The Role of Higher Education

“It enhances the relationship between Antioch students and community members…if they read in the newspaper that Antioch and the public schools are working hand-in-hand on something, when the next study or initiative comes out for Antioch and they need access to someone in the community, they'll remember and &lsguo;Oh, I remember how they work' and cooperate…so it is good public relationship effort that opens up doors for Antioch students…I know that is true, I've seen it ” —CO-SEED school administrator

Students The Center for Place-Based Education at Antioch New England Institute, housed within Antioch University New England, provides the driving force behind CO-SEED. As creators and proposal-writers for the project, their knowledge and foresight has transformed eleven public schools or school systems and communities into CO-SEED sites over the past seven years.

Definite advantages exist for schools and communities to partner with higher education organizations: increased access to grants and funding; possibility of undergraduate or graduate interns; access to direct knowledge from key players in your field; access to professional libraries and resources, and administrative/financial support. Likewise, higher education organizations benefit from good publicity, training grounds for their students, and a chance to see their visions take shape through the schools and students this program touches.

Roles of the Higher Education Site Coordinator

A Facilitator between the schools and the Community - based learning centers One goal of the CO-SEED project is to form new, unique and strong relationships between schools and local environmental learning centers. The job of the Antioch Site Coordinator is to work with the two groups to identify ways for this relationship to exist and to name strategies for the two groups to work together.
Convene the SEED team – At the early stages of the CO-SEED project the Antioch Site Coordinator needs to be very proactive about setting up the seed team with a diverse membership that will also be effective. The Antioch staff person will also play an active role in the facilitation of the group. As time moves forward, the Antioch staff person may be less visible of a facilitator and more of a strategist for the group leadership.
Organize the Vision-to-Action Forum – Vision-to-Action Forums are led by Antioch staff. The CO-SEED Site Coordinator is responsible for promoting the forum to the SEED Team and for answering preliminary questions. The Site Coordinator also needs to coordinate the seed teams efforts to work with Antioch and to be present during the organizational meetings of the Ad Hoc committees.
Maintain a communication link with school administration – As the CO-SEED process moves along it is important to maintain an active and ongoing communication link with school administration. This includes regular meetings with key organizational people and frequent updates by the CO-SEED site Coordinator in the form of emails, phone calls and quick conversations.
Work with teachers to identify support strategies – Early on in the process it is important for the CO-SEED Site Coordinator to identify key teachers with high energy and get them linked up with supports. This may include sitting down with them and planning out units, naming ways they can work with the environmental learning center staff or linking them up with curriculum support staff at Antioch. As the project progresses, there is ideally a shift from individual teacher support to team or whole staff support.
Lead professional development training sessions – We ask each school to define professional development time for CO-SEED to work with the schools teachers. The Site Coordinator needs to work with school administration to define that time and to set up customized sessions that will meet the needs of the teaching staff.
Encourage the use of Antioch resources – The Antioch New England Institute holds many staff, curriculum and library resources, which may be of use to sites. The CO-SEED Site Coordinator should be generally familiar with these and make connections to teachers when appropriate.
Coach environmental learning center staff – The role of the environmental learning center staff person working within the schools is an education process for all involved. Because we are asking for the development of new and unique partnerships, it is often confusing for the schools and the environmental learning centers to understand how to work together. It is the job of the site coordinator to advise and coach this process.
Coordinate administrative needs – With each site there are administrative tasks to be coordinated between the CO-SEED sites and the Antioch New England Institute. The site coordinator will work with the CO-SEED site coordinator to facilitate this work.
Identify teachers doing exemplary practices and encourage them to work with others – As the work progresses with each site, model teachers and projects emerge. It is the role of the site coordinator to identify these teachers and projects and to identify strategies to disseminate this work. Dissemination strategies may include presentations at conferences and teacher meetings, writing for publication, other teachers coming in to observe etc.
Facilitating the research information collection – Antioch New England Institute will be contracting with research consultants. Research and evaluation is a sensitive issue to schools. The CO-SEED site coordinator should be the familiar face that ushers in the research process, but does not take an active role in data collection.
A standards consultant – Work with CO-SEED site participants to build links between place-based work and the New Hampshire Curriculum Frameworks.
Recruit/organize a team to participate in the Summer Institute – Working with the SEED team, the site coordinator will promote and motivate each site to send a team that makes sense to the Summer Institute.
Attend and contribute to CO-SEED planning meetings – Regularly held meetings take place at Antioch to coordinate the CO-SEED project. Attendance whenever possible is expected.
Attend Summer Institute and work with teams – Work with your site team(s) during the Summer Institute to plan community based initiative and apply the place based education theory that is being discussed and disseminated during the Summer Institute.
Occasionally work with CO-SEED development initiatives – Occasional participation in seminars and meetings with foundations may be necessary. Write-ups of site work, for grant proposals will be necessary at certain times of the year.

Last Updated: 7/27/09