Jane Addams School

The Jane Addams School for Democracy is a community based education and action project based in Saint Paul 's West Side neighborhood. The school brings together immigrant families, college students, and other community members for mutual learning about citizenship and democracy. This learning takes the form of dialogue, public work, and education with the goal that people can work together across language, culture, gender and age differences to address issues that impact their everyday lives. The Jane Addams School is loosely based on the tradition of settlement houses from a century ago, and seeks to break down traditional model of social service to those in "need." The school was created as a community effort, where people come to work together as equals, learning from each other.

The five values of the Jane Addams School

Everyone is a teacher and everyone is a learner.
We honor all cultures.
Citizenship means making contributions to the community.
Adults and children learn together.
Changes can happen when people work together.

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The Jane Addams School began in 1996 and is currently located in Humboldt High School on Saint Paul’s West Side. The School is organized into four primary circles, the Hmong Circle, the East African Circle, the Spanish Circle and the Children’s Circle. In addition, and in partnership with Humboldt High School students participating in the Public Achievement program, a Hmong Teen Circle has been started geared at teenage students who recently arrived from the Wat Tham Krabok refugee camp in Thailand. On any given night, there might be between ten and forty participants in each of the adult circles, and upwards from fifty children in the Children’s circle.

During the school year, each circle meets twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays, from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. In the adult circles, the first portion of this time is used for a “cultural exchange,” which usually involves a discussion around a single topic in which the entire group participates. These discussions are translated into all the languages present and can be led by any individual or group of circle participants. At other times legislators and other politicians have visited during this time to ask and answer questions about schools, neighborhoods and parks, among other things.

	During the second portion of the “7 to 9 time” in the adult circles, participants break out into small groups and learning pairs to work on their individual learning goals. Many participants come to increase their fluency in a second language, to study for the citizenship test, or to learn about a culture other than their own, but participants come with a wide range of learning goals. The circles try to maintain consistent learning groups so that participants can build relationships and deepen their learning.
Moua Xiong and Mai Neng Vang look at a map of regional parks during a cultural exchange presentation from visiting Metro Council park officials. Click here for a story from the Metro Council.
The Children’s Circle operates a little differently from the other circles. There is a learning time in which high school and college age participants read with younger participants, and there is also an activity time. Children participate in many different activities, many of which they plan themselves, such as dance groups, kite-making, political discussions, story-writing competitions, and others.
		Learning partners working together in the Hmong Circle.
	College students participate in an ongoing “Dinner & Dialogue” time from 6:00 to 7:00 PM before the learning circles begin. Food from West Side establishments is provided biweekly, and this time is used for discussion, training and reflection. While each Dinner & Dialogue session is facilitated by a Jane Addams School staff member, college student participants are expected to be actively involved not only in discussion and reflection, but also in planning the use of session time so that it will be most beneficial to them.
A group in the Children's Circle works on drawing.

There are also many times when circles come together for learning and for celebration. Sometimes two circles join together for a shared cultural exchange. Other times members from different circles take trips together, to the capitol to visit legislators or to a Twins game for fun. Other times members from different circles take trips together, to the capitol to visit legislators or to a Twins game for fun. In addition, each spring and each fall the circles come together for a potluck celebration, and in the summer for the annual Jane Addams School Freedom Festival, at which new citizens and others are honored.

Participants from the Jane Addams School visit with Minnesota State Rep. John Lesch at the Capitol.		Ger Lee teaches others the Hmong tops game at the 2004 Freedom Festival.

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Jane Addams School - Macalester College Partnership Background
Recently, the Jane Addams School and Macalester College have begun to deepen their partnership, based on each institution’s commitment to civic engagement. Students from Macalester participate at the Jane Addams School in one of three ways: through student employment, through the Lives of Commitment program, or as a component of their course-work.
	Macalester student employment students Laura Price-Waldman '07 (center) and Ted Roethke '05 (second from right) with new citizens Halima, Rumiya, Misku and Mai Neng at their naturalization ceremony. For Laura and Ted's perspectives on their experience see page 11 of the Spring 2005 Mosaic.
For the past several years, Macalester students receiving financial aid have participated in leadership roles at the Jane Addams School for Democracy through the Off-Campus Student Employment program. Depending on the size of their student employment awards, these students typically work 10 hours a week at the Jane Addams School. They help facilitate the Dinner & Dialogue sessions for other college students, coordinate and plan trips and activities, help with data entry, and with set-up and take down of the space and school materials. For the 2005-2006 school year, Macalester will fund three student employment positions at the Jane Addams School. This combined 30 hours a week approaches the equivalent of one extra full-time staff person. In addition, these students represent the Jane Addams School at the Off-Campus Student Employment meetings and to the Macalester Campus more generally.
Starting in 2003, first-year students from the Lives of Commitment program have committed to a full year at the Jane Addams School. Because these students are able to participate for a full year, they can build relationships and community at the school. Many of these students have continued to participate at the Jane Addams School as sophomores and juniors, either as student leaders in the Lives of Commitment program, as Off-Campus Student Employment students or of their own initiative.
	Finally, Macalester students participate at the Jane Addams School as a component of their academic course-work. As part of classes in the Anthropology, Sociology, Education, and Psychology departments, students in recent years have created collaborative projects with other participants at the Jane Addams School. This is one area where Macalester and the Jane Addams School are looking to deepen their relationship in coming academic years.
Daniela Ramirez '05 (pictured left) came to Jane Addams for her Photo-ethnography class, and created an educational photo display that the school can use for presentations.

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1. The school asks that you make a commitment for at least one semester. This commitment is to come consistently once a week, either Mondays or Wednesdays, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, for the entire semester up and through finals week. The learning and community that develop at the Jane Addams School depend on participants consistently coming and building relationships. Decide for yourself if you are able to make this commitment.

2. Contact one of the school coordinators for more information or let them know you plan to come. The principal contact for Macalester is:

Derek Johnson
(612) 626-1147
djohnson@hhh.umn.edu

For Macalester students, if you are interested in participating, you can also e-mail Macalester's campus contacts:

Hillary Mohaupt
hmohaupt@macalester.edu

Alexandra Douglas
adouglas@macalester.edu

Laura Price-Waldman
lpricewaldman@macalester.edu

3. Secure transportation to Humboldt High School. 30 Baker Street E, St. Paul, MN.

Humboldt is served by bus routes 67 and 75. The bus trip from Macalester takes about an hour. For more schedule information use the Trip-planner at www.metrotransit.org. Alternatively, drive or bike to Humboldt. Many students without cars have been able to car-pool with other students from their same university. Parking is located on the south-east side of the school.

4. Come to the Jane Addams School. New participants can begin coming anytime during the first few weeks of September. Come a little before 6:00 PM and ask the door-opener or the security-guard for the Jane Addams School.

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The Jane Addams School for Democracy locates itself outside the university as a community based project, but is a collaboration of shared resources and shared vision between the community and the university. Currently, the school involves long time community residents, Hmong, Latino, and East African refugee and immigrant adults and children, as well as students, faculty and staff from nine Twin Cities colleges and universities.

Many faculty structure courses in ways that allow students to participate at the Jane Addams School under their university’s service learning programs. In addition, many faculty come with their students on Monday or Wednesday nights. The following is a guide for faculty members who are interested in incorporating the Jane Addams School into a service learning course.

What types of courses would be a good “fit” with the Jane Addams School?

Students come to the school as part of courses from many different disciplines, including Philosophy, Political Science, Sociology, American Studies, Asian Studies, Hispanic Studies, Education, Youth Development, Geography, Women’s Studies, Psychology, Art, English, Anthropology, Public Affairs, and others. Courses from such disparate disciplines often share common themes of exploring community and co-creation, politics and the “public” realm, democracy and citizenship, learning and education, and history, stories, and culture.

What are possible outcomes of students’ experiences at the Jane Addams School?

One hope of the Jane Addams School is that students who participate will learn about the benefits of and the obstacles to public work that seeks to break down hierarchies of knowledge, experience and power and replace them with an emphasis on learning together, co-creation, and reciprocity. The goal of the Jane Addams School is to create a democratic space, and as students participate in that space, the hope is that they will see the difficulties inherent in that project as well as the ways in which communities seek to overcome those difficulties.

Another hope of the Jane Addams School is that students who participate will come to participate as active members of the community, even during their time at the Jane Addams School. The school thinks of public work, education and community as concepts that require active participation rather than passive acceptance. In these ways, the school hopes that students will develop insights on civic engagement and community action in general, as well as deepen their understanding of people and communities in the Twin Cities they may not have already been familiar with.

What are the expectations for students who come for a service learning course?

Students who come to the Jane Addams School as part of a service learning course are expected to make a commitment to come for the entire semester, consistently, once a week (either on Monday or Wednesday) from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. The school asks that students show up a little before 6:00 PM, since the Dinner & Dialogue segment that is geared toward the college student participants only lasts an hour from 6:00 to 7:00 PM.

Students are also expected to be respectful of other people and other cultures. One way of showing respect to other participants is for students to come as active participants. While college students are certainly busy, most participants at the Jane Addams School either go to school full-time or work-full time or both. When college students are not enthusiastic about participating, it is hard to them to either learn from others or teach others what they have the potential to.

Beyond consistency, respect, and active participation, students are not expected to have any special knowledge or qualifications. Students will be introduced to basic information on the Jane Addams School philosophy, the different cultures and traditions of the adult immigrant participants, the citizenship test and literacy work.

How does the school suggest incorporating students’ experiences into coursework?

The only suggestion that the school has for incorporating students’ experiences into their coursework is for faculty not to expect too much, too soon from their students. Some students are so worried about finding something to journal about or share in class that they cannot fully participate with the group. When students can relax and participate fully, many times they can learn and reflect in more rewarding ways. The school has found that many times students are most able to learn and reflect when their professor also commits to come to the Jane Addams School once a night for the semester. Students and faculty in the past have indicated that this approach allows them to engage in meaningful in class discussions.

Not every service learning course, however, is structured so that all the students go to the same sites. In one course where only a few students came to the Jane Addams School, that small group invited a group of people from Jane Addams and other students from their university to a dialogue about citizenship that they hosted. The students also gave a tour of their university to high school and junior high students from the Children’s circle and their parents. Another student, in a photography class, took family portraits for anyone from the circles who wanted one. These are just a few of the many examples of projects that students have done over the years.

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June 2000 CURA Reporter article by John Wallace and Nick Longo

Fall 2002 E-newsletter of the Harvard Family Research Project’s FINE (Family Involvement Network of Educators) Forum

Nov. 2003 Civic Engagement News article by Harry C. Boyte

Books:
Everyday Politics: Reconnecting Citizens and Public Life (2004).
This book by Harry C. Boyte has a chapter about the Jane Addams School for Democracy.

We Are the Freedom People: Sharing Our Stories... (1999).
Edited by D’Ann Urbaniak and Jennifer O’Donoghue, this book is a collection of Jane Addams School participants’ life stories, written by them.

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D’Ann Urbaniak (Hmong Circle Coordinator)
(612) 626-7690
durbaniak@hhh.umn.edu

Derek Johnson (Spanish & East African Circle Coordinator)
(612) 626-1147
djohnson@hhh.umn.edu

See Moua (Children’s Circle Coordinator)
(612) 626-1147
smoua@hhh.umn.edu

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This webpage was constructed by Ted Roethke and Regina Hernandez Santiago, July 2005.