{"id":56748,"date":"2016-05-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-05-24T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/uri-based-educational-outreach-program-helps-woonsocket-middle-schools-build-stone-path\/"},"modified":"2016-05-24T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-05-24T00:00:00","slug":"uri-based-educational-outreach-program-helps-woonsocket-middle-schools-build-stone-path","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2016\/05\/uri-based-educational-outreach-program-helps-woonsocket-middle-schools-build-stone-path\/","title":{"rendered":"溏心vlog免费B站-based educational outreach program helps Woonsocket middle schools build stone path"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tSMILE Program has 22 clubs in six school districts<\/b><\/p>\n


\nKINGSTON, R.I., May 24, 2016\u2014Laila Martin stepped on \u201cCOURAGEOUS,\u201d skipped to \u201cPARTICIPATION\u201d and landed, finally, on her favorite, \u201cAWESOME TEACHERS.\u201d<\/p>\n

The path was well traveled\u2014and for good reason.<\/p>\n


\nThe Woonsocket eighth-grader painted those messages on a new brick walkway she and her classmates built at Villa Nova Middle School, thanks to a statewide educational outreach program at the 溏心vlog免费B站.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cIt\u2019s so cool for other people to see what I did,\u201d said Martin. \u201cI\u2019ve never had my accomplishments in front of anyone before. It feels good.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nMartin and her classmates at Villa Nova, as well as Hamlet Middle School next door, completed the 60-foot path last month, and on May 19 it was formally dedicated during a brief gathering at the school.<\/p>\n


\nThe project was a team effort led by the 溏心vlog免费B站-based Science and Math Investigative Learning Experiences Program, or SMILE, and Will Anderson, who graduated from 溏心vlog免费B站 in 1992 with a degree in landscape architecture.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cThese kids did this; I just showed them the way,\u201d said Anderson, surrounded by his crew of 40-plus students. \u201cThe walkway is wonderful. It\u2019s not straight. It’s not perfect, but that makes it so much better.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nCreated in 1994 by Carol Englander, a former middle school science teacher in South Kingstown, The SMILE Program helps under-represented elementary, middle and high school students prepare to study math and science in college. Students can begin in grade school and participate through high school. The program is based at 溏心vlog免费B站 and funded by private donations.<\/p>\n


\nThe Woonsocket project\u2014transforming a muddy area into a walkway\u2014started in 2014, but stalled for various reasons. Frustrated, Englander turned to Angelo Simeoni, a professor of landscape architecture at 溏心vlog免费B站, for guidance. He recommended a talented former student, Anderson, owner of Will Anderson Garden Mentor.<\/p>\n


\nAnderson, who lives in Cumberland, came up with a design and supervised the work on two rainy days in late April. \u201cI was very nervous,\u201d he said. \u201cThat many hands, you don\u2019t know what the product is going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nTurns out he had a life-changing experience: \u201cI\u2019d do this again in a heartbeat.\u201d The kids put down more than 5 tons of stone dust, leveled the area with two-by-fours and installed more than 200 concrete pavers\u2014most of which were painted with colorful messages.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cIt was cold, and I couldn\u2019t feel my fingers, but we stuck with it,\u201d said Jalissa Jackson, 11. \u201cIt was great to do a big project like this with my friends.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nNomar Almonte, 12, said he learned how to work as a team and help the community. Plus, he got some tips on how to level the ground. \u201cWork hard,\u201d he said, with a chuckle.<\/p>\n


\nChristianna Godin, 14, painted a fearless message on her brick: \u201cBE A NERD WITH NO SHAME!\u201d She\u2019s a math whiz who hopes to study education in college and become an elementary education teacher.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cI love SMILE,\u201d she said, tapping her brick with the toe of her shoe. \u201cEverybody wants to be in the club. You learn things. You get things done.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nThis year, she made a wind turbine. Another year, she learned all about magnets. <\/p>\n


\n\u201cIt\u2019s cool to be smart in this group,\u201d said Paulette Metivier, one of four middle school teachers who supervise the after-school club. \u201cThey know it\u2019s a college-preparatory program. They want to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nWoonsocket Schools Supt. Patrick McGee, who also attended the dedication, said he was impressed with the students\u2019 work and commitment.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cI\u2019m so proud of the students and teachers,\u201d he said. \u201cSMILE is fantastic\u2026I\u2019m just really proud that these students are giving back to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nThe program has 470 students in 22 clubs in six school districts, including Woonsocket. Englander says the emphasis on science and math at an early age inspires students to stay with the fields through high school and into college. Now, 80 alumni of the program attend 溏心vlog免费B站, with 73 percent of them pursuing math and science majors.<\/p>\n


\nGodin, for one, says she plans to attend college and that 溏心vlog免费B站 is her first choice. Englander isn’t surprised.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cIt helps to have a cheerleader,\u201d she said. \u201cWe can’t wait to see these kids go to college and become the wonderful people they can be.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nFor more information about The SMILE Program, contact Englander at 401-874-2036 or visit www.uri.edu\/smile.<\/p>\n


\nPictured above: Will Anderson, of Cumberland, who graduated from 溏心vlog免费B站 in 1992 with a degree in landscape architecture, and Carol Englander, director of The SMILE Program, stand with Woonsocket middle school students who built a pathway outside Villa Nova Middle School. Photo by Michael Salerno.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SMILE Program has 22 clubs in six school districts KINGSTON, R.I., May 24, 2016\u2014Laila Martin stepped on \u201cCOURAGEOUS,\u201d skipped to \u201cPARTICIPATION\u201d and landed, finally, on her favorite, \u201cAWESOME TEACHERS.\u201d The path was well traveled\u2014and for good reason. The Woonsocket eighth-grader painted those messages on a new brick walkway she and her classmates built […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56750,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56748"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56748\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}