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Partnership with NC Foundation Enhances, Expands Community Engagement at Durham Academy

Partnership with NC Foundation Enhances, Expands Community Engagement at Durham Academy

By Dylan Howlett

6-minute read

Durham Academy students have long seen community engagement as inseparable from the foundations of moral, happy, productive lives: Think civics-minded eighth graders tackling community engagement projects as part of the annual Durham Challenge, or solutions-oriented Upper School Pathway Scholars designing and implementing original community-based research projects. Now DA students have some more muscle — and funding — behind their enduring commitment to community.

Thanks to the generosity of a local foundation, DA secured a Community Engagement Grant in November to enhance and expand schoolwide community engagement initiatives. The returns of such an investment, DA wrote in its official grant application, are exponential: The project aims to foster civic responsibility, critical thinking and real-world problem-solving skills among students through hands-on participation and leadership in community-based initiatives.

What will that look like, exactly? Here’s everything you need to know about the Community Engagement Grant.

What are the precise goals of the Community Engagement Grant?

The grant has three primary objectives:

  1. Integrate community-focused projects into classroom curricula across all grade levels.
    This is particularly significant for pre-k, which has never had community engagement formally embedded in its curriculum — though the division and its students have enjoyed a long-standing relationship with the Solista Durham retirement community (formerly Emerald Pond). As projects pop up and expand, DA hopes to establish lasting partnerships with local organizations — and deepen student understanding of civic responsibility. Curriculum integration within specific units will start in the 2025–2026 school year.
     
  2. Launch an Upper School philanthropy course to teach students about the philanthropic landscape.
    The course, which will debut in the 2025–2026 school year, will offer students practical experience in managing community initiatives.
     
  3. Create a student-led microgrant fund.
    Upper School students will review and manage funding for peer-driven community projects. The 2024–2025 school year serves as a pilot for the microgrant fund, which will support student projects in eighth grade and in the Upper School.

Who helped DA secure the grant?

The school’s trio of community engagement coordinators — Dr. Theresa Shebalin at the Preschool, Ben Michelman at the Middle School and Kelly Teagarden ’04 at the Upper School — wrote the grant proposal in October. Each will oversee the integration of community engagement into their respective division’s curriculum, and the grant will provide funding for the creation of a Lower School community engagement coordinator. Teagarden will also teach the Upper School philanthropy class and will mentor students who are overseeing the internal microgrant fund.

“I think having a program like this that students of all ages can take advantage of is really sending the message that Durham Academy cares about this aspect of their education. For the 15 years I’ve been at DA, I think there's been some component of this — but I just feel like this is taking it to another level. From pre-k onward, we value an opportunity for our students to give back, and we try to find creative ways for them to do so.”

Dr. Theresa Shebalin
Preschool science teacher, Preschool community engagement coordinator, Preschool sustainability coordinator

How long will the Community Engagement Grant last?

The four-year grant extends through 2028.

What specific financial support will the Community Engagement Grant provide?

The grant — totaling nearly $200,000 in funding over four years — will make possible allocations from the DA microgrant and the purchase of materials for community-based projects.

“This is the first school I’ve been at that’s actually been able to embed community engagement into the curriculum in a programmatic way and actually been able to get a grant like this to fund real partnerships. The support that DA has given us to create these classes and to have this infrastructure for community engagement made it possible for a grant to come along and for us to say, ‘Yes! We actually can implement this.’ It’s such an incredible gift and opportunity for our students to be able to grow and learn.”

Kelly Teagarden ’04
Program Director for Applied Civic Engagement and Public Purpose, Upper School community engagement coordinator, Upper School diversity coordinator

What are some examples of projects the Community Engagement Grant will support?

From supporting existing science class projects and expanding existing partnerships, to supporting a diverse and passionate collection of student-driven ideas, the grant has already bolstered engagement efforts at DA.

Examples of Projects

This sounds amazing. If I’m a DA educator or student, can I apply for microgrant funds … now?

Yes! Speak to a community engagement coordinator — Teagarden, Michelman or Shebalin — for more information about the application process.

“It gives a lot of opportunity to student-led projects. It gives a lot of opportunity to ideas of younger students and older students, and it also gives decision-making and leadership possibilities for older students to really learn what philanthropy and authentic community engagement can look like.”

Ben Michelman
Middle School language arts teacher, Middle School community engagement coordinator