Contributed by Suzie Kim, Service-Learning Co-op
All photos originated from the 826 Boston website or were provided by Jessica Drench.
All photos originated from the 826 Boston website or were provided by Jessica Drench.
This is the one of a 3 part series exploring the partnership between Erika Koss's service-learning First-Year College Writing course, and 826 Boston.
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| The entrance to the Greater Boston Bigfoot Research Center in Roxbury, MA. |
The sign on the building read “Greater Boston Bigfoot Research Center” in bold green letters. They popped out from the surface of the brownstone, suspended over the entrance by silver beams. Underneath was a two-doored glass hemisphere bordered by the same green forest green color.
The interior looked like a rustic gift shop for your average cryptozoologist or hidden creature researcher. Along the front window, a tarantula bathed in the sun rays that filtered in. Another tank held an intrusion of cockroaches. The shelves along the walls were filled with field equipment for casual cryptozoological research such as unicorn tears or bigfoot toenails.
Jessica Drench, Associate Director of 826 Boston, welcomed me by a huge bulletin board that hung across the back of the store. It stretched from the ceiling of the room to the floor and was littered in clouds of post its about Bigfoot sightings.
As I let my eyes wander around the whimsical store, Jessica tugged on the bulletin board. It slid open to the side and revealed an entire space hidden behind the store! I stepped through the now open doorway into a spacious area that held bookshelves and rows of wooden benches and chairs.
This was where the 826 Boston magic happens!
826 Boston and Northeastern University
Following the success of prototype 826 Valencia program in California, 826 Boston became the seventh chapter of 826 National.Under the umbrella organization, 826 Boston shares the same mission as its sister branches across the nation. All 826 chapters provide a creative space and free writing programs for students ages 6 to 18. It encourages and cultivates both creative and expository skills in their students, as well as providing mentoring opportunities for volunteers.
When 826 Boston first started in 2007, the program staff consisted of Daniel Johnson, the founding executive director and one volunteer coordinator. Since then, the program staff has expanded from two staff members to eleven.
More hands on deck meant that the capacity of the program to develop and flourish increased as well. This is where the seeds of the now mature partnership between Northeastern University and 826 Boston were sown.
“Our founding director, [Daniel Johnson], started a conversation with Chris Gallagher, [Associate Dean of Teaching, Learning and Experiential Education at Northeastern University],” Jessica explains. The sixth, seventh and eighth graders at 826 Boston had been working on a publication.
"The uniting theme [of the project] was work,” said Jessica. “The students did transcriptions of interviews of people about their jobs.”
The range of careers covered in the book is diverse. Some kids opted to interview their parents because they simply wanted to learn more about what their mom and dad did everyday. Others sought out people with unique jobs such as an exotic animal handler.
As final drafts of the transcriptions were collected, Chris Gallagher brought his Northeastern students on site to tutor students one-on-one and help edit their projects. (The completed publication, A Place for Me in the World, is available on 826 Boston’s online store.)
The summer, NU's relationship with 826 deepened when the CSSH hosted their annual staff development conference with the Office of Public Affairs.
This past spring semester, 826 Boston continued a similar relationship with Erika Koss’ First-Year College Writing course. They partnered with students from the Boston Teachers Union School (BTU) to aid in their newest publication.
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| Publication by Boston Teachers Union School students. |
On top of one-on-one tutoring, Erika’s class assisted the students in creating visual representations of pieces of their memoir in ink prints This meant the college class traveled to BTU as well as the 826 Boston main office regularly to serve. The effort that they made was certainly acknowledged.
“This was in the context of this winter,” Jessica recalls. “[Erika] had so many classes being canceled, and she still needed to get through the content of her own course while still making sure to honor the commitment she made [to us] to come in with her students to tutor. There was one day I was driving to the site and I saw a long line of students trudging to the snow with Erika at the front in her big white coat… just charging ahead through the ice to get to the school.”
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| Students in their one-on-one tutoring session at the Boston Teacher's Union Schools |
Jessica also mentioned her appreciation for Lea Choukroun, the Service-Learning Teaching Assistant of Erika Koss’ course for her flexibility and organization. Lea was crucial to sorting out the times between the students and 826 Boston to make sure every student served the required amount of hours.
“The winter affected our timeline quite a bit,” Jessica said. “To be able to get all the pieces together felt like an iceberg at one point, but their class came in and saved the day.
“Service-Learning is the gas in the tank of our after school program,” Jessica said. “We have tremendous volunteers, many who come from Northeastern. There’s a true enthusiasm to be there and the [826 Boston] kids pick up on that,” Jessica reflected.
826 Boston and You
For anyone who loves to nurture their creativity and has a passion for working with kids, 826 Boston is a magical place. If you are interested in volunteering, explore their website for opportunities!
We look forward to partnering with 826 Boston in semesters to come!
Be sure to check out the perspectives of faculty member Erika Koss and S-LTA Lea Choukroun as well!
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