100,000th ride on the neighborhood circulator

More than five years ago, community organizations and parks and recreation workers in St. Paul, Minn., began thinking of ways to bring kids to places where they could learn and socialize with one another. They imagined--and got funding for--a free bus that would run after school and during the summer, connecting the library to a neighborhood landmark, with stops in between at schools, parks, community and recreation centers, and a large housing complex. Keeping young people connected to other people and to learning opportunities is the goal of the West Side Neighborhood Learning Community, a coalition of neighborhood organizations, local government, and residents working together to ensure that children grow up as successful, engaged citizens.

The West Side Circulator worked so well in its first few years, that staff in the mayor's office secured private funding for another circulator on the city's East Side two years ago. This month, the West Side Circulator reached a milestone when the 100,000th rider boarded the bus!

Pictured above is Semyia Navarro, 8, of St. Paul, one of about 80 kids who rode the West Side circulator bus every day to afterschool programs in the neighborhood. (Minnesota Public Radio Photo/Laura Yuen, 2008)

Education reform through TC2

Staff of the Center for Democracy and Citizenship, along with faculty from the Education and Mathematics Departments, make up the Twin Cities Teacher Collaborative team at Augsburg College.

Augsburg is one of six colleges that together have accepted the challenge from the
Bush Foundation to improve teacher effectiveness and, as a result, to reduce educational disparities between white students and students of color and to increase numbers of students in post-secondary education.

The Twin Cities Teacher Collaborative (TC2), with a $7 million grant from the Bush Foundation, will launch five new and interconnected teacher preparation initiatives: a recruitment process; an Institute for Professional Mentors; a residency program; an Induction Center; and an Assessment/ Accountability Center.

TC2 is one of the projects funded under a $40 million grant from the Bush Foundation to rethink the training of teachers to offset a loss in the next decade of up to one-half of all current teachers who may retire or leave teaching. It is the largest single investment the foundation has made. Other schools receiving Bush Foundation funding are Minnesota State University, Mankato; Minnesota State University, Moorhead; St. Cloud State University, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities; Winona State University; University of South Dakota; North Dakota State University; and Valley City State University.

Bush Foundation launches 10-year effort to close student achievement gap

A role for citizen problem-solvers in Eau Claire

This guest post was written by J. Thomas McCarty and Catherine Emmanuelle, two members of a citizen action team in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Background: The greater Eau Claire community recently completed a community visioning and strategic planning process termed Clear Vision Eau Claire. One of the key performance areas of the Clear Vision Plan was enhancing civic engagement within the community.In partnership with the Center for Democracy and Citizenship, training sessions utilizing the Public Achievement model were conducted with community members. During the training sessions, a small group of citizens agreed that the community needed to address options for enhancing treatment instead of sending people to prison/jail.

A group of five citizens met over three months to try and develop an action plan to enhance the treatment options available in the community as an alternative to spending time in jail. This proved to be a frustrating time – some members determined that the work group approach did not match their expectations. Others persevered, and through one to one conversations brought additional members to join the work group. Upon “re-grouping,” additional stakeholders were brought to the solution-building table—including and owner of a transitional home and residents who had firsthand experience with the realities of transition from jail to the community.

We used tools from Public Achievement (referencing ideas from the handy "green book" and the ideas on the Public Achievement website). Our group participated in a “Wishful Thinking Brainstorming Session” and out of many ideas was birthed an idea from someone who had been in the justice system—sharing that after people are released from jail, they often do not have a place to go, and he simply wanted a “place to be.” Over time the work group focused on an action plan that now will bring community agency volunteers to the Community Table to provide “Resources to Reconnect” for community members attending the Community Table in need of food and shelter, health care, employment, and other services. The Community Table is an organization in Eau Claire that serves a hot meal every day to any guest—coupled with our group’s initiative, dubbed “Community Day,” a place to be was born.

This effort has been a great learning experience. The work group brought together individuals from different walks of life that typically do not interact, in order to solve specific problems. Despite different backgrounds and experiences, the common theme of the action plan (to provide connections for people in transition within the community) motivated all the work group members to find solutions. Work group members are excited about the synergism that’s been created and have learned that when goals are clear and there is common interest at hand, community issues that can’t seem to be resolved through typical/traditional bureaucratic means CAN be solved. As a result, the community is improving as more services are available to citizens in transition. And the work group members have also realized that we as citizens can achieve change in the community.

Marcus Singletary -- citizen athlete

A citizen athlete might be described as an athlete who understands the bigger, broader societal responsibilities that they can have and take on. Marcus Singletary, a senior football player at the University of Minnesota, is one of those citizen athletes.

The profile of Marcus below was written by University of Minnesota communications and political science major Ben Flattum. Marcus initiated and appears in a short video produced by Ben, about a community organizing class taught by Dennis Donovan of the Center for Democracy and Citizenship. Click here to see the video.


The cliche preached at most of us from birth is that hard work pays off. Many people do not possess the dedication to test how deeply true this statement holds. But those that do often achieve extraordinary feats that separate them from the commonness of most. While Marcus Singeltary’s ending has yet to be written, the effort put in to get to this point speaks for itself in indicating what will come for one of the most dedicated souls to don the maroon and gold colors of the University of Minnesota.

Marcus grew up in a military family, with a father who served as an intelligence officer in the US Army. Although Marcus spent much of his childhood traveling, he eventually was able to call Hinesville, Georgia, his home. Despite the changing surroundings, one constant remained in the Singletary household. Marcus’s father, Liston, provided the insight and knowledge that provided a foundation of respect, accountability and dedication.

“Everything my dad taught me, I’ve applied to my life,” said Marcus. “(Liston) would always say ‘handle your business.’ So that’s what I’ve done.” For Marcus, football was not part of that business until 11th grade. Already a two-sport star in high school, he was approached by the head football coach about playing. Noting that his best chance at competing athletically in college was football, Marcus jumped at the chance to take up another sport. “I looked at the numbers and it only made sense to play football,” he said. “You have 12 guys on a college basketball team, but there’s a lot more on the football roster.” Displaying the work ethic that has come to define him, Marcus began his career on special teams and eventually worked his way up to starter by the end of his junior season. Finishing out a successful prep career in Hinesville, Singletary then set his sights on playing collegiately. International Falls, Minn., is a long way from Georgia, but that did not deter Marcus from attending Rainy River Junior College. Adjusting quickly, he went on to earn All-Region in football and All-Conference in basketball. With his desire to continue his education at a larger school, Marcus began to look at other colleges. The University of Minnesota was not one of them.

“I originally planned on going to a Christian school in Kansas,” said Marcus. “I happened to run into (Gopher Safety) Mike Rollis’s dad while I was training at Gamespeed in Eden Prairie [Minnesota]. He told me to look at walking on at Minnesota, so I did.” Marcus took out an application and waited for a response, receiving unpleasant news when it came: he was denied. Being a fiscally-minded college student, Marcus went down to the admissions office to attempt to retrieve his application fee. While trying to secure his $50, Liston Singletary’s years of lessons about respect and dedication shined through to the admission counselor, Ms. Harrison. Being so impressed by his politeness and manners, Marcus was directed by Ms. Harrison to a higher-up in admissions and was given a second shot. This time, Marcus received positive news and was admitted into the University of Minnesota. When asked how he convinced the school to change their minds on his status, Marcus simply said, “Respect will take you a long way in life and if you put in the effort for anything, it will end up working out for you.” Despite gaining entrance into the University, there was still a lot of work to be done. In order to play, Marcus needed to complete a psychology credit that was missing from his junior college and would then be forced to sit out a year. Taking everything in stride had become his trademark and would not change because of that. Singletary went on to finish up the required credits for admissions and took a year off, eagerly waiting for his opportunity.

“Of course I wanted to play right away but you have to earn your stripes. Nothing in this world is given to you,” said Marcus. “You’re going to have to prove yourself. As a walk-on, you have to be hungrier than everyone else. When that time comes and you get in the game, you have to make the most of it. You can never let your head down and must constantly have that attitude.” The life of a college walk-on remains far from glamorous. They must work like a scholarship athlete with little of the rewards to motivate. When speaking about what a typical day in summer training, Marcus described his typical week, filled with commitments and energy consuming activities.

“I get up at 5:30 AM and start my day off with the Bible. We have team runs at six in the morning, followed by workouts. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I’ll have a summer class from ten until noon. Then I’m headed to the Nike store in the Mall of America to work for six or seven hours,” said Singletary. This was before fall practices even began, which now take up five hours minimum of his time daily. It takes a special person to endure the hours of training and practice with nothing but an intrinsic motivation to keep them moving. Marcus happens to be one of those people. Despite seeing the field sparingly his junior season at Minnesota, he keeps his head up and realizes there are more important goals to strive for.

“I was always hard on myself, I had to push myself. Not just from an athletic standpoint but from an academic one as well. Sports are complements to your academics, and that’s the way I look at my education. All of my life I’ve had to work hard. I’ve never just received anything without working. I was always taught that hard work pays off and you have to get up and just handle your business.”

With a dedication to academic excellence and the tenacity to work for anything he wants, Singletary occasionally sets his sights ahead to bigger opportunities for himself and others. Looking forward, Marcus sees a life beyond the gridiron and all the possibilities to change the circumstances surrounding it towards a positive direction.

“I want to be able to give back and teach others what I have been taught. If you put in the work, you will reap the benefits. I want to be able to open up doors for people,” Marcus said. “For example, when I walk down the street and see the homeless it just breaks my heart. If I can get a door opened for me, I want to open it for someone else too.”

Given his desire to interact with people and affect change, Marcus has looked into motivational speaking or potentially television as an avenue for his goals. Both seem to fit his strengths of reaching out to others and will give Singletary a chance to show the dedication, passion, and respect inherent in his makeup. Anyone who sees Marcus exhibit the purely genuine and authentic smile, one that all who know him have come to recognize, will realize the great things that lie ahead for the Hinesville native.

The energy of an optimistic generation

"I think we have a very optimistic generation, and in many ways a very idealistic generation," says public affairs graduate student Noel Nix. "This class is all about tapping into that energy."

The class, Community Organizing for Effective Public Policy, which is offered at the University of Minnesota, allows students to practice building relationships and developing and implementing an organizing plan around an issue that they care about.

The class is taught by Dennis Donovan, an organizer with the Center for Democracy and Citizenship. Donovan's mentor at the Gamaliel Foundation also worked with President Barack Obama when he was a community organizer.



This fall, Ben Flattum, a political science and communications major and a student in the organizing class, produced a short video highlighting the connections some University of Minnesota students are drawing between organizing and their desire to change the world. Marcus Singletary, also a University of Minnesota student, assisted with the video.

Revitalizing student government at UMBC

As a United Nations student delegate in high school, Yasmin Karimian wanted to inspire others to take action on the many problems she saw in the world. But it was a daunting task, and one she didn’t feel prepared for.

When she started college at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) in 2007, Karimian joined the Student Government Association (SGA). It was an exciting time. SGA was launching an annual contest called Prove It!, which awards $50,000 “to a novel and innovative project, service, or event on the UMBC campus that makes everyone proud to be a member of the community.”

By the next year, however, SGA was falling apart, Karimian says. “People had no connections. No one wanted to do anything.”

(Karimian is pictured at left, speaking)

That fall, Karimian read The Citizen Solution in a civic engagement course. Then she joined her faculty advisor and another SGA member at a conference in Minneapolis launching the Civic Agency Initiative. The Civic Agency Initiative, organized by the Center for Democracy and Citizenship and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, brings together a national cohort of more than a dozen schools working together as they explore how to better integrate democratic practice while deepening campus-community connections.

Karimian says she left the conference energized by faculty and students from across the country who wanted to do something on their campuses, and by the organizing strategies she learned, including something called “one-to-ones.”

A “one-to-one” meeting is a tool for initiating or building relationships and understanding someone’s self-interest. Although Karimian says she left the conference “not really believing in one-to-ones,” she thought it was worth giving them a try to understand why SGA members weren’t showing up for meetings.

Over spring semester, Karimian and four other SGA leaders did more than 50 one-to-ones with other members. Then they came back to the group and talked about the experience. Some members didn’t get the organizing strategy behind the meetings, she says, but at least it helped reconnect them to the association.

At the end of the year, Karimian ran for SGA president and won. She wants all SGA members to understand and use one-to-ones, and worked with other students to create a space in the SGA office for holding these meetings. It’s more than symbolic, Karimian says, “It’s used a lot.”

Over the past several months, there has been a cultural shift, too. In the past, SGA saw itself as fighting against the university on behalf of students, says Karimian. Now the organization is working with faculty on issues such as course drop dates, and telling administrators “this is how you can work with us” rather than asking permission. “It brings a lot of legitimacy to SGA,” concludes Karimian.

New home for Jane Addams School

It is a time of change and new possibilities for the Jane Addams School for Democracy.

Thirteen years after the first learning circles met in 1996, the Jane Addams School has moved into the Baker Community Center in the West Side neighborhood of St. Paul, Minn.

The new space will allow participants to create a cultural learning center that reflects the values of the local community, in the spirit of the settlement house tradition pioneered by Jane Addams. Previously, the Jane Addams School was hosted at Humboldt High School, also on St. Paul's West Side.

Jane Addams School participants are getting getting used to the new space, including learning how to set up circles for dialogue and using new spaces for paired learning. The Hmong Circle has already decorated their space to make it more colorful and comfortable. The Youth Circle planned and carried out a Halloween party, and all four circles--including the Spanish Circle and East African Circle--are now planning a larger celebration to take place on December 9.

The Jane Addams School continues to benefit from the energy and talents of students from Normandale Community College, University of St. Thomas, and Hamline University. In addition to AmeriCorps members, there are students in leadership roles from St. Catherine University, Macalester College, the University of Minnesota, and Augsburg College.

With the move to Augsburg College by the Center for Democracy and Citizenship, a key partner, Jane Addams School leaders look forward to building stronger pathways for Augsburg students, staff, and faculty to be even more engaged.

Baker Community Center is located at 209 West Page St. in St. Paul.