Target 4 – Engaged Community Partners. FWSU staff and students will collaborate, innovate, create and conceptualize ideas and learning with local, regional, state, and global partners to make a difference in their community, state, and world.
Action Step – Plan and manage instruction around problems relevant to students and their community and develop solutions for authentic audiences.
Indicator of Success – Students challenge convention and make contributions in their community, state, and world.
The Spanish 3 class at BFA recently hosted Señora Elizabeth Griffin as part of a long-term civic awareness campaign focused on the severe drought in Latin America. Students are engaged in project-based learning with an integrated unit on health-related vocabulary.
The class formed many questions for Señora Griffin to further their understanding of the drought. They wondered about the signs and visible effects of the drought on Nicaragua. They expressed interest in the local people and lands. Also, they were curious if Señora Griffin had used health vocabulary during in her many volunteer mission trips to Nicaragua, Brazil, Guatemala, and Honduras.
Students had this to say about their time with Señora Griffin:
“She was cool; her stories kept me captivated! … She gave new perspective on what it is like to be in Latin-American country.”
This led the students to organize a fundraiser to promote awareness of the Latin American drought among the students and staff. The Spanish 3 class has collected donations to send via the non-profit Peace Corps for the Guatemala Country Fund. This Fund supports Peace Corps volunteers working for water, sanitation, agricultural development and youth programs in Guatemala which has been severely affected by drought.
Our students know that their efforts can make a difference!
The FWSU Story 