Food and After-School Engagement

Our group discussed several issues surrounding food--specifically nutrition, school lunches, lack of knowledge about food preparation, and access to food. We also discussed how many of the students at Detroit Community School said they do not have anything to do after school or if they do, they have to travel to the suburbs for fun things to do. We wanted to find a way in which students could be educated and trained in nutrition and food preparation while also socializing with one another outside of class. This led to the idea of an after-school pizza cafe where some students could work and others could eat and socialize with one another. Most students are hungry after school and their parents are working till at least 5 p.m. This pizza cafe, with fresh pizzas made with local ingredients, would provide a fun, healthy, and creative way for students to eat and be involved in an after-school activity.

-Alana Hoey

Photos on Flickr

I created a flickr page for our work in Brightmoor where I uploaded the photographs i've been taking on our visits thus far. Please feel free to browse, share, and use them for anything you might need!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brightmoorprojects/sets/

College Collision Mind Map!

College Collision Course

Safety & Security

So our group got together and found a mutual interest in safety and in what makes people feel safe. We discussed the impact lighting makes on an environment and the idea of safety through being open vs. closing oneself off. We identified the gate to the Detroit Community Schools as something with potential for improvement, with its form resembling prison bars (not a true reflection of the people within the school!). Along the same lines, we discussed safety within the school such as locker security and classroom security for students. Then we moved more toward the topic of the community safety, and the snowball effect that is created through abandoned houses. When we next visit the Brightmoor Community we plan on asking many questions regarding this topic, and using those responses to better understand this need!

TEENS

Last week, our team discussed the fact that the teens in the Brightmoore area had very few places to go in their own community. They were the ones that built much of the stuff, but in the end those places really were for younger kids in their community.

We thought of ways that we could improve this while also thinking of the empty space in the school. One of the kids in my group last week said that he wished the school was bigger. Utilizing this space could be a way of expanding the school and giving teens a place to go.