Last weekend, I visited The Hartbeat Ensemble, a theater house in Hartford’s Asylum Hill neighborhood that explores social justice, race, class, and gender in all of its plays and workshops. Their most recent play is “Jimmy and Lorraine: A Musing“.
The play highlights the relationship between James Baldwin and Lorraine Hansberry. While they are both well known for their writing and activism, the play brings us into their private space to learn about their hopes, fears, and deep love for each other.
Watching the play unfold, I got the sense I was watching something very special. The actors (from left to right in photo) Christopher Hirsh, Vanessa Butler as Lorraine, and Aaron Pitre as Jimmy also portrayed several other characters during the play. They performed the mannerisms and cadence of the characters in a masterful way. Most importantly, they brought us back into a moment in the 1960’s when they asked questions about racial progress that are similar to the questions we are asking today.
The Hartford Courant’s Frank Rizzo called the play a “gem” and one of the “best plays of the year”. You can read the review here. If you miss this gem, you will miss one of the best events in Hartford in 2015. The show happens every weekend until Sunday, November 22 (Thurs.- Sat. at 7:30 p.m., Sun. @ 2 p.m.). You can learn more or buy tickets for the show at The Hartbeat Ensemble website.
Participants on the Panel included: (from left to Right) Norma Neumann-Johnson, founding Principal of Breakthrough School, Hartford Public Schools Superintendent Beth Narvaez, HPS Director of School Choice Office Enid Rey, Hartford City Councilman David McDonald, Trinity College Community Relations Manager Julia Rivera, and HPS Chief Accountability Officer Jeron Campbell.
Join us for the Trinity College Faculty Research Committee Lecture Series – Fall 2015
On the Line: How Schooling, Housing, and Civil Rights Shaped Hartford and its Suburbs (2015 Ed.)
by JACK DOUGHERTY, Associate Professor of Educational Studies
HARTFORD’S URBAN-SUBURBAN HISTORY IN AN OPEN ACCESS BOOK
Thursday, October 29, Trinity College, 12:15 p.m. Common Hour Hallden Hall-North, Grand Room 104. A light lunch will be served.
On The Line, a book in progress, traces how schooling and housing boundaries have shaped metropolitan Hartford over the past century and the struggles of families and activists to cross over, redraw, or erase these powerful dividing lines. To share this story with broader audiences, Dougherty and contributors have created an open-access scholarly book, including interactive maps and oral history videos, under contract with Amherst College Press.
As part of our “Careers in Urban Education” Panel & Discussion, Robert Cotto, Jr. sat down with Berkley Singer for a conversation about her work this year. Berkley is a recent Trinity alumna (2015) and a City Year corps member in Denver, Colorado. In the conversation, Berkley shared what work she has been is doing, what her typical day looks like, and what advice she would give herself in back in her Trinity days.
City Year places its corps member as partners with cooperating teachers in schools. They assist teachers and students in small or larger groups on tutoring, after school programs, and other areas. As an AmeriCorps program, City Year provides a stipend and a number of other benefits.
You can learn more about the City Year program here and at Professor Dougherty’s site here. For more information, please contact:
Tiesha Nieves
Regional Recruitment Manager, Northeast City Year, Inc.
275 Westminster St., Suite 500 | Providence, RI 02903
401.454.3749 tnieves@cityyear.org
Over the last two days, the Career Development Office hosted the “Bantam Student Success Program” for Trinity students interested in learning more about career prospects. Dozens of people connected to Trinity as alums, supporters, students, administrators, and faculty participated in making the days meaningful.
Among the distinguished guests for different panels were alumnae, Jacquelyn Santiago (pictured left), the Chief Operating Officer at COMPASS Youth Collaborative, Inc, and Shakira Aida Ramos (pictured right), a Fleet Manager at Pratt and Whitney (UTC). Jacquelyn participated on the “Non-Profits” panel, while Shakira was on the “STEM” panel. Among their many accomplishments, Jacquelyn was recently named one of the Hartford Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” and Ramos was a Trinity College Trustee until 2010.
(Photo Courtesy of Joe Barber and Jacquelyn Santiago)
The education careers panel included Trinity alumna Crisanne Colgan , M.A. ’74, and Director of Urban Educational Initiatives, Robert Cotto, Jr., M.A. ’14 (pictured middle). Crisanne was a teacher and administrator in the Avon Public Schools district for several decades. She shared her path towards that career and some advice for current students. Robert Cotto also shared his path to becoming a teacher and working in educational policy.
The audience of roughly 20 students consisted of mostly sophomore and junior Trinity students. Their questions ranged from how to make the most of a liberal arts education, to what services students need today, and what is the best way to become knowledgeable about education policy. Hopefully this conversation will continue into next Thursday’s, “Careers in Urban Education” panel.
On Saturday, September 12, Trinity students helped out Hartford community service organizations and schools for the 17th Annual Do-It-Day. Although this year’s Do-It-Day was a bit smaller than usual, it was a big help for local groups that serve Hartford.
Under the direction of Joe Barber (pictured below on right), the Director of the Office of Community Service and Civic Engagement, Do-It-Day is one of the largest single-day community service events at Trinity. The event has been going since 1999. Each year, several hundred Trinity students split up into groups to help at dozens of community service organizations in the city. The event has grown from 150 Trinity participants in 1999 to about 650-700 regularly participating since 2009. This year’s event involved about 300 Trinity students.
This year’s Trinity student volunteers were primarily members of athletic teams that were not in season and the Trinity IDP students (Individualized Degree Program). That means these teams train and work together on a limited basis now. They will begin their season later this fall or in the spring.
So getting together for a community service project was a meaningful way for the teams to build camaraderie and serve Hartford organizations. The teams of Trinity students included: Baseball, Men’s Lacrosse, Men’s and Women’s Rowing, Men’s and Women’s Squash, Men’s and Women’s Swimming, Men’s and Women’s Tennis (pictured top left and right), Men’s and Women’s Basketball (pictured bottom left), Men’s and Women’s Track and Field, and Wrestling.
Photos by Joe Barber and Robert Cotto, Jr.
Community service organizations that were assisted by Trinity students included the Hartbeat Ensemble, Grace Academy, Cedar Hill Cemetery, and Pope Park, as well as many others. For example, the Women’s Tennis Team helped the Hartbeat Ensemble set up for their yearly gala. Joe DiChristina, the Dean of Campus Life and VP of Student Affairs, also stopped by with his children to help at Pope Park.
You can see all the Do-It-Day projects that happened throughout the City of Hartford on this map. Click on the red tags to learn more about each project!
While helping students to register and get their Do-It-Day T-shirts, Director of Urban Educational Initiatives, Robert Cotto, Jr., also met Alex Tomcho (pictured above), a Trinity student-athlete. Alex was a member of the first graduating class at the Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy, one of Trinity’s major partners. In addition to being a first-year student, Alex will compete on the Track and Field team in the spring.
A number of people helped make Do-It-Day 2015 a success in addition to Director Joe Barber. Those people included: Program Assistant in the Office of Community Service and Civic Engagement, Nafe Tengatenga, Trinity ’13 (pictured to the left of Joe), Program Coordinator for the Office of Spiritual and Religious Life, Megan O’Brien, Trinity ’14, and Trinity ’16 students Katherine Gagen, Kaitlyn Sprague, Alex Suarez, and Shanelle Morris. Nafe and Megan were former Do It Day coordinators as undergraduate students—Nafe in 2010 and Megan in 2012.
Want to learn more about how to get involved with Community Service and Civic Engagement at Trinity College? Visit the Office in Mather Hall or check out the website.
Careers in Urban Education Panel @ Trinity College
Hear the stories of Trinity alumni that are educators here in Hartford and other cities. Learn about their pathway into a career in urban education. There will be time for questions & discussion. Confirmed speakers include Shantel Hanniford, Zuleyka Shaw, Kate Bermingham, Stacey Lopez, Self Suffice (Khaiim Kelly), and Jesse Wanzer.
Time: 6:30-8:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 22
Location: Grand Room, Hallden Hall North
Light Dinner Served. Please sign up below so we can have an accurate count for dinner!
Sponsored by Urban Educational Initiatives, Educational Studies Program, and Career Development
Did you miss this event? You can watch the video recording below, here,or on YouTube.
Hi everyone, my name is Shantel Hanniford and I graduated from Trinity in 2014. While I was at Trinity I double majored in psychology and educational studies. I was also a member of the women’s basketball team and Caribbean Student’s Association (CSA). I am currently in my second year as an Americorps volunteer teacher at an all girls middle school in downtown Hartford, Grace Academy. My decision to teach was not an easy one, and like many of you interested in a pathway into urban education, you have the desire but may be missing the experience and that’s what I was missing when I was at your age at Trinity. Through this volunteer position at Grace Academy I have the flexibility to explore many different aspects of education. Last year my primary roles were 5th grade social studies teacher, administrative assistant, assistant director of Graduate support, and head basketball coach. This year my responsibilities have almost doubled. I am now the athletic director for the entire school, I’m still the head basketball coach, I am now the 5th and 6th grade health teacher, I’m still a 5th grade social studies teacher, 6th grade lead adviser, and I’m still an assistant director of graduate support. Thank you and I look forward to seeing all of you at the event.
Zuleyka Shaw graduated from Trinity in 2006 with a degree in biochemistry. She received her Masters in Science from The University of Connecticut in Curriculum and Instruction in 2009. She has been teaching in the city of Hartford since graduating from UConn. She has worked at two magnet schools and a community school within the district teaching both high school and middle school science. She is currently an 8th grade science teacher at Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy.
I graduated from Trinity with a double major in Psychology and Educational Studies in 2007. While earning my degree at Trinity I also obtained my teaching certification at Saint Joseph College. In the Fall of ’07 I student taught in a First Grade classroom at a Hartford magnet school. In January ’08, after student teaching, I took over a kindergarten classroom for a retiring a teacher and am now in my 8th year of teaching in Hartford. I have taught Kindergarten, First and Second grades and worked in 3 different schools and although it is challenging at times, I plan to stay in the district for many years to come. I stay connected with Trinity and work with the Educational Studies Department as a coordinator for Ed200 placements at my school. Currently, I’m teaching Second Grade at the Expeditionary Learning Academy at Moylan School (ELAMS) in Hartford.
Within Hartford’s youth development sector, Stacey has served as a mentor, bilingual educator, program coordinator, and program director. She currently works as Youth Organizer for the Christian Activities Council in Hartford’s North End neighborhood. Stacey graduated from Trinity College in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in Educational Studies and a minor in Community Action Studies. During her undergraduate studies, she held several internships in schools and community-based organizations in which she became passionate about popular education. Knowing that she doesn’t want to be a traditional classroom teacher, Stacey develops and facilitates culturally-relevant programs for several youth and community-focused non-profits. Grounded by a commitment to social justice, Stacey has applied her degrees in a wide range of areas: arts-based programs for populations impacted incarceration, food justice initiatives, urban agriculture, after-school programs, youth mentoring, adult education, and community organizing. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Social Work at University of Saint Joseph and serves on the board of the Judy Dworin Performance Project.
Khaiim the RapOet reaches several thousand individuals each year, through over 300 entertaining workshops, residencies, and performances. His busy schedule is inspired by a mission to help artists and teachers share their talents with the world. Also known as Self Suffice, when credited on musical recordings and Inspiring live performances, he turned down a major label deal from Def Jam to pursue a scholarship in Computer Science, and created his own music download software. Along with Mez of Jay-Z’s Dreamville/Roc Nation, he released “Manhattan Night”, which rose to the top of the independent Hip-Hop Top 40 Charts.
I graduated from Trinity in 2008 with a dual major in Education Studies and Psychology. When I graduated I knew I wanted to pursue either psychology or education. I knew I wanted to do research of some kind because I had done so much of it at Trinity. I started out as a research assistant in a psychology lab and absolutely despised it. I didn’t feel as if I was doing anything of meaning. I started thinking of my options and reflected a little on my time as an Ed Studies student at Trinity. I remembered how much I loved my placements at MD Fox, McDonough, and Parkville. I also thought about a conversation I had with Jack at an AERA conference a few years prior and him mentioning that a lot of Ed Studies students don’t realize that they’d make good teachers. I think we get so locked into the research that we don’t always stop and think, “What difference can I make?”So, I found a few options to return to school to get my teaching certification. I knew I wanted to return to Hartford and teach because Hartford had done so much for me. I enrolled in the University of New Haven’s Master’s in Teaching program. It was a one year (tuition-free!) program. I worked as an intern where I lived (Enfield) and took my classes at night at a satellite branch (Newington). After interning for a year, I student-taught in Hartford at Wish. Interning really prepared me to student-teach. I was also lucky to have an outstanding cooperating teacher that pushed me to become better. My student-teaching experience led me to a long-term sub position in Hartford until I landed a full-time job last year teaching 4th grade at the Expeditionary Learning Academy at Moylan School (ELAMS). I looped this year and am now teaching 5th grade. I love it and couldn’t think of doing anything else. Now I feel like I am finally giving back to Hartford.
The Office of Multicultural Affairs invites students, colleagues, and friends, to attend a screening of “Tested,” a film by award-winning filmmaker, Curtis Chin. The documentary, which follows a racially diverse group of students as they prepare to take a high stakes test that will determine whether they will be admitted to one of New York City’s prestigious specialized high schools, explores such topics as equal access, affirmative action, stereotypes, and the model minority myth.
The film will be screened on Thursday, October 1, 2015, in the Washington Room, Mather Hall, at 6:30 PM. Following the film, at around 7:45 PM, Curtis Chin will be available for a Q & A session.
Co-sponsored by thee following programs or departments: American Studies, Educational Studies, Political Science, Sociology, and Urban Educational Initiatives.
Interested in tutoring at a local school? Several Hartford Public Schools have put out a request for Trinity students to get trained and volunteer in a new tutoring opportunity through a program called “AVID” that is a national college prep program in several schools in Hartford.
This tutoring program might be a great opportunity for somebody interested in teaching, educational mentoring, or working with children in city schools. The full description is below and includes responsibilities, locations & times, and the purpose. For more information on these positions (they are looking for multiple people), contact:
Classes began today for Trinity College students and for several students that attend the Hartford Magnet Trinity College Trinity Academy (HMTCA). As part of a unique partnership agreement between the Hartford Public Schools and Trinity College, HMTCA students can apply to take introductory courses at Trinity during their senior year.
Because HMTCA is an interdistrict magnet school, roughly half the students reside in the City of Hartford and half in its suburbs. Last year, 22 students from HMTCA enrolled in Trinity College courses in math, English, music, psychology, and others. This fall, 21 students will also take classes. These students get support from staff at HMTCA and Trinity faculty.
The idea is that by taking a class at Trinity, HMTCA students can earn course credit and begin the transition from high school to college. You might hear these types of high school/college partnerships described as “early college” programs. This program is slightly different than most because HMTCA students can earn Trinity credit, but not high school credit at the same time as in other programs. In addition to the college course aspect of the partnership, nearly all HMTCA seniors take their high school English or Capstone class on Trinity’s campus.
Before classes began, HMTCA students participated in an orientation and a tour of campus last Friday. School counselors Sonia Tamburro (in photo on left) and Hannah Kaizer (in photo on right) and Director of Urban Educational Initiatives, Robert Cotto, led the orientation and tour.
On the Line: How Schooling, Housing, and Civil Rights Shaped Hartford and its Suburbs (2015 Ed.)
