Today, on Education Counts Michiana highlights from some of the best local initiatives and best practices in education.

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 Count,y 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 looks for 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.

This week we highlight some of the best ideas in education; AmeriCorps for learning and teaching, enFocus for retaining talent, talking to children about race, Designer space in Elkhart County, book share for including all readers and make IN move.

Internet access; Citywide Classroom South Bend is providing the needed equipment to help close the digital divide at no cost, providing students and families access to Wi-Fi.

Segment producer Brent Fox had this story.

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 city wide classroom South Bend is looking to close that division.

The school district has taken a multi prong approach and we've been lucky enough to partner with enFocus and 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 million dollars, which we park places throughout the city that are identified as high need areas.

Our partnership with the South Bend Community School Corporation has been really helpful because we've been able to identify school administrators who 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 in 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 canvasing.

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.

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, a 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 basically at their fingertips.

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

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

Check out fuller versions of all these stories at WNIT.org.

AmeriCorps for training; a federal program that helps volunteers develop new educational programs also helps them further their own education.

Participants are providing a year of service right here in Michiana with AmeriCorps.

Segment producer Scott Palmer has this story.

Movies with your mom.

Oh, that's nice.

Abbie Sexton wasn't sure about starting graduate school during a pandemic.

I had just graduated in 2020.

I really didn't know what I wanted to do, I knew that I was really drawn to nonprofit work.

I wasn't sure which avenue I wanted to take with that, though.

Instead, she joined the Boys and Girls Clubs of St. Joseph County serving their literacy tutoring program as a member of AmeriCorps.

Something that AmeriCorps allowed me to do was to be exposed to all different avenues of nonprofit work.

I was able to get a glimpse into marketing operations, a little bit of fundraising.

AmeriCorps is like a stateside Peace Corps program.

It's where people give a year of service to their community and then they receive very modest financial compensation.

During their term of service, members might also receive health insurance, child care or forbearance on student loans.

But what happens is this could give you a chance to do something you would not otherwise be able to do.

So they wouldn't let you replace a receptionist at your front desk or those things.

But if there's a program you always wanted to try or expand, AmeriCorps could give you that capacity to do so.

For example, we had a little preschool that was started 11 years ago by one of our AmeriCorps members.

And now we have a fully licensed preschool that's been in operation for a decade now.

And it really started with AmeriCorps members.

The AmeriCorps focus on education goes two ways.

Not only do the host programs build their capacity, the member does, too.

There's also an education benefit.

So it could either help with your own education expenses, either past or future.

At the end of that service, they receive a six thousand dollar education award for their own future education or to pay off student loans.

For years I always thought that AmeriCorps was only for young adult students and high school kids coming out.

It really impacted me because at the time I was old, I was in my 60s at the time and it really helped me because I had a daughter that was in college.

I think it's a program that is really steady and has great leaders in our community.

I wouldn't change my AmeriCorps Experience for the world.

It was great.

Find out more about today's segments at WNIT.org.

Infusing innovation.

The key to economic development is attracting and retaining local talent.

enFocus is bringing innovation back to the region.

So enFocus is a unique nonprofit that was founded in 2012.

Our mission is to empower talent to build better communities.

Really, the problem that we're solving, as is Indiana, a brain drain issue.

A lot of our graduates go off to other places and we'd like to inspire them to stay in our communities here.

And so who we are, we're a group of young professionals, recent graduates, collaborating with community leaders to try to make this a better place and hopefully attract retain talent along the way.

What makes our fellowship program unique is it's really project based.

Other programs, some pure examples, tend to place graduates as fellows within host organizations, work on a variety of projects.

You know, we actually find strategic projects and organize them, such as a fellow gets to lead them, which compared to other types of occupations, you really get to lead a project in your first year and you get to work on a variety of different efforts with different organizations, not just one.

For me, the best part about enFocus really is the fact that I get the opportunity to touch not only the civic sector, a little bit of civic governments, nonprofits.

I also get the opportunity to work with for profit businesses as well.

And in all these opportunities, like the best part is that I know I get to make an impact on the communities that help me make me who I am, especially through as I'm leaning now more in my professional career.

I think transitioning back towards the for profit industry, knowing that the impact I can have there can help drive that economic growth and development in the region.

enFocus was a wonderful discovery for me.

So I was working with a an attorney in town here, Dave Temeles, who strongly encouraged my coming to meet the folks at enFocus, and they have been able to help me basically develop an R&D arm.

So small businesses don't have the funds typically to do the kind of research and development work that they would like.

And so by connecting here, we've been able to do some amazing things in a short amount of time.

I think economies, communities, small, medium size, even large communities are competing for talent in a way more so.

I mean, even after the pandemic, things are changing.

And so what we found is purpose is important early in your career as well as it's a draw for talent.

And so for South Bend or Elkhart or Marshall County to be very much competitive in the worldwide marketplace for talent, these programs catch the attention of young professionals and try to increase the chances of them staying here.

And so in each community, we need to have the innovative talent programs that educate and inspire folks to be here versus elsewhere.

Learn more at WNIT.org.

Opening the conversation, there are many topics young children will ask their parents about.

We explore some of the resources parents can use to talk to their children about race and race relations.

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 leaders, 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 among 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.

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.

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.

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 offer.

UNITIES are afforded to every other child.

For extended versions of all the stories, check out the WNIT website.

Normalizing Disability.

In Elkhart County, Designerspace 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.

We all fall down!

Good job!

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

When our daughter Cynthia was born with Down syndrome, we felt a lack of resources in means within the community.

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

You get her!

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

You guys want to go find sissy?

Our name is Designer Space and it has the D 321 in it.

The significance of the 3 21 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.

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 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.

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 501c3 in May.

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

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.

Check out these stories at WNIT.org.

Access to reading; Bookshare provides millions of book titles that can be engaged with in multiple ways.

The program ensures students can read in a format that best suits their learning ability.

Reading is a very large part of a person's education.

But for students who have visual impairments, learning disabilities or aren't able to physically hold books, reading can be a challenge.

Bookshare serves as a way to help not only make reading easier for these students, but also fun.

Book Share is the largest accessible e-book library in the world.

We have over a million titles in our collection and our mission is simply to make reading easier for people with disabilities.

Bookshare is a fully free service for US students and schools as long as they have a qualifying disability under that print disability.

For us in our district is used in our classrooms kind of K through 12 and then our media center.

So we have media centers in every--in every elementary building, middle school and high schools as well that can help students get access to these great resources that also have some great accessibility features.

Bookshare allows students to choose how they take in the content of books and find the best ways to engage with the material.

You have to get students liking and engaged in what they are reading and interacting with.

So for them to be able to A) pick a device that they like to read off of or learn from is key for us.

But then as you get into book share, there's millions of titles.

So teachers aren't just limited to hard copy textbooks that they have.

There's nonfiction, there's fiction almost, you know, something that will interest them no matter what their background.

And that is, you know, hard to do without these digital resources.

Almost impossible to do if you're trying to engage every student.

For students who use it, Bookshare is a valuable tool to read not just what they need to do, but also what they want to.

We have students tell us all the time, like, 'I hated reading until Bookshare', you know?

The thought of sitting in class and having free reading time or having to read a paragraph out loud.

Like, that's--that's debilitating for a student who maybe has dyslexia or a visual impairment, who can't read a book in the same way as their peers.

And so giving them that access to ingest material in similar ways is their peers to comprehend that material and, you know, a very age appropriate, age level way.

For more stories about education, check out WNIT.org.

Connexus Indiana launched a new initiative called Make IN Move.

The program introduces students to the world of advanced manufacturing and logistics.

Make IN move is really a campaign to make Generation Z and some of our youth understand the opportunities and career paths that are involved in advanced manufacturing logistics.

It's an incredibly important and vital industry to our state and incredibly excited to see what we can do to--to build that awareness and draw more people into these great careers and pathways.

Make IN Move is a new initiative geared towards the latest generation of high school graduates.

The goal?

To inform them of the many career opportunities that can be found in advanced manufacturing and logistics.

Make Indiana Move has done a really good job in providing that digital architecture so students can actually have access to this content, learn, understand what these things mean.

When you say the word manufacturing, most of the time you think of, Oh man, I'm going to get an assembly line job, I'm going to just be a grunt.

That's not the case.

Frankly, that's not the case at all anymore.

Start thinking about I'm going to work with sensors and chip technology.

I can actually learn how to program a machine that can 3D print and print product on demand.

I'm using these advanced artificial intelligence algorithms.

It's going to help me make decision quality better.

So we're going to have a great website that's out there to--to research and kind of run through some--some questions to see if you're going to be a maker or you're a mover.

We also have social media that that's going out, Instagram and so forth.

And then are our main real, real attack in some of these rural communities is our grassroots campaign.

So we're really going to get into the communities and help work with some other the industry partners, nonprofit and local government, to spread the word about AML in Indiana.

With so many different paths and careers available today, this initiative looks to make sure students are aware of a changing and viable industry they can pursue.

But in Indiana, the number of people that have a post-secondary degree is something in the twenties.

Twenty-somepercent, right?

Which leaves around 80 percent of the population that simply don't pursue a post-secondary degree, which really means that there are opportunities for that sector to really start developing that career path.

We push the trades because trades are good.

A lot of people like to work with their hands.

Well, this is another version of that.

This is saying, look, instead of, you know--and we need those, but we need people to go to law school and to be accountants and to be doctors and to work in health care and all these other great fields.

But for everybody else, there actually is a great career opportunity as it relates to getting into logistics and advanced manufacturing.

Indiana graduates about eighty five thousand students every year, and there's a big portion of those students that come out without a plan.

They're not employed, not enlisted in the military and not enrolled in school.

So it's really--we need to be pushing this opportunity to those students to make sure they know they have next steps after high school or if they go in and get a certificate in post-secondary that they have next steps to grow and be a vital member to their community and their families.

To find out more about the segments you see today, check out WNIT.org.

Getting an education is important for all children, but for some, that's easier said than done.

For children who are deaf or hard of hearing, they not only have to learn to read and write in English, they also have to learn American sign language to communicate.

At Culver community schools, they have a group of teachers to help facilitate these young learners.

Every child, every person has a voice.

Whether you can hear it or not, they have one.

People talk in so many different languages.

This is a language that is widespread throughout the entire country.

But there's a lot of us right here in our community and in order to be able to talk to them, makes them feel accepted and special, but then also helps you learn something new about someone.

If they're practicing it at home, they learn quicker.

But if their only source of learning sign language is here at school, it takes them a little longer.

And so, of course, our goal is to get as much language into that student as possible.

It's very important for us just to be able to talk to other people.

Some of us know Spanish, which is awesome, or we may be German, but sign language in ASL isn't something a lot of people learn.

So why not learn it and just broaden your horizons and meet new people?

Check out WNIT.org for more resources on these and other stories.

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The success of every student matters.

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.

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

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