Work

Suzy Connor on the Future of Arts Infusion Initiative

Suzy Connor

Arts Infusion Report TitleIt’s intriguing to see how intuitively Dan O’Neil dives into the 5-year evaluation by the Urban Institute to outline the confluence of circumstances that too many of our teens have come to accept as normal – poverty, danger, and insecurity. The research documents systems that are broken; communities that are in decline; social problems that remain intractable even after generations of “reform”.

But for me and for the 48 teaching artists who are the life-blood of the Arts Infusion Initiative, the data also has names and faces full of hope and promise. Our faith in and respect for these irreplaceable young people is unshakable; for some of them, that is unprecedented. The arts are not part of The System; they are not an “intervention” designed to fix something about them that is broken. The right to express themselves, to nurture the talent within, and to translate their passion into a career is as fundamental as their right to safety, to a good public education – and often just as illusive.

Access to high-end equipment, instruction, and role models in arts and digital media, is common in high-performing schools and high-income communities, but most teens at the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center report that they were exposed to these opportunities for the first time while incarcerated through the Chicago Community Trust funded Arts Infusion programs. The recent evaluation documents the broad appeal and sustainable impact that these arts and media offerings have on a population that is known for voting with their feet.

In upcoming posts, we will be examining the implications of the report for both the arts and tech sectors.

Arts Infusion Evaluation: Research on The Crushing Effects of Poverty

Smart Chicago

As I wrote earlier this week, Suzy Connor, former senior program officer for arts and culture at The Chicago Community Trust, has joined Smart Chicago as a consultant working on a series of projects focused on arts, education, and justice.

In this context, we’re also taking on the Arts Infusion program, which Suzy has led for the last six years.The Urban Institute recently completed a comprehensive evaluation of this program: Arts Infusion Initiative, 2010–15: Evaluation Report. We are serializing some of the findings of this report that resonate with our work.

First up is a look at some of the research that is cited in the report to highlight the crushing effects of poverty, especially on neighborhoods in Chicago’s south and west sides. here are a number of the passages from  the report— and links to the underlying research.

The neighborhoods served by Arts Infusion programs each have their own distinct communities and histories, yet they all reflect disturbing national trends that disproportionately affect communities of color, such as high unemployment, a high crime rate, segregation, social disenfranchisement, and poverty (Coates 2014; Moser 2014; Sampson and Wilson 1995).

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More recently, changes in the landscape of public housing have also affected neighborhood dynamics and the lives of youth. In the 1990s, mid- and high-rise public housing complexes concentrated in the south and west sides of Chicago came to be viewed as the epicenter of the city’s problems, and public officials moved to demolish the buildings over the course of several years. The decision to tear down those properties was accompanied by a promise to improve the lives of residents, cut crime, and provide housing vouchers into mixed- income communities (Newman 2015; Eads and Salinas 2014; Crump 2002).

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The recession also had direct and indirect effects on neighborhood stability and housing, as housing values fell across the city and sales prices fell even more steeply (Chicago Rehab Network 2011). The housing crash was felt particularly acutely in Chicago’s south and west sides: for example, by the end of 2010, one in six properties in Back of the Yards was vacant as residents abandoned their homes after falling victim to predatory lending for home equity loans (Gallun and Maidenberg 2013; Rugh and Massey 2010). The growing number of abandoned buildings in those Chicago neighborhoods further weakened their property value and contributed to social disorder (Wallace and Schalliol 2015; Chicago Rehab Network 2011).

The full citations for those links are below, but I want to call out a number of observations:

  • The evidence of systematic racism and deprivation in our city is immense, astounding, and recent. This provides a setting for our work
  • The number and quality of current and former Chicago-based thinkers, developers, writers and researchers in the field is heartening. These are the people with whom we toil. I’m thinking specifically of people cited here like Whet Moser, David Schalliol, David Eads, and the Chicago Rehab Network
  • As we continue with the Arts Infusion project, pulling together the teaching artists who work directly with young people on careers in the arts, we have to see the work in the context of justice

More to come!

David Schalliol shooting an image in his Isolated Building Studies series

David Schalliol shooting an image in his Isolated Building Studies series

Coates, T. (2014). This town needs a better class of racist. The Atlantic. Available at http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/05/This-Town-Needs-A-Better-Class-Of-Racist/361443/

Moser, W. (2014). Housing discrimination in America was perfected in Chicago. Chicago Mag. Available at http://www.chicagomag.com/city-life/May-2014/The-Long-Shadow-of-Housing-Discrimination-in-Chicago/

Farmer, S. (2011). Uneven public transportation development in neoliberalizing Chicago, USA. Environment and Planning A, 43, 1154-1172. Available at http://blogs.roosevelt.edu/sfarmer/files/2013/02/Environmnet-and- Planning-final-version.pdf

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Newman, J. (2015, March 13). Dismantling the towers. Chicago Reporter. Available at http://chicagoreporter.com/dismantling-the-towers/

Eads, D., and Salinas, H. (2014). Demolished: The end of Chicago’s public housing. National Public Radio. Available at http://apps.npr.org/lookatthis/posts/publichousing/.

Crump, J. (2002), Deconcentration by demolition: public housing, poverty, and urban policy. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 20(5): 581 – 596. Available at http://www.envplan.com/abstract.cgi?id=d306.

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Chicago Rehab Network. (2011). Building Our Future Chicago: A Toolkit for Residents and Community Leaders. Chicago Rehab Network: Chicago, IL. Available at http://www.chicagorehab.org/resources/docs/research/buildingchicago/buildingourfuturechicagofulltoolkit. pdf

Gallun, A., and Maidenberg, M. (2013, November 9). Will the foreclosure crisis kill Chicago? Crain’s Chicago Business. Crain’s: Chicago, IL. Available at http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20131109/ISSUE01/311099980/will-the-foreclosure-crisis-kill- chicago

Rugh, J. S., and Massey, D. S. (2010). Racial segregation and the American foreclosure crisis. American Sociological Review, 75(5), 629-651. Abstract available at http://asr.sagepub.com/content/75/5/629.abstract.

Wallace, D., and Schalliol, D. (2015). Testing the temporal nature of social disorder through abandoned buildings and interstitial spaces. Social Science Research, 54, 177-194. Abstract available at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0049089X15001258.

Suzy Connor Joins Smart Chicago as Consultant Focusing on Arts, Justice, and Education

Smart Chicago 2 Comments

Suzanne Connor - 2015[1][2]Yesterday marked the start of Suzy Connor’s work here at Smart Chicago. We’ve worked with Suzy over the last couple years in her work as the senior program officer for arts and culture at The Chicago Community Trust, where she created the Arts Infusion program and was responsible for a host of other grants that enhanced cultural vibrancy, access and diversity.

Most recently, we worked with her to launch Get Drive, a project that compiled resources for court-involved youth to clear their records (expunge.io!), get back in school, get a job, and get other support.

Suzy’s work over the years aligns perfectly with Smart Chicago’s work to improve lives in Chicago through technology mission.  We’re excited about combining her professional expertise, experience, and networks in creative youth development & juvenile justice with our emerging models around civic engagement.

Suzy will strengthen the Smart Chicago justice work area and will help inform or stimulate our Connect Chicago, Chicago School of Data, and Youth-Led Tech programs. Her engagement will employ a number of the experimental modes we’ve investigated and we expect to be able to create new ones together.

Here’s a specific look at the work she’ll be doing:

Arts Infusion

Arts Infusion Evaluation FINAL REPORTOver the last six years at The Chicago Community Trust, Suzy created and led Arts Infusion. The Urban Institute recently completed a comprehensive evaluation of this program: Arts Infusion Initiative, 2010–15: Evaluation Report. The report is fascinating, and we will be sharing findings from report as we move forward.

Suzy will work to continue and expand the Arts Infusion cohort, focusing on teaching artists rather than organizations, with the goal of building a deep, diverse, and resilient community of practitioners. Our expansion efforts will include both arts-focused and technology-focused instructors working with teens and young adults in under-resourced communities, including court-involved youth.

Together, we will develop a coherent co-creation strategy with this cohort with communication at its core. The foundation of this cohort is not grants; it is communication and shared work. A civic engagement model rather than a social services model, based on principles found in Experimental Modes of Civic Engagement. We seek to help guide an expanded network to foster innovative approaches and respond to the needs articulated by practitioners themselves. Integral to this approach is the inclusion of young adult practitioners who are “alumni” of Chicago’s teen programs.

Connecting youth to technology

YouthledTech-logoSuzy will also work to strengthen the links among released juveniles and Arts Infusion grantees, other arts and technology programs, and relevant resources. Smart Chicago is already a partner in this effort through Get Drive and Expunge.io.

We will incorporate recommendations from the Urban Institute evaluation to enhance strategies for using technology and social media to spark & sustain connections between court-involved youth and the people and resources they need to move forward in life.

This work also ties into our Youth-Led Tech program, where we will look to work in the detention center and connect those youth to community opportunities to build their skills. We’re also looking to evaluate how to replicate the Youth-Led Tech mode.

CPS Digital Arts Career Academy

Suzy will also lead Smart Chicago’s efforts to help to guide engagement, design, and advocacy efforts related to the development of a potential CPS Digital Arts Career Academy. Our focus will be on engaging the public and helping foster communication with the community around planning.

Smart Chicago’s commitment to developing a diverse IT workforce and its recent success with Youth-Led Tech makes it a valuable partner to CPS in this first-of-its-kind initiative.

Chicago Track

chicago-trackLastly, and more loosely, Suzy will help the Trust grantee Office of Creative Industries at the City of Chicago to connect to the broader context of workforce development, which brings back the lessons of Investing in people and organizations as the key to civic tech.  

We’re interested in helping build the workforce pipeline in digital media by integrating the Chicago Track project and career-oriented digital media nonprofits with the workforce development and technology sectors that are more adept at tracking trends and job growth. We hope to leverage the combination of our commitment to juvenile justice, the needs of the tech community for diversity, and the opportunity to strengthen a career pipeline for an important constituency in our city.

Join us in welcoming Suzy to Smart Chicago.

Connect Chicago Meetup Recap: Special Needs Tech Training with Infiniteach & Motorola Mobility Foundation

Denise Linn

Members of Chicago’s digital access and skills community come together every month to hear a presentation from a Connect Chicago Corporate Partner and a Connect Chicago featured program. Join us! Sign up at Meetup.com.

On November 12th, the Connect Chicago network of trainers, nonprofit professionals, public servants and corporate partners convened to discuss the potential of mobile platforms, especially as they related to connecting special need populations.

cc meetup

Featured guests for this Meetup included the Motorola Mobility Foundation and Infiniteach. The Motorola Mobility Foundation sits on Connect Chicago’s Technology Advisory Council. We met Infiniteach through Smart Chicago’s resident membership at Literacenter.

Motorola Mobility Foundation’s Work in Chicago

Monica Hauser, the Foundation Manager at the Motorola Mobility Foundation, overviewed the history of Motorola in Chicago. Motorola is actually a Chicago-born company.

Monica talked about Motorola’s strategic focus areas in Chicago: STEAM education, technology entrepreneurship, and tech access. Why the “A” in STEAM? Monica explained that many young girls are introduced to technology and science through the arts. Incorporating the arts helps the whole pipeline.

Given the theme of the Meetup, Monica shared the Foundation’s tech access work and resources:

Connect Chicago Meetup November 12, 2015

Connect Chicago Meetup November 12, 2015 2

One of the highlighted projects from Monica’s presentation was a mobile app developed with the  Chicago Bar Association that connects Chicagoans to free and reduced price legal services. In general, Monica emphasized how the Foundation aims to build with its partners and truly make new, in-demand programs and services for residents.

Infiniteach

The Infiniteach team is focused on tech accessibility for autistic learners. If you haven’t heard of this social enterprise, below is a great overview of their philosophy and teaching products:

The Connect Chicago Meetup group heard from Infiniteach co-founder Christopher Flint. He explained that Infiniteach uses technology for what it’s good for – scaling, customization, and data collection. They leave student assessment to the expert, response humans.

It’s clear that a lot of user-centered thought went into this mobile learning tool. Infiniteach ipad app feeds students lessons customized to their interests. The app focuses on social learning as well as traditional educational learning. Two-player activities emphasize engagement and taking turns. All the activities have data so teachers and parents can track progress over time. A staggering fact that Infiniteach shared: 99.9% of adults with autism are not employed full time. Infiniteach is also interested in using technology to workforce development and job readiness skills for people with autism.

Lessons Learned: Leveraging the Power of Mobile in Chicago

Smart Chicago, under Connect Chicago, will soon start to work on a Mobile Toolkit. The goal of the Mobile Toolkit will be to help people leverage the power of their mobile devices. While many people don’t like the idea of relying on their mobile devices only, that is the reality for many in Chicago. How can we meet people where they are and help them navigate online banking, job applications, security, and cost savings when they rely on mobile platforms?

During the discussion portion of the Connect Chicago Meetup, participants brainstormed what a hypothetical “mobile toolkit” would train people in. Representatives from Smart Chicago, Chicago Public Library branches, Galvanize Labs, the Nonprofit Connection, Hooray for Learning, Chicago Defender Charities, the Chicago Department of Innovation and Technology, and other institutions came up with a great list of potential trainings:

  • A lesson or tool on where to find free Wi-Fi in Chicago A lesson or tool on where to find free public computing in Chicago 
  • A lesson or tool on how to forward a resume and other important documents when someone switches between a mobile phone and public computing 
  • Privacy on your Mobile Device 101
  • A  lesson on Data Usage 101 – what each type of action on your phone impacts your data plan and your expenses
  • A  lesson or set of trusted tools that help people save money on their mobile phones (coupons, deals, etc.)
  • Lessons on how to use Chicago-centric mobile apps

The working idea is that all of these trainings would be mobile-friendly videos for mobile users. We also suspect that a mobile toolkit would be useful even to those with broadband in the home.

To learn more about the November 12th Meetup, see the presentation and the notes.

Taken Charge: Apply for a Free Educational Game for Youth!

Denise Linn

How do teachers and trainers get youth digitally skilled, tech literate and job ready? While “coding” might be the first solution that comes to mind, learning to code isn’t the logical starting place for every young person. As Smart Chicago learned from this summer’s Youth-Led Tech program, successfully teaching technology to young people means balancing  foundational concepts and making learning fun.

The new browser-based game Taken Charge has a solution to this dilemma. The game covers a wide array of topics in addition to coding concepts – everything from the parts of a computer, how the Internet works,  and cyberbullying. As they learn new things, gamers earn badges marking their progress. All you need to get started is an Internet connection, and computer, and a 3rd grade reading level.

Read more about Taken Charge in Built in Chicago and see the demo below:

What sets this game apart? Taken Charge has an ISTE Seal of Alignment for Readiness. This means students who play Taken Charge are learning a foundational set of certified standards and skills. According to the ISTE website:

Reviewers determined that this resource helps build foundational technology skills needed to support the ISTE Standards for Students and helps teach students the basics of technology in a fun and motivational way. Players gain valuable knowledge on important technology concepts such as the basics of hardware, essential elements of search engines and websites, fundamentals of networks, appropriate online communication skills, and cyberbullying.

Apply to Get Free Access to the Taken Charge Game

Connect Chicago just purchased student accounts for the Taken Charge game. If you run a youth or digital training program in Chicago and know one or several students who want their own game accounts, please fill out this form!

Please note that a 3rd grade reading level is required to get the most out of Taken Charge. Also note that anyone is eligible to apply for the student accounts. We’re interested in seeing how this game can be used across different neighborhoods, students, and training environments.

We’re excited to learn more about Taken Charge and how gaming can promote STEM learning across Chicago. Apply for free student accounts at this link!

 

Smart Chicago + Literacenter

Denise Linn

literacenterlogo-310Smart Chicago is happy to announce that we are becoming a member of Literacenter  We expect Literacenter to be a key collaborative partner and convening location for our Connect Chicago efforts.

About Literacenter

Literacenter is the 1871 of literacy work in Chicago. It opened in May 2015 and is the country’s first co-working space for literacy programs. Literacenter cares about literacy at all levels – from children in Chicago Public Schools to adults seeking better lives and job prospects.

Literacenter is a flagship project of the Chicago Literacy Alliance. The Chicago Literacy Alliance’s mission aligns with Smart Chicago – especially the Connect Chicago initiative:

From reading an early picture book all the way through acquiring essential computer and communications technology skills, literacy is the key to a successful and independent life, and to a vibrant and sustainable city…

Other cities have shown the powerful partnerships that can come from uniting digital skill building work and traditional literacy work. We hope to forge a similar, strong alliance by joining Literacenter. Since basic computer literacy is pivotal to accessing jobs, education, and basic public services, it makes sense that innovative literacy  groups would begin to emphasize digital learning, too. Smart Chicago expects to both learn from and contribute to the Literacenter community.

Literacenter Tour 2

To read more about the history of Literacenter, see this  story on the Chicago Community Trust’s website.

To get a virtual tour of Literacenter, click here.

Smart Chicago and Literacenter

Membership at Literacenter will advance Smart Chicago’s work in the several ways. First, we will have access to more conference space for Connect Chicago Meetup events, CUTgroup tests and Health Navigator gatherings. As one might expect, Literacenter’s space is puntastic:

Literacenter Tour 3

Most importantly, Smart Chicago will be in league with existing Literacenter member organizations. Some of these organizations have explicit digital learning components. Others might seek to incorporate more digital learning into their literacy and educational missions. Who are we excited to collaborate with? Infiniteach is high on the list. They build learning apps for children with autism and special needs. Literarily, another Literacenter member, builds apps and online games in addition to traditional literacy  tools for educators. We also look forward to building with and learning from the Chicago Citywide Literacy Coalition, AARP Experience Corps, and Hooray for Learning – just to name a few.

Follow Literacenter and Smart Chicago on Twitter to hear about upcoming events on digital literacy and skill-building.