Innovation Journey Fund Empowers Students as Changemakers, Expands 'What Matters to Me' Day
Eighth-grade civics classes were abuzz all year long with the Durham Challenge, where Durham Academy students research community issues of importance to them and then turn their ideas into impactful community engagement projects.
Middle Schoolers used design thinking to create positive solutions, informed by field trips and conversations. Their projects addressed some of the root causes of drug and alcohol abuse, the potential mental health impacts of cell phone use in children under 10, the impact of verbal harassment in public spaces, ways to increase environmental sustainability, potential solutions for food insecurity, improvements to recreational equipment in public parks, and ways to teach young children about the benefits of healthy eating. It’s supported, in part, by the Innovation Journey Fund (IJF), which promotes the discovery, design and implementation of innovative ways of teaching, learning and operating as a school — all in service of DA’s Strategic Vision.
The video below, created by DA videographer Jesse Paddock, documents this year's Durham Challenge and students' efforts to effect meaningful, lasting change.
Among other IJF-funded projects this year, Preschool and Lower School students had the opportunity to experience an Upper School tradition in March — hosting their first “What Matters to Me” days. “What Matters to Me” workshops originated in the Upper School, where a half-day is set aside each year for students to share their passions with their peers. The inaugural Preschool and Lower School events — helmed by Preschool science teacher Dr. Theresa Shebalin and third-grade teaching assistant Sarwat Husain, with the help of Upper School “What Matters to Me” coordinator Kelly Teagarden — enabled students to choose topics of interest and learn alongside peers in other grades. Parents, teachers and Upper School students led dozens of sessions covering everything from slime-making, spin art, gliders, paper airplanes and DNA spiral friendship bracelets to artificial intelligence and how we use it, sports trivia, beekeeping, baking and woodworking. Students were excited, delighted and engaged!
- See photos from Preschool 'What Matters to Me 'Day at url.da.org/WMTMD-PS.
- See photos from Lower School 'What Matters to Me' Day at url.da.org/WMTMD-LS.