The Center for Community Engagement employs six AmeriCorps members to support school-based academic assistance programs and family engagement classes, events and projects as part of the Seattle University Youth Initiative.
Bailey Gatzert Elementary School: Seattle University's partnership with Bailey Gatzert Elementary School is integral to the Youth Initiative. Each quarter over 100 Seattle U students provide academic assistance and enrichment opportunities for K-5th grade students during the school day and after school. Each quarter the Extended Learning Program Assistants at Gatzert coordinate over 100 Seattle U students to provide academic assistance and enrichment opportunities for K-5th grade students during the school day and after school. AmeriCorps members help coordinate services ranging from one-to-one tutoring, to helping small groups, to leading academic and enrichment activities after school. The CCE also offers programming for parents/guardians of K-5th grade students. The goals of our family engagement efforts are to empower families to understand the importance of their role in their child’s academic life and to strengthen the school to home connection. The CCE is currently seeking four AmeriCorps members to support our partnership with Bailey Gatzert Elementary School: two Extended Learning Program Assistants and two Family Engagement Program Assistants.
Washington Middle School: The Redhawk Academic Mentoring Program (RAMP) is a signature program of the Youth Initiative. It is designed to help youth improve academic skills and build character traits for success. RAMP matches 6th, 7th and 8th graders with SU undergraduates for one-to-one sessions once a week during the school day and after school. The CCE is currently seeking one AmeriCorps RAMP Coordinator to help manage SUYI programming as part of a long-term effort to improve college access.
Garfield High School: Each year the CCE recruits, trains and places Seattle University students to act as college access coaches for 9th -12th grade youth at Garfield High School (GHS). The CCE is currently seeking one AmeriCorps College Access Coordinator to provide training and support to 25 Seattle U volunteers. The GHS AmeriCorps member will serve as the after school partnership liaison with Upward Bound and Y-Scholars, as well as place SU volunteers in select classrooms during the school day. The GHS AmeriCorps member will serve half time on campus at the CCE and half time at GHS.
The Center for Community Engagement and the Shinnyo-en Foundation have partnered to offer a 10-month paid fellowship to one recent Seattle University undergraduate to serve with a local, community partner organization. This Fellow will represent Seattle University within a cohort of Shinnyo Fellows from other universities across the US to carry out the Shinnyo-en Foundation’s Infinite Paths to Peace Initiative.
The Post-Undergraduate Shinnyo Fellow is funded to further develop leadership and reflective skills, and to introduce, implement and/or institutionalize the Foundation’s philosophy of peacebuilding through service in the community and on campus. The fellow will provide campus-community engagement, relationship building and maintenance, research, programming, communications, and administrative support. In addition, Shinnyo-en Foundation sponsors the participation of the Shinnyo Fellows and their mentors at the Fellows Summer Orientation and Annual Retreat in August.
The Shinnyo-en Foundation partners with the Center for Community Engagement to support current and recent undergraduates in discovering and/or honing their individual paths to peace through direct service. The 2017- 2018 academic year will mark a twelve year partnership. To learn more about the Shinnyo-en Foundation, please visit http://sef.org/.
