Chicago-bound students raising funds to get there
By BEVERLY FORD
Friday, January 22, 2010 1:06 PM CST
beverlyford@ddtonline.com
GREENVILLE — Students from Solomon Middle School are raising money for a trip to the Windy City.
Greg Claus, Solomon art teacher and trip coordinator said the trip is to enhance student’s perspectives.
“This is not just art students who are going to Chicago,” said Claus. “The students had to apply for the trip, and these are definitely students who show the promise of improving and are working to have the best education they can.”
Claus came up wit the idea for the trip from his own memories of middle schools when his school would trek to Washington, D.C., and from a teacher workshop he participated in last summer.
“Back in class with my students, I learned many of my students had ties to Chicago, but they really weren’t sure why in some cases,” said Claus. “And I’ve also read about the ‘great migration’ of people from the southern states to the northern cities for employment.”
Claus said students have been studying about the more than seven million African Americans who left the social and economic woes of the South behind, beginning more than 80 years ago.
“This was the Great Northern Migration, and many of these people who left the South, settled in Chicago,” said Claus. “And this trip out-of-state will be the first for Solomon Middle School in many years.”
The trip for 20 students is scheduled for the spring break holiday, March 12- 16, and students will travel Amtrak via Greenwood to Chicago.
Claus said students are slated to visit the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago History Museum, Shedd Aquarium, Navy Pier and the Federal Reserve Bank.
“We’ll be staying in the heart of the city, so we’ll be walking or taking public transportation wherever we go,” he said. “The city will be our classroom. And there is a lot of excitement building with the students.”
Claus also said students will take a tour of University of Illinois at Chicago and the Columbia Art College.
“Before we go to Chicago, we’ll be looking at things with the students to look for in a college,” said Claus. “We want them to have all sorts of ideas and be aware of their options when it comes time to choose a college.”
The cost per student for the trip is $403, which includes transportation, hotel and admission to various venues. Claus said they have received group discounts on some activities and that others are free.
Students have been raising money for the trip and have planned additional fundraisers like a Krispy Kreme donut sale.
Claus said individuals in the community have been generous with donations.
“We still need funds to help get these kids to Chicago,” he said. “They’ve worked hard and I’m proud of their efforts.”
Claus is part of the Teach for America program. Several Teach for America teachers set up the Corps Member Education Fund, which Claus said is to help teachers plan and fund out of classroom enrichment experiences.
Donations can be made to CMEF, Solomon’s Great Migration Team, Attn: Greg Claus, 521 S. Washington Ave., Greenville, MS 38701, with checks made payable to CMEF with “Solomon Great Migration” in the memo line.
Solomon Great Migration
*Logo designed by 2011 Great Migration participant Jameese C. and her brother.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Donate to Support Our Trip
So far, we have raised $1200 in direct contributions. We have a goal to raise $9000 by March! Check back to our website for updates on our fundraising progress.
You may also write a check, made payable to the Corps Member Education Fund, with "Solomon Great Migration" in the memo line. Checks may be sent to:
Solomon's Great Migration Team
Attn: Greg Claus
521 S Washington Ave
Greenville, MS 38701
Thank you in advance for your contribution! All donations are tax deductible.
Donations may be made online to the Teach For America Corps Member Education Fund (CMEF), a non-for-profit fiscal intermediary that is managing our funds. ALL contributions will go directly to support our trip.
You may also write a check, made payable to the Corps Member Education Fund, with "Solomon Great Migration" in the memo line. Checks may be sent to:
Solomon's Great Migration Team
Attn: Greg Claus
521 S Washington Ave
Greenville, MS 38701
Thank you in advance for your contribution! All donations are tax deductible.
About Our Trip
Over eighty years ago, seven million African Americans from the South fled Jim Crowe, boll weevils, and the Great Flood of 1927 to pursue new opportunities in Northern factories and the service industry. Many of these migrants were from Mississippi and settled in Chicago. To teach about the historic journey of the Great Migration, we propose a field experience for Solomon students to travel to Chicago and learn about the importance of this time in American history. Students today are coming of age with many new technologies, yet fail to see history’s relevance or impact upon their lives. The Great Migration 2010 trip will focus on the extensive social, geographic, economic, and political changes that occurred as a direct result of the Great Migration in the early 20th century. Students will discover these changes are not isolated experiences rooted in the past. Rather, these are changes that have ramifications for today's world. One example is that many students have family members who still live in Chicago and other northern cities.
Now in 2010, Solomon Middle school plans to follow the historic path of migration north to Chicago, to learn about this epic time in American history and its impact upon our daily life. Prior to departure, students would research the Great Migration. African American artist, Jacob Lawrence, captured this experience of his parents and other African Americans traveling North in his sixty painting series entitled “The Migration Series.” In addition, students would research their family’s personal connection to the Great Migration through an oral history project, interviewing family members.
Traveling north via Amtrak, we would leave Greenwood and arrive in Chicago, just like African Americans traveled north on the Illinois Central Railroad eighty years earlier. Once in Chicago, we would spend time visiting the Chicago History Museum (which includes an interactive exhibit about the Great Migration), the Monument to the Great Northern Migration, Art Institute of Chicago and several colleges (University of Chicago, University of Illinois at Chicago, Columbia College of Art). During the trip, students will record their experience with a journal that will serve as a place to take notes and sketches. Upon return, students will synthesize their experiences (on the train, in Chicago, and their research on the Migration) into an exhibit for public display.
Now in 2010, Solomon Middle school plans to follow the historic path of migration north to Chicago, to learn about this epic time in American history and its impact upon our daily life. Prior to departure, students would research the Great Migration. African American artist, Jacob Lawrence, captured this experience of his parents and other African Americans traveling North in his sixty painting series entitled “The Migration Series.” In addition, students would research their family’s personal connection to the Great Migration through an oral history project, interviewing family members.
Traveling north via Amtrak, we would leave Greenwood and arrive in Chicago, just like African Americans traveled north on the Illinois Central Railroad eighty years earlier. Once in Chicago, we would spend time visiting the Chicago History Museum (which includes an interactive exhibit about the Great Migration), the Monument to the Great Northern Migration, Art Institute of Chicago and several colleges (University of Chicago, University of Illinois at Chicago, Columbia College of Art). During the trip, students will record their experience with a journal that will serve as a place to take notes and sketches. Upon return, students will synthesize their experiences (on the train, in Chicago, and their research on the Migration) into an exhibit for public display.
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