Community Partner Agreement Between
Hispanic Studies Sharpe Community Scholars at
The College of William and Mary
And
James Blair Middle School

Goals of the Partnership:

• To help all Limited English Proficient (LEP) students through tutoring within the school system
• To foster and maintain open communication between the school and the Hispanic Studies – Sharpe Community Scholars Program
• To enable Sharpe Scholars to learn how to utilize service-learning for the mutual benefit of university students and their community partners

Definitions:

• Service learning: a pedagogy that moves beyond volunteerism to link students in specific university courses with community agencies or community members with specific needs. Service-learning enables students to utilize community service as a learning resource and to become effective and engaged citizens.
• Sharpe Scholars: the approximately 75 freshmen at William and Mary each fall who are interested in volunteerism and civic engagement and apply to the Sharpe Programs. In this program Scholars study one of five special freshman seminars that train them to research, discuss and write extensively about issues that affect communities. The Scholars live in the same residence on campus and study two companion courses designed to provide them with additional information about volunteer work and in particular the community in which they live.
• Sharpe Fellows: undergraduate mentor for the Sharpe Scholars. Fellows are more advanced students who have extensive experience in service-learning. As teaching assistants in the two companion courses, the Sharpe Fellows help freshmen think creatively, organize, and apply their studies to their collaborative work in the local community.
• Hispanic Studies: a cultural studies discipline that moves beyond traditional courses limited to Spanish language and literature. Students learn to research the social context in which in Hispanic cultures the perspectives, reasons and methods that people in Hispanic cultures evoke in art and language to describe and challenge their societies.

Expectation of Sharpe Community Scholars and Fellows

• To coordinate with the teacher to develop the best method to assist the LEP student
• To evaluate the student’s progress twice a year (excluding the initial assessment at the beginning of the school year conducted by appropriate specialists employed by WJCC Schools)

• 1 st evaluation due the week of December 1 st, 2005
• 2 nd evaluation before last tutoring session

• To attend consistently and promptly all tutoring sessions
• To provide advance notice to the school’s designated contact person if the tutor is unable to attend a scheduled tutoring session

Expectations of Faculty and Staff

• To coordinate with the Sharpe tutor to develop the best method to assist the LEP student learn the desired academic content and choose the appropriate form to evaluate the student’s progress
• To evaluate the student’s progress twice a year, and to share that evaluation with the tutor (an evaluation form will provided by the Sharpe Program; the teacher may use another form if it is more convenient)

• 1 st evaluation is a pre-assessment before the first tutoring session
• 2 nd evaluation is to be completed the first week of December

• To inform the Sharpe tutor in a timely fashion if the child is absent on a day when tutoring is scheduled
• To provide to the tutor any relevant information surrounding the student’s background and academic history
• To inform the faculty of the Sharpe Program and the availability of tutors for LEP students

Resources

• The teacher(s) or the designated contact person on staff at Rawls Byrd will mail a copy of each of the two LEP student’s progress report to the supervising professor, Jonathan Arries (address below) or send the report via email to the tutor, the Sharpe Fellows, and Professor Arries. Both the Sharpe Program and the school will get copies of the evaluation filled out by the teachers and tutors.

• In order to maintain a network of communication, the following information will be provided for the Sharpe Program as well as the Faculty and Staff of Rawls Byrd:

• Sharpe Scholars’ e-mail addresses and phone numbers
• The Contact information of the supervising professor (Arries)
• The names of the LEP students and their tutors
• The e-mail address and phone number of Teacher
• The e-mail address and phone number of Sharpe Fellows
• School’s contact information
• Diane Avjean’s contact information
• A schedule of the days when the College of William and Mary will not be in session and tutors will not be able to attend
• Days in which Rawls Byrd is not in session, (breaks, etc)

By signing this partnership agreement, all parties agree to its terms and conditions. It is understood that both the Sharpe Scholars and the administration and teachers at Rawls Byrd Elementary School are interested in providing the most supportive learning environment possible for the LEP students. Any amendments to this agreement, including cancellation, should be made in consultation with all parties. .The agreement will terminate at the end of the College’s academic year and is renewable if all parities agree.

Signature of James Blair Representative

____________________________

Signature of Sharpe Director

____________________________