Medford Students Deliver Lasting Impact With Civic Projects

MEDFORD, MA — Their classes at Medford High School were done. Yet, the work they started as seniors with the Center for Citizenship and Social Responsibility was not completed. So Lauren Brown, Jennifer Dossantos and Jessica Dossantos were not about to walk away from their city without finishing what they started.

Their CCSR project was a giant, painted multiplication table on the pavement of the Columbus Elementary School playground. They developed the idea in the fall, met with Columbus School principal Kathleen Kay to learn what type of design would serve the school best, then worked throughout their respective senior years after school executing the project.

Only when it came to the actual painting, it rained almost every day they targeted to do it in the spring. So even after they graduated in June, they returned to Columbus make sure their vision was realized. The was a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday morning to officially unveil the final product.

"What I really like about the CCSR is that we can create our own projects that we are really passionate about," said Brown, who intends to major in engineering at UMass-Amherst starting this fall. "Then we can see them through to the end and see the actual finished project. I like when you are able to create something and then see what it looks like because it was your vision. CCSR gives you the tools and the resources to be able to do this."

CCSR Director Rich Trotta began CCSR at Medford High in 2012 with the help of a grant from the Michael Bloomberg Foundation. This past year there were 125 high school students working on projects under the direction of Michael Skorker, and CCSR has been expanded to include both middle schools and elementary schools.

"We start the session with brainstorming," said Ginelle McKenzie, who advises the program for students in kindergarten through fifth grade at Columbus Elementary. "When you have a kindergartner through second grader they have these really big ideas. I've had: 'Let's build a house.' It's great to hear those big ideas, but then it's the process to think about what we can do. It's building on their ideas and then still making them feel accomplished with the end result."

McKenzie said the younger grades have had projects ranging from collecting more than 100 books to donate to the free libraries in the city to toy drives for underprivileged children.

"Our ideology is that a project of any magnitude is important," Skorker said. "At one of the elementary schools they created recyclable signs that said 'Conserve Water' and put them all over the school. It's a small project, but it really had an impact on those kids. It made them feel better when they saw their signs posted.

"Just because it's not on the news doesn't mean it's not an important project," Skorker added. "It helps the social and emotional well-being of the students to see a project to fruition."

Jessica Dossantos, who has been with CCSR since her sophomore year, said the work she was able to do to improve her city, and the lives of its residents, contributed to her decision to enter the nursing program at UMass-Lowell this fall.

"I learned that I like helping people," she said. "I feel like helping all these children, and doing these projects that help little kids, has opened my eyes to a new area that I want to pursue."

Jennifer Dossantos, who plans to study business at UMass-Lowell, said CCSR helped her with her career path as well through all she learned that goes into seeing a project through from its formation as a concept all the way to its fruition.

"It's taught me how to organize dates with principals, and how to manage my time with these projects, and coordinate with my group members as well," she said. "That's something I am definitely going to take to college with me."

The playground multiplication table was made possible with a donation of paint and supplies from Modern Hardware & Paint Company of Medford, and through grant money from The Cummings Foundation and the Krystle Campbell Betterment Fund that supports the overall CCSR mission.

"It goes back to project-based learning," Trotta said. "These students really have to think through their projects. By doing these projects, they become leaders. They plan them, find out the constraints, and find ways to get through them."

In the end, the hope is they enjoy the sense of fulfillment in doing something for the greater good that will benefit their city.

"That's what CCSR is," Brown said. "You can come back in the long run and see something you did that made an impact on the community. This project is permanent paint, so it will stay there forever. It's kind of cool to see how you left a mark on your community."