom writing assignments during the month of November, but also something we think about as we celebrate Thanksgiving. With all the changes in our lives this year, it may be easier to focus on what we are missing rather than what we have. Fifth grade teacher Ashley Jones started focusing on gratitude a year ago and has tried to pass it on to her students. “I donated 180 mini pumpkins to the school,” said Mrs. Jones.

            Last October, Mrs. Jones decorated her classroom (when we were actually in classrooms) with multi-colored ears of corn and corn stalks, as well as pumpkins, all grown on her family’s farm. The Smithberger farm in Randolph has been in Mrs. Jones’ family for 70 years. Her family has cows and pigs, as well as produce such as corn, hay, and pumpkins, including what Mrs. Jones brought to decorate her class. “We grow them every year, all sorts.

Last year at the end of October, she raffled off the decorations for students to take home, not sure if any of the students would be interested. But all the decorations were a big hit. When Mrs. Jones saw how much the students enjoyed the decorations as well as the pumpkins, she decided to set a goal to plant enough mini pumpkins this year so that every student in her class could take one home. “I purposely planted more mini pumpkins last spring in hopes of having enough for my class.”

            Mrs. Jones enjoys sharing information about her family farm with her students. As they study and learn about agriculture, pollination, and the differences in urban, suburban, and rural communities, their teacher makes the connection to her real-life situation. “It’s hard for my students to realize that crops that we grow, raise and sell, are only a half-hour away,” said Mrs. Jones.  Some students noticed different warts or coloring on their pumpkins and wondered about it; this was a great opportunity to research the cross-pollination that had occurred with the gourds that were growing nearby.

            Mrs. Jones also discussed the process of growing the pumpkins, beginning with planting the seeds.  When it was time to harvest them, the whole family helped. “It took a couple of hours (to pick them). You have to cut them one by one so you don’t break their stems,“ said Mrs. Jones.

Mrs. Jones’ father helped wash the pumpkins after harvesting them, and he and her husband helped load them into her vehicle to bring them to Portage Path. Mrs. Jones passed them out to students who attended the October Family International Storytelling Night at Portage Path CLC. She also brought six big pumpkins for decoration that she shared with others at the end of the night. “Seeing the reactions on the kids’ faces was a really cool experience,” she said. “It was something small. I really hope it made a difference and brightened someone’s day,” said Mrs. Jones. She’s already planning to plant enough pumpkins next year to have enough for every student in the school.

Thanks, Mrs. Jones. Portage Path CLC is grateful for you.

CLASS Act Scholars of Summit County – SEI

 

The CLASS Act Scholars of Summit County is a program that combines the CLassroom Assessment Scoring System® (CLASS®) with free coaching, mentoring and professional development for an exclusive group of 20 early educators working in Summit County preschools. Chosen for their commitment to furthering their own professional development, this selective group of preschool teachers represents a wide range of preschool settings in Summit County.

Apply Now! CLASS Act Scholars Class 3

Summit Education Initiative is happy to announce that our CLASS Act Scholars of Summit County application is now open! We are very excited to begin working with the third class of scholars later this year. If you are a Summit County preschool teacher interested in joining the CLASS Act Scholars of Summit County Class 3 (2019 – 2020), submit your application at the link below!

APPLY HERE

Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. on June 14.

Additional Information

Click on the links below if you are interested in learning more about the CLASS Act Scholars program or application process:

• Preschool Teacher Flyer
• Preschool Director Flyer
• CLASS Act Scholars Brochure with Important 2019 – 2020 Dates

Find stories about the CLASS Act Scholars at this link.

For more information go to: seisummit.org

 

Glover Students Sell Newspapers, Donate Profits to Project Rise

The Glover Gazette Team and Project Rise staff take a picture together to celebrate the Gazette’s hard work!

 

This year Project Rise was the grateful recipient of The Glover Gazette’s annual newspaper sales. The Glover Gazette is the product of a wonderful team of teachers and volunteers who were able to inspire a talented group of young students to create and sell a school newspaper every month of the school year.

Early Educators Help Increase High-Quality Teacher/Child Interactions

Story reprinted courtesy of Summit Education Initiative

 

Elevate, celebrate and support are three items on the agenda of a new, exclusive group of early educators.

CLASS Act Scholars of Summit County is a new program that combines the Classroom Assessment Scoring System® (CLASS®) with free coaching, mentoring and professional development for a group of 20 educators working in Summit County preschools and child care centers. Generous funding from GAR Foundation, GPD Group Employees’ Foundation and PNC Foundation will support CLASS Act Scholars’ pilot year and beyond.

Education is the ticket to achieving the American Dream for Bhutanese refugees in Akron

Story By Tom Crain

“In the beginning,  I was really freaked out,” confesses ninth grader Sabbitri about her first couple months transferring mid-year from a Nepali refugee camp school to Akron’s North High School.  “I couldn’t get the combination on my locker to work. The other high school girls had beautiful makeup and clothes and wild hairstyles in all different colors. They were always laughing and texting each other. They were so much happier and prettier than I was.”

The transition from Nepal’s refugee camp schools to America’s public schools is a challenge for most Bhutanese students like Sabbitri.  The Nepali government places a strong emphasis on its monastic-style of teaching where its Bhutanese refugees go to school, providing nine years of free education for them. Lessons are taught in British English and Nepali.