AP Community Resource Center Kit

AP Community Resource Center KIT

In a 2016 congressional brief published by CASEL and the Committee for Children, it was stated that over 50% of manufacturers and CEO’s say that the number one deficiency in applicants is problem solving. Of the 16 skills identified in a World Economic Forum report as important for the 21st century, 12 are social emotional. In the same brief, it was outlined that the 5 most critical skills to prepare students for success in life and the 21st century workforce are social skills, communication skills, higher order thinking (problem solving), critical thinking and positive self-concept.

Creating educational spaces that inspire 21st century learning is so important in today’s educational climate, from pre-K through high school. As educators & parents, we must offer these engaging opportunities to answer complex questions & drive purpose.

Whittle School & Studio is a school for the innovation age. We believe every student deserves such opportunities, and that you, their educators can guide these needed educational upgrades! The AP GIVE Program & free AP Tools can help.

"Children own what they want now, at younger and younger ages. They are self-directed, and they bring to the world very different questions:

'WHO am I?' 'HOW do I work with you?' 'What is our PURPOSE?' 'WHERE do I FIT IN?"
--- Timothy Shriver, CASEL Board Chair

 

 

FOR Educators: Overview & Objective

The AP Community Resource Center Kit is a free offering presented by the AddyPres Corporation, a 501(c)(3) Public Charity for the use and benefit of students on school campus' and within their communities. The kit nor any attached documents are permitted for distribution for profit.

The Community Resource Center Kit is built to be a beginning step for public schools to plan, design & integrate educational spaces that facilitate 21st century project and service based learning opportunities. These spaces assist building necessary skills for 21st century learners. What you'll inspire within a space with this approach has no limits! We also offer the AP Solver6 For Educators as a suggested enrichment opportunity to utilize within your space as well as the Create a Solver6 Program opportunity to drive impactful stewardship opportunities.

Some of our Suggestions as you begin to upgrade education systems:

Engage the participation of your librarian, students, teachers, parents & community members. As a community building collaborative effort, work together with the goal to establish an educational space that works with your district priority goals. Invite students and families to collaborate ideas to design a space that will inspire civic leadership specific to your elementary campus goals.

Youth Service America is a great resource for service learning inspiration!

Edutopia offers tremendous resource directives that can guide your collaborative efforts, we offer a short series of articles to be helpful in your efforts. *NOTE: Don’t feel like the space needs to be over the top, start small with basic fundamentals, your space can grow over time, as your school community starts to build momentum for it's 21st century goals.

Edutopia: The Original Maker Space: Hands on learning and 3D printers are great, but let’s not forget that students have always created original products in the writing classroom.

Edutopia: A Series of articles on Maker Spaces

When Designing Your Space: Get creative! We offer articles that present the highest design level suggested by Edutopia. Pull from these high level design concepts and let them inspire bigger goals! In your beginning steps, consider things like making the walls of your library an opportunity for collaboration with chalkboard paint! KEEP THE BLINDS OPEN, consider design concepts that will bring out the best in your student’s ideas and allow them to think outside the box and collaborate with their peers.

We offer the AddyPresLifeSTYLE article: Classroom Design: Does Yours Engage or Distract? offers some design fundamentals of interest to think about while you brainstorm for your space. Edutopia goes into great detail, offering tremendous insight and goals for school design that will inspire learning that works, and make an advocates heart sing!

Edutopia: The Architecture of Ideal Learning Environments

Problem solving opportunities that utilize resources, impact tools, research, several different mediums that allow students to find reference and discovery on their own is suggested.

Offer Books: Setting up a library resource center with sections that focus on social emotional trait building and topics are great ways to integrate SEL. We suggest including category titles like the following in your resource center: Empathy, Compassion, Friendship, Jobs that Make a Difference, Problem Solving, Mindfulness, Thoughtfulness, Persistence, Having Grit, Diversity, Community, Service Learning, Civic Leadership, Environmentalism, Corporate Responsibility, Climate Change, Plastic Pollution, Supply Chains, etc… making it easy for students to seek topics that support your district priority AND their community.  The AddyPresLifeSTYLE Book List offers a great selection of SEL focused titles to assist this effort.

 

  •  Flexible Seating, Fundamentals & NOISE Control: Make your space inviting for collaboration and communication with flexible seating options. We suggest designating a collaboration corner for your space with flexible seating. Don't forget to offer clear directives for the NOISE level. Collaboration isn’t quiet, and shouldn’t be, making sure you have the conversation with students before they work, of what noise level is acceptable, will teach respect for others. You might also designate a quiet zone, space permitting. Since the space is FOR COLLABORATION we suggest some fundamentals that can be presented to students, helping set guidelines for effectively and considerately working together.

 

Suggested Collaboration Fundamentals for a Community Resource Center

 

  1.    We can STOP. CENTER. BREATHE. as a tool before we use action in making our choices.
  2.    We can use a friendly voice to communicate to others so we can solve our problems together.
  3.    We can wait our turn to speak, so we communicate respect for what others have to say.
  4.    We can speak kindly to each other because this helps us make new friends and keep old friends.
  5.    We can take turns and share because this helps us get along better.
  6.    We can respect other’s self-boundaries so we don’t get hurt or hurt others.
  7.    We can think about how our words & actions will affect others.
  8.    We can celebrate when others do well, because we are all great at different things.

The KIND IDEAS 5 Day Kick Off Program has an exceptional poster tool set for any 21st century, elementary level community resource center! Be sure to learn more about the KIND IDEAS Give Program which offers these tools as part of the give recipients gain. (printing costs apply).

 

Be Available and open your community resource center for use during lunch, to discuss community and service problem solving opportunities with students at scheduled times/days. Children are NEVER too young to learn to be a community and help others. Visit the AddyPres For Community Page for monthly Service Based Learning opportunities to take part in.

AP For Community Page

 

Create a directory of ideas for students, a hand-made directory completely works! Engage students to discuss ideas on real issues that affect your school campus, your community or the world, prompting their desire to take part in solving and participating. The APYS Activation Pages offer many tools tools to mentor impactful projects for your K-12 students!

 

Supply your Space with computers or tablets for research, simple art & classroom supplies, paper, pencils & scissors for students to write ideas or collaborate with peers, books, kits, pamphlets and other resources that inspire!

 

Consider utilizing the KIND Foundation’s new tool, Empatico. A great technological tool for connecting students to collaborate and discuss real world topics with other students around the world! Over 500 teachers are using Empatico to inspire empathy and connect their students to other students all over the world. The KIND Foundation works in partnership with Harvard's Making Caring Common Project. #SparkEmpathy

 

Ex. In a 3rd grade pilot program, students in Arkansas connected with peers in Manhattan. The kids engaged in a discussion about weather, which gave them exposure to different ways of living and provoked them to explore what they had in common.

 

 

K-5 Educators can utilize INTRODUCTORY AP Solver6 Series BUNDLES, available on our Solver6 Page for Educators. These scripted lessons are built using the Solver6 Framework & compliment any evidence-based curriculum frameworks.

  • AddyPresLifeSTYLE cares deeply about high level, 21st century learning opportunities reaching every student. We believe these opportunities will build a BETTER world for ALL PEOPLE & PLANET! Feel free to reach out to us to assist your efforts as an educator or parent who shares these values!