Project Overview

The Kindergarten crews at Detroit Achievement Academy started the year learning about identity and community. Students started by learning about race, gender, and families, thinking about ways students are similar and different to others in their crews and in the community. View the full Helpers in Our Detroit Community project online here.

Students then used that base knowledge to explore the important people and places in our school and city. Students interviewed local community helpers (including important members of our school community like our principal, operations/lunch coordinator, and art teacher, as well as community members outside of school like an emergency room doctor, librarian, volunteer services coordinator, and the Detroit Mounted Police Department) and learned more about the ways that others help in our communities, especially during the coronavirus pandemic.

Students then worked in groups to write short sentences and create portraits of the people we interviewed and the important places they worked. Students used a checklist and created multiple drafts of their writing to incorporate high levels of craftsmanship. They then created video recordings of their work. Students combined their artwork and video recordings to make a website and map that they shared with their entire school community and with the entire local community to help others learn more about the important people in their city and to learn about the ways that others contribute to the community. The work done in this introductory module is going to support students in thinking about ways they can contribute to their local community throughout the year.