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Netter is celebrating 30 years! Join us this Saturday for Homecoming,
and throughout the year!
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A fall celebration at Andrew Hamilton School showcased Penn’s flourishing University-Assisted Community Schools initiative
Below is the lead in to a recent feature in Penn Today by Lauren Hertzler. Read the full story here.
Liz Magill—only three months into her tenure at Penn—made her way to a bustling Andrew Hamilton School in West Philadelphia, about two miles from her office at College Hall. The Netter Center for Community Partnerships’ Fall Celebration, which this year kicked off special programming for its 30th anniversary, made for a perfect opportunity for Magill to take a dive into all that encompasses University-Assisted Community Schools (UACS).
After meeting with Hamilton’s Principal Torrence Rothmiller and dedicated K-8 teachers, as well as Penn students, faculty members, and staff involved with the Netter Center, Magill was bursting with pride: “It’s already clear to me what an amazing school this is,” she said. “The energy, the commitment that I detect, it’s palpable and very exciting.”
Magill, who was also able to see some UACS programming at Hamilton firsthand, continued: “I think partnerships—that is to say working together for a common cause, learning from one another, hearing each other for the greater good, to improve something—that’s the key to success for everybody, always, and this school and this effort is really a wonderful illustration of that.”
The Netter Center and Hamilton have had a strong partnership for many years, and in 2017, a full-time UACS site director from Penn joined the Hamilton team. Today the UACS program boasts eight total elementary and high schools in West and Southwest Philadelphia. UACS site directors each lead a team that facilitates, coordinates, and supports programming for students, families, and the community that takes place during the school day, after school, on the weekend, and throughout the summer.
“From the beginning of the day through the evening, year-round, we are partners,” said Bianca del Rio, the Netter Center’s executive director of UACS programs.
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Join us this Saturday for Penn Homecoming featuring Arts and CultureRegister & view full schedule HERE. Walk-ins at Netter events welcome!
Drop-In Service EventSaturday, October 22, 2022, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm EST, Locust Walk near College Green and The Button
Join the Netter Center and fellow alum in making care packages, including designing handmade cards, for West Philadelphia children and families served by the Baring House, People’s Emergency Center, and Youth Service, Inc., as well as area homeless shelters. All welcome to stop by!
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| University-School-Community Partnerships through Arts & Culture co-sponsored by Netter and Penn Live Arts
Sat., May 14, 2022, 2:30 - 3:45 pm EST, Harold Prince Theatre, Annenber Center (3680 Walnut)In celebration of the Netter Center's 30th Anniversary, join the Netter team and partners for a lively panel discussion and short performances by Penn and West Philadelphia students showcasing arts & culture activities from Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) courses and University-Assisted Community Schools (UACS) programs.
Performances featuring:
- The West Philadelphia High School Jazz Band
- Dramatic monologue by Jaydin Clark C'23, Teaching Assistant for ABCS course "August Wilson and Beyond" taught by Herman Beavers and Suzana Berger
- "Dare to be Sayre" film clip created by Penn students and Sayre High School students through ABCS course "Ethnographic Filmmaking" taught by Amit Das
Panel featuring:
- Hakiem Ellison, C’22, Netter Center Emerson Fellow [moderator]
- Emily Dunuwila, MS.Ed candidate, Interdisciplinary Studies in Human Development and Silverman Fellow at the Netter Center
- Deborah Olatunji, C’24, Host of the Voices of Disruption Podcast, ABCS student, SNF Paideia Fellow, and Imagining America JGS Fellow
- Leslie Roman, C’23, Teaching Assistant for "Music in Urban Spaces" ABCS course taught by Molly McGlone
Following the program, enjoy a post-performance reception in Annenberg's Feintuch Family Lobby while viewing project and poster displays from additional arts, culture, and humanities partnerships.
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Guest Column | Two students highlight the benefits of civic engagement with the Netter Center
President Magill encourages students to participate in Netter Center's Academically Based Community Service courses and Penn Leads the Vote.
Penn Leads the Vote conducted efforts across campus to inform the Penn community about how to register to vote, check their registration status, and more.
Deborah Olatunji is one of eight undergraduate students nationally to be awarded the 2022-2023 Imagining America/Joy of Giving Something Fellowship.
The community school concept has been around for a while, but the pandemic reinforced the importance of providing support to families and students to enhance learning. This New York Times article also featured the role of higher education institutions and the Netter Center's University-Assisted Community Schools Network; approximately 70 universities are now part of the effort.
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Graduate Student Fellows in the News
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As a Provost Graduate Academic Engagement Fellow (PGAEF) at the Netter Center, Kikut developed an ABCS course that worked with high school students and Penn undergrads to develop media messages that speak to the health needs and inequalities pertinent to adolescent Philadelphians.
This summer, doctoral students Danielle Clark and Darin Johnson gained hands-on research experience working in the Philadelphia community.
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An Oct. 17 event celebrated the achievements of six teams working to promote equity and inclusion in Philadelphia by addressing health care, education, and systemic racism. Netter Center's Anna Balfanz (C'19) is a member of two P4P teams, working with partners from Engineering, Arts & Sciences, and the Water Center for A Collaborative Initiative to Renovate and Optimize the Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Center and partners from Weitzman, PennPraxis, and the Graduate School of Education for Public Schools as Equity Infrastructure Studio+ and Regina Bynum is a member of a P4P team with GSE partners for Bridging Gaps and Building Capacity: Student and Educator Supports for School Reopening in Learning Network 2. Congratulations to all P4P recipients and their partners.
Through a Projects for Progress award and other University support, students in West Philadelphia are gaining greater access to STEM learning resources at the Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Center.
PennPraxis expands its work creating community partnerships as well as hands-on learning experiences and career guidance for young people.
Also featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer.GSE Office of School and Community Engagement led the design of the academic components of the program in 2021 and implemented it in partnership with Penn's Netter Center for Community Partnerships and the School District of Philadelphia. The program takes place at the Andrew Hamilton School and Penn Alexander School and serves 240 primarily from five West and Southwest Philadelphia schools.
For six weeks, West Philadelphia middle schoolers learn and play through a partnership between Penn GSE's Office of School and Community Engagement summer program, a partnership with Penn’s Netter Center for Community Partnerships. and Drone Cadets, an education program accredited by STEM.org.
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Ira Harkavy and Rita Hodges, co-authored with four of Netter's global partners, an article in University World News about the "Global Forum on Higher Education Leadership for Democracy, Sustainability and Social Justice," which Netter Center co-hosted at Dublin City University in June 2022. This article highlights some of the key challenges and opportunities discussed at the meeting, including turning dialogue into local action and building a global movement. The Netter Center (with Ira as Chair of the International Consortium for Higher Education, Civic Responsibility, and Democracy, and Rita as Executive Secretary of the Consortium) played a lead organizing role for this global invitational conference -- which included over 100 participants from 40 different countries across the globe.
To read the article, click here.
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