by SEMIS Coalition | Dec 5, 2023 | Blog, Events, Place-Based Education
Image Description: Five James & Grace Lee Boggs School Students and their educator, Jacinda Bowman, after their presentation titled “How Student-Led Environmental Justice Teams Organized the First Annual Boggs Earth Day Event.” Photo taken at the 2023...
by SEMIS Coalition | Nov 21, 2023 | Blog, Civic Engagement, College / University, Community Partners, Environmental Sustainability, Events, Gratitude
In nature, we see the beauty of succession, where ecosystems evolve over time, each generation building upon the legacy of the last. As stewards of our environment, we too must invest in a sustainable future for the generations to come.The SEMIS Coalition is dedicated...
by SEMIS Coalition | Oct 27, 2023 | Blog, College / University, Environmental Sustainability, Events, Press Release
NOAA Great Lakes Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) program announced $941,100 in funding for seven environmental education projects throughout the Great Lakes basin. Great Lakes B-WET awards are funded through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative....
by Ethan Lowenstein | May 31, 2022 | Author: Ethan Lowenstein, Blog, climate change, Community Forum 2022, Events, Gratitude, Humanizing Education, Intergenerational Dialogue, Power of Community, Youth Voice
Welcome to this year’s SEMIS Community Forum and the third event in our Forum series this week! This is the first time we’ve had an in-person Community Forum in 3 years and the first time we’ve ever had it outside, so this is a very happy moment for all of us in the...
by Ethan Lowenstein | May 31, 2022 | Author: Ethan Lowenstein, Blog, Community Forum 2022, Events, Humanizing Education, Youth Voice
We want to welcome everyone to the first day of our Community Forum events and thank you for being here today. We know that, especially during this phase of the pandemic, showing up in community, especially online, takes effort and commitment. The fact that close to...
by Nigora Erkaeva | Mar 20, 2022 | Events, Power of Community, Professional Development Materials
YOU ARE INVITED! The Southeast Michigan Stewardship Coalition is celebrating its 15th anniversary next year! Since its founding in 2007, SEMIS has helped teachers at more than 35 southeastern Michigan schools bridge classroom learning to the community, so students can...
by admin | Mar 2, 2022 | Civic Engagement, Events
Civic Engagement in SEMIS Lisa Voelker, SEMIS assistant director, presented on Nov. 7, 2021, during the monthly Ypsilanti Sustainability Commission meeting. Our goal was to re-introduce ourselves and share how local teachers and students are engaged in place-based...
by Miriam Furlan Brighente, PhD | Sep 21, 2021 | Author: Miriam Furlan Brighente, Disability Justice, Events, Place-Based Education
On July 22, 2021, coalition members had a critical discussion facilitated by Jason DeCamillis (teacher consultant at Washtenaw ISD) and me after watching the movie Crip Camp on Zoom. As a result, it launched a year-long initiative to create a universal design for...
by SEMIS Coalition | Aug 30, 2020 | Author: Becca Nielsen, Author: Lisa Voelker, Civic Action / Leadership, Community Mapping, Events, Leadership Development, Professional Development Materials
“Even though we were virtual, it was so nice to see faces of people I met last summer. It’s hard to believe you can build relationships in a weeks time and then see people on a computer screen and then feel the warmth of community like we were right back...
by Lisa Voelker | Aug 28, 2020 | Curriculum Integration, Events, High School, Inquiry-Based Learning, Intergenerational Dialogue, Middle Grades, Place-Based Education, Social & Emotional Learning, Student Voice, Summer Institute, Teacher Toolkit, Upper Elementary
Young Wisdom Advice From Youth What helps me engage now? The teachers and relationships. Over the course of the last 6 months we have had the opportunity to spend time learning with a few different groups of students from southeast Michigan schools. We have been...
by Lisa Voelker | Jul 31, 2020 | Events, Professional Development Materials, Social & Emotional Learning, Summer Institute
This introduction with teacher Bill Boyle was an opportunity to understand what Mindfulness is, and is not, to develop or deepen practice, and make connections between our personal practice and the issues of our time. We gathered for one hour a day for 5 days from...
by SEMIS Coalition | Jul 1, 2020 | Civic Action / Leadership, Events, Intergenerational Dialogue, Lower Elementary, Middle Grades, Place-Based Education, Professional Development Materials, Student Voice
Place-based education (PBE) is an approach to teaching and learning that uses the local environment and community to investigate content and engage students in stewardship and civic action. PBE, at its root, is a humanizing practice that puts youth and...
by Lisa Voelker | Jul 1, 2020 | Civic Action / Leadership, Community Mapping, Community Stewardship, Events, High School, Inquiry-Based Learning, Leadership Development, Lower Elementary, Middle Grades, Place-Based Education, Professional Development Materials, Summer Institute, Upper Elementary, Water Quality / Studies
SEMIS Coalition Orientation & Place-Based Education 101 During these two events on June 17 & 24 participants included new and returning member teachers, community partners, district leaders and administrators. At this orientation people were given a sense of our...
by Miriam Furlan Brighente, PhD | Jun 10, 2020 | Events, High School, Intergenerational Dialogue, Middle Grades, Professional Development Materials, Student Voice, Upper Elementary
…the future is nothing but transformation—the transformation of today. Paulo Freire SEMIS Director Ethan Lowenstein welcomes particpants to the 2020 Youth Voice Fishbowl. SEMIS Coalition launched on May 18, 2020 a series of dialogues, presentations and workshops...
by Lisa Voelker | May 1, 2020 | Curriculum, Events, Social & Emotional Learning
Town Hall Spring 2020 On April 14, over 60 SEMIS Coalition members gathered online for a welcome point of connection after much distance, and a global pandemic changing the fabric of our daily lives as educators…as humans. We talked about how we can care for...
by Lisa Voelker | Jun 5, 2018 | Events, Professional Development Materials, Summer Institute
Summer Institute Agenda 2018 Part One & Two Some details for Part Two are subject to change. Part One Logistics_SEMIS Summer Institute Hope to see you there!
by Lisa Voelker | Apr 19, 2017 | Arts in PBE, Civic Action / Leadership, Community Stewardship, Events, High School, Inquiry-Based Learning, Leadership Development, Lower Elementary, Middle Grades, Upper Elementary
What stood out to participants from last year’s forum… “What stands out today for me was learning new things and learning how to listen.” Student participant, Grade 9-12 “The young students from Ann Arbor presenting on the Ann Arbor carbon plume and the...
by Lisa Voelker | Jun 21, 2016 | Events, Professional Development Materials, Video Links
By Bill Boyle Day 2 started with Ethan Lowenstein introducing the Coalition norms for being in community. These norms are a means of ensuring that as relational beings, we create a space that allows us to bring out the best in each other. The SEMIS norms are: *Speak...
by Lisa Voelker | Jun 20, 2016 | Events, Professional Development Materials
By Bill Boyle The day started at an adventurous parking lot of gravel and a large pole barn- all of the signs of the outdoors readily available. After jumping in vans for a short ride, we all arrived at the Detroit International Wildlife Refuge’s Humbug Marsh...
by SEMIS Coalition | Dec 15, 2014 | Events, Place-Based Education
Teachers and partners joined together for another great statewide conference this November. The theme of presentations ranged from civic engagement and community partnership best practices, to student voice and STEAM connections. Here are highlights from SEMIS...
