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Celebrating 200 Years of Local History

REACH grant proposal submitted by Riverside Primary Center.

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PSLA Special Education Application

Name of School: Riverside Primary Center
Name of School District: Riverside Beaver County School District
Name of School District Business Manager: Mary S. Hoffman
Name of person submitting grant: Ruth Roperti
Title/Position: Teacher
Title of Project: Celebrating 200 Years of Local History
# of Students participating: 150
Dates of project: January 2001-August 2001

REACH Grant Proposal

The past seven years I have been studying the history of our school district with my third grade classes. Right here, even within walking distance from our school, are such interesting places as a cemetery, where Revolutionary War soldiers, Civil War soldiers, and slaves are among those buried, a home that was part of the Underground Railroad, a 200 year old church, and a place of legendary buried pirate gold. Through previous small grants, we have researched, filmed a video, toured sights of interest, and written and performed a five-act play. This year North Sewickley Township where our school is located is celebrating its 200th birthday. The supervisors formed a committee and asked fro volunteers to help with the planning of the celebration.

I would like my students from this year's class and those of the past six years to be involved. I have contacted the supervisors and offered our help. I told them what we had done in the past and they were excited to accept our plans. We will continue to do research to add to what is already collected and verify facts. During this years Thanksgiving break, this class continued the assignment I give yearly to discover their own family tree by doing two interviews of family members and writing a family story. I have been collecting these into an archive that will be kept for future historical research. We also had Colonial Day where members of the community came to our classrooms to demonstrate skills and ways of life of those of the past. So we have already begun!

With the PSLA Service Learning Grant we would revise and update our video. It is called "View From The Bus", and is a tour of our community shown from the school busses coming and going to school each day. This would be available for borrowing throughout the school and area. Our research would be turned into a bound booklet available to interested members of the school district and teachers and students. This year's class would get to take a guided tour of various historical sights, as classes have in the past. The alumni of my class would be invited to join with this year's class to present an expanded more dynamic version of our play for the community celebration.

Project Design

Community Need
North Sewickley is celebrating 200 years. The supervisors have asked for help in planning a celebration. The students can and should be involved. The students will provide a historical booklet and a play for the program.

Program Design
Only a few adults have volunteered their time and ideas. Students will make it happen, because it will be part of their normal curriculum time, they will be excited, and their influence will spread to all areas of the community where they live. We will have a celebration!

Participant Roles
Students from third through ninth grade will be involved in producing the research, booklet, and play. The township supervisors and the committee they are forming will plan the other aspects of the celebration. Community members will share their knowledge and experience of the area. The Parent's Club will help produce the booklet. The high school audiovisual club will assist in video revisions.

Partnerships
The key partnership will be with the governing body of the township and the school. As a result of this we should have a meaningful celebration of 200 years of life here.

School To Work
Students learn how to work in the modern world by participating in group work. Much is done in today's business world by team effort. They will learn a lot about public and social speaking and self-confidence by appearing on stage in a play. Through gathering and organizing research the students will become adept at skills needed as they pursue their education and enter the work world. In working with community leaders they will learn more about government and their role in it.

Academic Connection
This project fits right into the current curriculum. The third grade social studies book covers communities as its base of study. It seems most important and meaningful to study our own. The producing of an historical booklet will also increase our computer skills right at the expected level. Throughout all subjects and the year, I have my students do reflective and reactive writing in their journals. I will also do this for this project. In this way they claim the learning for themselves, I can determine if they understood, and I feel they will remember it.
Our local standards for social studies are not of the ones we have completed, but as I pointed out previously, our whole year in third grade is spent on studying communities. From my work on other parts of the curriculum, I know the writing of Riverside's standards to meet the state standards will not significantly change this. We have already had high expectations of our students. Some of the standards that will be addressed concerning technology will be, using word processor for stories and reports, using software to create and organize information, creating multimedia presentations, and use of the Internet for research. (Beaver County history is on the Internet). Basic skills will definitely be improved. There will be lots of reading of previous student's research and that found in books and on the Internet. Students will listen carefully and politely to the reminiscing of older citizens. Math skills will be improved in developing a time line and graphing. As the students develop and present the play they will envision the past, create a vision for others, improve their self-esteem, and speak before a large audience. They will learn responsibility as they work independently and with others to find out the truth of the past.

Youth Voice
It will be the students' job to find information and record and present it. With the teacher's guidance, they will be able to interview a much broader segment of the population than any adult would on their own. Because of the natural inclination of older people to enjoy interacting with young people. They will come away with good results. Since they will be excited about their role in recording and presenting history, their parents, grandparents, and neighbors will want to see what they do. They will have to do this, because one teacher cannot visit the population necessary or perform all the roles in the five-act play.

Proposed Budget

$60 - To build two wooden box frames for the scenery for the play. These two frames will each hold pictures drawn by the students, one on each of the four sides. My husband and son will construct them. We had these frames and used them for five performances, but disposed of them last year, because warping and use had worn them out. This is our only scenery, and the boxes are turned to make scene changes.

$140 - for a bus for a day to tour historic sights in our school district. Someone will meet us at each sight to be the docent and explain what the students are seeing and its importance in our community. A walking tour will also be taken to sights nearby. Sights to be seen are:

Cow House - a stop on the Underground Railroad.

North Sewickley and other cemeteries - where children can find the graves of Revolutionary War soldiers (including one buried with his horse). Civil War soldiers, slaves, family ancestors, founders of the community, and famous Americans.

A 200 year old Baptist Church.

Phillis House - a home inhabited by the Phillis family for almost 200 years and founders of the area called Fombell.

Zelienople Airport - in use for 50+ years.

Two parks - one state and one county.

The site of legendary buried pirate gold from the 1800's and the claimed sightings of their ghosts, which established a community tradition.

A Grange - that brought many modern conveniences to our community through its influence

Bassenheim Furnace - dating to the time and request of President Jefferson to make our own iron and maintain our independence. The Bassenheims were the founders of nearby Zelienpole, just outside our borders.

The remaining structures of a trolley that carried people to Pittsburgh in the early 1930's to shop, carried Pittsburghers to swimming amusement parks in our community, transported locally grown produce and milk to the city, and brought the first electricity to our homes.

Several sites with remaining evidence of the popular parks for swimming, boardwalking, riding, and even the first waterslides.

The second most polluted stream of water in the United States - The Connoquenessing Creek is second only to the Mississippi River.

The Michael Recycle Center - one of the first in the tri-state area, started by a Riverside teacher and now receiving refuse from all over this area.

$100 - For books about local, county and state history, to be used for research and remain as a permanent part of the historical collection I have been gathering.

$150 - For supplies to make historical booklets containing the information we have gathered. The Parent's Club had a machine for binding. We just need to supply the paper and binding materials for the books. We will make enough for each child participating to won one and extras to share with the school and community. These booklets may prove to be marketable in the future.

$50 - For our celebration reception at the conclusion of the play presentation. Parents will also donate to this celebration.

Total: $500