MEDIA CONTACT: Pat Vaughan Tremmel at (847) 491-4892 or p-tremmel@northwestern.edu

October 28, 2003

Law School Adopts Talcott Grade School

CHICAGO --- Northwestern University School of Law is adopting Talcott Elementary School in West Town as part of an educational partnership with Chicago Public Schools’ Futures Exchange Program.

The partnership kicks off Oct. 29 with members of the School of Law, including two deans, participating in the CPS “Principal for a Day” event; and on Oct. 31, Northwestern student volunteers will participate in Talcott’s Halloween celebration by dressing in costumes and delivering treat bags to classrooms.

The partnership with Talcott is an initiative of the Student Effort to Rejuvenate Volunteering (SERV) student organization and was planned as part of the law school’s public service strategy. Talcott Elementary serves a mostly low-income, Latino student population, 30 percent of whom have limited English skills.

Stressing the importance of giving back to the community, the law school’s public service program requires that students perform a minimum of 40 hours of public service prior to graduation, carried out during the school year without compensation or academic credit.

“We are trying to foster a culture in which all our students desire to give back to the community and understand the importance of doing so in a variety of ways,” said David Van Zandt, professor of law and dean of Northwestern University School of Law. “Our students are broadening the definition of public service beyond legal work to include work in community organizations, government agencies, and a wide variety of non-profit organizations.”

Participants in Principal for a Day at Talcott on Oct. 29 include Theresa Cropper, dean of students; Mayer Freed, associate dean for academic affairs and professor of law; Maureen Stratton, public service coordinator; and Susan Huang (class of 2005), president of SERV.

The volunteers at the Oct. 31 Halloween celebration are members of SERV, which will work with Stratton to plan additional events with Talcott Elementary throughout the year.

Upcoming events include a pen pal program to help students improve their writing skills, lessons from the Constitutional Rights Foundation teaching students about the U.S. legal system, and a tutoring program for eighth graders studying for the Constitution test in spring. Talcott students also will be invited to the law school to participate in a mock trial of Goldilocks for breaking and entering the home of the Three Bears.

(For more information, contact Maureen Stratton at m-stratton@law.northwestern.edu.)