The SEMIS Coalition Blog
The place to connect, learn and share perspectives in place-based learning
Welcome to our SEMIS Coalition blog! A commons-based digital space for shared resources, images, and more. It’s a place for you to ask questions, interact with peers, and keep current with the latest Southeast Michigan Stewardship Coalition activities.
Browse through the most recent posts below, or browse past posts by category via the toolbar on the right.
Director’s Corner February 2025
Dear SEMIS Coalition, At the close of our Winter Professional Development day in late January, the 50 teachers, principals, community partners, and SEMIS Coalition team members in attendance gathered in a circle to share a one-word reflection on what feeling we were...
Winter 2025 Professional Learning Reflections
Everyone is an educator; everyone is a learner. We respect the dignity, professionalism, and creativity of educators, both formal and informal, and approach interactions with love, grace, flexibility, humor, and fun. (SEMIS Coalition Principle 7)At our Winter...
The Heart of the Brightmoor Makerspace Pt 1: Youth, Music and Movement
Bri Antwon Wilson (bottom photo), a senior, and Seligmin Foster (top photo), a 2023 graduate who has remained deeply involved as an alumnus. Detroit Community Schools (DCS) is more than an institution to me—it’s a cornerstone of my identity and growth. My enduring...
Director’s Corner January 2025
Dear SEMIS Coalition, Though I’m certain I’m not the first, let me be among the many to welcome you into this new year and this new quarter century! If you are like me, you may be taking time to reflect on your intentions for this upcoming year. And, if you are like...
Director’s Corner December 2024
Dear SEMIS Coalition, As we approach the end of another calendar year, I’d like to take a moment to share my gratitude for all this year - and especially this community - have brought to place-based learning in our region. First, my gratitude goes to the teachers in...
Shared Stories: Detroit Wildlife Adaptations Gallery Stroll
Above: Students ride the yellow school bus to the trails on Belle Isle! They are heading for an adventure in photography and to document evidence of wildlife habitat in Detroit. Fourth grade students from The James and Grace Lee Boggs School researched adaptations...
2024 Year End Campaign
Help deepen our ecosystem of support! Since 2007, the Southeast Michigan Stewardship Coalition has facilitated school-community partnerships rich with opportunities that develop students and educators as change makers for healthy ecological-social systems. Our...
Director’s Corner November 2024
Dear SEMIS Coalition, Many years ago, I attended a training that opened with an invitation onto ‘the balcony’. This balcony wasn’t a physical place, but a metaphorical higher vantage point on which to rest, reflect, and see the bigger picture. The trainer told us that...
Art with Purpose: Tolu’s Story
Art with Purpose: Tolu's StoryOn Monday, October 14th, I had the privilege of interviewing Toluwaleyi’ Meadows, a 12th grader at Renaissance High School. I first met Tolu last year in Emily Phillips’ IB Biology class, where they were selected to participate in the...
Director’s Corner October 2024
Hello SEMIS Coalition! There are several points every year that bring the word ‘transformation’ to mind for me, but none so readily as fall. Watching the trees transform from bright greens to even brighter shades of red, orange, and yellow; watching fields high with...