Today on Education Counts Michiana, citywide classroom, talking to children about race, designer space in Elkhart County, what to do when there's nothing to do?

Education counts michiana is underwritten by Pokagon Band of Potawatomi investing in education and economic development for centuries, supporting the past, current and future development of the Michiana region.

Community Foundation of Elkhart County.

Inspire good.

Kosciusko County Community Foundation, where donor dreams shine, the Dekko Foundation Community Foundation of St. Joseph County, LaGrange County Community Foundation, NIPSCO, the Beim Foundation, Crossroads United Way, serving Elkhart, LaGrange and Noble Counties, United Way of St.. Joseph County.

Marshall County Community Foundation.

Ready to Grow St. Joe Early Childhood Coalition and a Gift by Elmer and Dolores Tepe.

Thank you.

Welcome to Education Counts Michiana.

I'm your host, Sam Centellas.

Education Counts highlights programs and initiatives that are impacting how we teach, how we learn and how we embrace education.

This program explores ideas in all education sectors preschool through lifelong learning, K-12 post-high school and job advancement training with the philosophy that we should never stop seeking knowledge.

Find additional resources at WNIT.org and on the Education Counts Facebook page.

First up, creating conversation.

There are many topics young children will ask their parents about.

While the subject of race can seem uncomfortable, it shouldn't be avoided.

We take a look at some of the resources parents can use to talk to children about race and race relations.

Brent Fox produced this segment.

Children are naturally inquisitive, meaning sooner or later they'll look to adults to learn more about tougher topics.

We know that kids look to their parents, their loved ones, those trusted adults, coaches, youth group leader, scout leaders, any of those folks for--to model and to understand how they should respond to the issues of race, but also to diversity.

And if we can model a way and an approach forward that is celebratory of these differences, it can make all the difference in how our kids grow up and view differences among their peers and amongst our population.

And finding the best way to talk about these topics can sometimes be difficult.

One place that can be turned to is a resource that has been around for five decades.

Sesame Workshop's mission is to help children grow in all areas, and that means their social, emotional development, physical development and cognitive development.

But very often we also tackle those very, very difficult topics.

And to do so, we take a very comprehensive approach.

First, we're always learners, hence our title as workshop, and we're learning from advisors.

We're learning from also on the ground, community providers, parents, caregivers and children themselves.

And most of all, we do these topics based on what are the greatest needs of young children in today's time and most important, we always take the child's point of view and perspective.

One topic that has come up more often these days involves race and racial justice.

Hearing from a lot of families that they want to have these conversations, they know they're important.

Many times the students themselves are asking for the conversations.

And yet as adults, sometimes we can be afraid that we don't have the right information, the best approach, whatever that might be.

The reality is there is no one right way to have these discussions.

It's just really important to be in conversations with our young people and making sure that we're talking to them about human rights and fairness and kindness and how do we want to treat each other as we move forward together.

Sesame Workshop from its very beginning, and that's in 1969, believe very strongly that part of its mission was to represent the inclusion and diversity representative for our nation.

So now we continue that, but we even go deeper and we go deeper in such a way that we're guiding parents, caregivers, providers and particularly children to understand their race, their self identity and the identity of others, but also the impact of racism on many, many families and children.

Sesame Workshop has a variety of resources to help parents and caregivers find the best way to broach what can be seen as a sensitive subject.

We focused on the ABCs of racial literacy, and when you bring that down, it was our approach on how to establish conversations for, again, the grown ups with their young children to talk about race, self identity, but also the effects of how to cope with racism.

But in the end, it's also how do we develop every child to be an upstander for themselves and for others.

How you talk to kids like any other topic depends on how old those kids are.

So when they're much younger, you can keep it fairly simplistic.

So we talk a lot about little ones under age five.

And they can--they do.

They are curious.

They are recognizing differences.

And here it's really important that you again discuss those differences in appearance in a very positive way.

You want to celebrate that diversity of cultures and people.

And there are some great sources out there.

Sesame Street has some terrific, terrific--You know, a lot of folks do like the Sesame Street characters.

They have some great resources to talk to very young children.

We decided that one of the ways to begin that conversation is to talk about the physicality of race.

What--how did children develop their own skin color and that is through melanin, so we have our wonderful Muppet's, Wes and Elijah talk about the origin of race and explain melanin to Elmo and to themselves.

The topic of race and racism can be uncomfortable, but it is an important subject to tackle so kids can fully understand the world around them.

One of the things for us to keep in mind is that our state, Indiana, is increasingly growing diverse and our child population is significantly more diverse than our adult population, as is our world and our country.

So you as an adult, as a parent or grandparent or a family member, may not have grown up in a very diverse community.

That doesn't mean that your child or grandchild or a child you care about isn't going to.

When it comes to talking about racial justice, the idea is to understand that even as infants, that little children start to notice differences and understand the nuances of race and also building their self identity.

So having these resources peacefully available and every moment means that we're following children's growth, along with parents and caregivers and other providers, everyday conversations and moments.

We need to make sure that all kids in our neighborhood, in our state and in our country have the same opportunities.

And so that kind of--kids understand that they understand.

Doesn't everybody deserve a fair shot?

Isn't it important that you have the tools you need to grow up and be successful?

Of course it is.

So therefore, we want to make sure that those same opportunities are afforded to every other child.

You'll find more resources at WNIT.org.

Inclusion for All Abilities.

In Elkhart County, Designer Space, a new nonprofit, is creating new spaces for special needs children.

This program's unique model will allow typical and atypical children to learn with each other and from each other.

Segment producer Scott Palmer presents this story.

Ashes, Ashes!

We all Fall Down!

Good Job!

Bridgette Chambers believes what her daughters need most is inclusion into their community.

When our daughter Cynthia was born with Down's syndrome, we felt a lack of resources and needs within the community.

So we found ourselves driving to larger cities to fill that gap.

One of the largest needs was when we started to look into preschool for Cynthia's older sister.

They are only 15 months apart, so we had intended for them to attend the same preschool and we did not find anywhere that was fitting for both our typical and atypical child.

If you think of any family, you can't imagine sending your children to two separate preschools.

One day I was overwhelmed with the lack of resources here at Elkhart County.

So when I got on to do a video, it turned emotional.

Our children are beautiful and equally creative and they deserve equal opportunity.

I know that there is a need for this in our community and I'm going to make it happen.

Our name is Designer Space, and it has the D three twenty one in it.

The significance of the three twenty one is it stands for Trisomy 21, which is Down's syndrome.

Her vision, a new preschool, a big plan for this new nonprofit that for now is starting small.

We have multiple goals.

Our main mission is to bring inclusion mainstream here in Elkhart County.

So with doing that, we're currently offering extracurricular activities for children specifically with disabilities.

Activities like this music class, which isn't about learning music, but using music to make other connections.

Leo really loves instruments.

Any time you put anything in front of him that's like a musical instrument, he will take to it and play with it and be excited for it.

So when he gets to explore that, other things begin to happen.

You know, he can make progress in other areas.

It's not often that she gets to engage in a room with other children.

So even being able to teach her manners in that respect and appropriateness when it comes to interacting and engaging with other children, that is really huge for us.

And if she tackles somebody down with a hug, they understand.

Since the mission is inclusion, typical students are welcome to join in.

But organizers say the real inclusion comes later.

An atypical child may be attending our art, yoga or dance classes.

And we are going to have extra resources and extra sets of hands that way we are able to add adaptations and teach them what they need to know so that they can feel comfortable and confident, not only in our class, but then also go outside into the existing programs within our community and be included in those programs as well.

To achieve that inclusion outside their programs, Designer Space hopes to begin with inclusion inside.

Our next goal is we are in pursuit of a preschool where we will have one atypical and one typical ratio, one to one.

We will not only have a lead teacher, but we will also have an occupational therapist and a speech therapist floating between the classrooms in addition to assistants.

I would love to be a part of a program that has both one to one.

That way they're learning from each other.

I mean, your--your typical child can learn just as much from a not so typical child, then vice versa.

So in addition to having a regular classroom teacher, you'll have a speech therapist who can teach speech oriented lessons or phonics lessons or having the OT support their grasp or their need for specialized seating system.

Typical parents that I know are extremely excited about our model because they want to teach their children empathy and compassion.

The designer space model is so unique, Bridgette has found only one other program like it in Texas.

So building a new program means building a new team fast.

We actually just became incorporated in January and we received our 501 c three in May.

So we have been a nonprofit by the federal law only for a couple of months.

We have a lot of excitement and people watching our page to see when the preschool would be opening and what services we're offering and tell them.

Our growth has been amazing.

So many people have been willing to come alongside us and help lend a hand.

Even organizations who are donating space, volunteers donating their time.

Our biggest struggle is not going too fast.

It's incredible.

Once you get in the community, the community is tight and they are willing to help as much as they can, but it's just finding those people.

Find out more at WNIT.org.

Access for students.

The Internet has evolved into an essential part of life.

Parents use it for work and kids use it for school.

But some households don't have access to high quality Internet connections.

Citywide classroom South Bend is providing the needed equipment to help close the digital divide at no cost.

Technology has made it easier for people to do many things, but there still exists a digital divide.

The digital divide really is just this chasm between the resources that people who have the Internet have and those who don't lack access to.

So really, you know, the Internet, especially now, 2021.

It's not a luxury.

It really is a necessity.

It's become an important thing that allows us to apply for jobs, access telemedicine, apply for government services, and participate in a very basic level when it comes to education and civic engagement.

Where the divide can be especially harmful is when students don't have the collectibility they need to get their work done.

So Citywide classroom South Bend is looking to close that division.

The school district is taking a multi prong approach and we've been lucky enough to partner with InFocus in the city of South Bend, both who are extremely innovative and bring these different approaches into closing the digital divide.

So what we have is Citywide classroom South Bend, which is providing wireless and home Comcast connections to our students in need along with our Wi-Fi busses.

So we have over two hundred of those which were included in a grant that the three entities wrote together for one point eight dollars million, which we park at places throughout the city that are identified as high need areas.

Our partnership with the South Bend Kelly School Corporation has been really helpful because we've been able to identify school administrators who've really brought students to us, students that they think would benefit from the project, from the program.

And then we've also used geographic information to look at places and South Bend that have high concentrations of students as well as high concentrations of students that would qualify for the program.

And we've been using targeting efforts such as canvassing.

So going door to door and seeing if people need to apply for the program, leaving fliers and posters.

And those are really the main ways that we've been reaching out to students.

We live in a society now where the Internet really for everybody isn't just a luxury item.

It's really like power, like water.

It's necessary to to function in life.

Your banking, your learning, your job, applying everything, paying bills goes through the Internet.

So one of the things that we've done with citywide classroom South Bend as well is toward our students once a student qualifies, we don't lock that out for only that student to get on.

Their household can get on and enjoy the Internet as well, because it's more than just a learning tool.

We really want it to be a quality of life tool.

And it's easy for parents to apply to be part of the program.

We have both an English application and a Spanish application, and all they have to do is fill it out.

Parents or guardians are the ones that are allowed to fill it out.

We ask basic questions about the household.

So things like how many students live in the household, how long they've stayed in that household, how many weeks, how many days out of the week they do homework in the household as well as general income and data and then submit it and we'll be in contact with them about if they've qualified and if they have qualified, we'll let them know where to pick up their devices.

When we started it, we focused on the empowerment zone schools because they do have a higher proportional need.

Just where--where we draw their students are drawn from.

So initially it was open to them.

But as we got our feet on the ground, we figured out the process to hand--to hand out the devices effectively and efficiently.

We opened it to all students in the district.

So as of right now, any student in South Bend schools or the empowerment zone can apply for Internet access.

And one of the team members from CCSB will reach out and get them all set up.

Citywide classroom South Bend is looking to close the digital divide by providing better Internet access to everyone who needs it.

There's so many things that the students can do.

You know, you have digital field trips, you have coding experiences with South Bend code school.

You have just this whole wide area that is opening up and it's expanding at this huge rate right now.

And there's so many new things coming online for the students.

So, you know, you when people think about learning, they think about, you know, zoom meeting or Google meet meeting or things like that.

But the students can be involved in so many different things right now on the Internet that--that they couldn't before and definitely couldn't before when they had no Internet at their house.

It goes a lot deeper than just accessing the Internet.

Right.

There's so many different avenues that students and families can take with Internet access.

So, for example, a student in high school has access to the Internet.

Now they can research about different colleges that they'd be interested in, they could research scholarships, do virtual tours.

The world is, I mean, basically at their fingertips.

And so bridging that digital divide would just help community members become more connected.

Like I said, like that autonomy and what they're able to access is also what makes this project so important.

Learn more about the program at WNIT.org.

There's nothing to do.

Finding activities that are both fun and educational in the summer can be sometimes difficult.

Activity Hero was created to make everything easier through a one stop shop to find fun for kids.

Enrichment programs can be a way for kids to do more than just what they're doing in school.

But funding these programs does take time.

And that's why two working moms teamed up to make the process easier.

Activity Hero is really the idea that for parents it's just too hard to find programs for their kids.

I'm a mom of two.

My co-founder, Shilpa Dalmia, is also a mom of two, and we just found it way too hard to find summer camps to find after school classes for our kids.

When we work full time.

It's just we don't have all the hours in the day to sift through brochures, through websites, trying to piece it together.

And when we talk to other parents, they all shared this common problem.

So being from Silicon Valley and having worked at many tech companies, we thought we need to solve it.

This is an important problem to solve for parents, especially working parents.

And a lot of time working moms especially feel this burden and we created activity here to solve it.

We find all the interesting programs that are around the area.

Of course, we have to be very localized.

So we started in the San Francisco Bay Area and we found all these different programs and we added it all to our searchable database so that families could search by dates, by the kids age, of course, where they live, and really narrowed down the places that would fit their needs.

And there--and it might be interesting for their kids.

And once they find it, they can book it all in one place.

So instead of filling out form after form, you know, putting down your kids allergies and their emergency contacts and again and again, you can book it all in one place.

Activity here also acts as a one stop shop for parents looking to get their kids involved in camps and other programs, both in the summer and during the school year, We're a marketplace for all kids, camps and classes.

We really envision that anything you might need to do, research for your kids to for them to spend their time to for them to find classes, we want you to find it in one place.

Righ?.

So a more like an Amazon-like experience to find all these things.

Kids related, but but more things related to your kids out of school, education and enrichment.

There's many opportunities to enrich the kids outside of school.

In fact, school is just a smaller fraction of their the total hours in the weeks in the year.

So we know that there's so much out of school time and we want to as parents, we want the best for our kids.

So we want to enrich with maybe foreign languages or music.

And some of these things have been cut from schools.

So there's--the out of school programs are a way to find those those interests that really spark the kids creativity or their passions and really give them something that they can achieve and accomplish.

That's in addition to what they're doing in school.

Programs can range from sports board games and even different kinds of writing.

Well, I was talking to Jyoti, the founder of.

she's the the one that created the puppets and writing camp.

And the way she--this--this camp came about is that she's been running a writing camp for fifteen years and she started utilizing puppets as a way of teaching, sometimes just telling the stories.

And so--so it eventually evolved last year into a dedicated camp just for puppets and writing.

Having a place to find these programs isn't just a way for kids to explore their own passions.

It also has benefits for working parents.

Especially for working parents.

There is a--there's a really enormous burden, a lack of child care, lack of child care during the summer and school holidays.

There are 16 weeks worth of summer and different school holidays through a year.

So, of course, each of us do not have six weeks of--16 weeks of vacation.

So we need to fill out these different things with--with camps and different programs.

So camps and school holiday camps happens to be a way of having some child care without having the the full time or year round commitment of hiring a babysitter or having a nanny.

You know, not everyone can afford that kind of dedicated child care, so camps are a way of doing that.

Activity here isn't just a resource for parents and their kids, it can also bring awareness to the different types of enrichment programs that are just waiting to be utilized.

We're always really amazed by the variety of different programs that--that are offered in an area.

And a lot of the people might not be aware of that, that there could be fencing classes near them or there could be some magic classes available online.

So it really opens up the world to some different ideas and different different places to explore.

Check out WNIT.org for more information on all these stories.

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The success of every student matters.

This WNIT local production has been made possible in part by viewers like you.

Thank you.

Education counts Michiana is underwritten by Pokagon band of Potawatomi, investing in education and economic development for centuries, supporting the past, current and future development of the Michiana region.

Community Foundation of Elkhart County.

Inspire good.

Kosciusko County Community Foundation, where donor dreams shine.

The Dekko Foundation.

Community Foundation of St. Joseph County, LaGrange County Community Foundation, NIPSCO, the Beim Foundation, Crossroads United Way, serving Elkhart LaGrange and Noble Counties, United Way of St.. Joseph County.

Marshall County Community Foundation.

Ready to Grow St. Joe Early Childhood Coalition and a Gift by Elmer and Dolores Tepe.

Thank you.