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.) |