CUMU Conference 2017

Since 2012, the University of Nebraska at Omaha Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders has collaborated with Omaha Public Schools’ Blackburn Alternative Program, with the support of the UNO Service Learning Academy, to identify important community issues and design impactful projects focused on advocacy efforts that support student growth and learning.  

This presentation is designed to describe the core content of an undergraduate service learning course that includes oral histories of local civil rights leaders and the impact on students’ perceptions of agency and subsequent academic growth. As a collaborative P-16 project, university students partner with students who attend the local alternative high school program. Both university and high school students are actively engaged in all facets of design, including the planning, development, and implementation of project activities. Of note is the past limited success of the high school students in traditional educational environments; thus, their enrollment in the alternative program. Yet, consistently, since the initiation of the project partnership in 2012, student engagement has supported the demonstration of academic proficiency for each of the stated project outcomes. For example, in 2014, project partners were selected to receive a Carter Award for Service Learning by the Nebraska State Council for Social Studies (NSCSS) for the Traffic Control Project which resulted in a reduction of the speed limit outside the school. Project activities are designed to highlight authentic opportunities for the successful use of language and communication skills. The project title, “Get the Word Out,” summarizes this goal of advocacy.