SEMCOL

Written by Dr. Jerry Stein

We’re very excited to announce an ongoing partnership with The Southeast Minneapolis Council on Learning (SEMCOL), a non-profit organization that supports learning and reading, family-by-family and person-by-person.

SEMCOL works with three neighborhood organizations to unite the community on the basis of education, Prospect Park / East River Road Improvement Association (PPERRIA), Southeast Como Improvement Association (SECIA) and Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association (MHNA).

Together, they to integrate both traditional and non-traditional institutions (such as libraries, community centers and schools) on the common ground of improving their neighborhood through providing and cultivating educational resources.

We believe “that the establishment of a culture of learning in homes and in the community is the foundation for all educational success. We hope to demonstrate that it is possible to bring together an entire community to support learning and reading in home, family by family, person by person, especially for families who can benefit from such support.

In addition, we believe that institutions (schools, community centers, libraries businesses, museums, etc.) can play a role as they become more flexible in the ways they support learning,” notes the SEMCOL website.

Projects

SEMCOL supports various project in the community including Southeast Reads, a project that supports reading in homes, and distributes books throughout the neighobrhood. SEMCOL is also a major supporter of Learning Dreams.

Research

SEMCOL has conducted a wide variety of research concerning learning outside the school. In the summer of 2008, SEMCOL and Learning Dreams studied how extensive educational activities outside the school are, who has access to them, what the resource base is that supports the increasingly extensive learning taking place outside of schools and what can we do to improve this “system.” The research was conducted in the Como, Marcy-Holmes, and Prospect Park neighborhoods of Minneapolis.

Using the data gathered from this initial research, SEMCOL and Learning Dreams jointly created an online learning directory, which makes it possible for residents to easily search and browse the many learning opportunities available in and around Southeast Minneapolis.

Video Project

The 2008 study also inspired the creation of a community-based video storytelling project, collaboratively organized by PPERRIA, IFP MN Center for Media Arts, and Learning Dreams.

The project is guided by one of the key insights from SEMCOL’s research: that at the heart of learning are personal stories of joy and growth. Through recording participants embracing their educational dream, these videos honor the learning successes of community members and make it possible for people to share their learning experiences with the wider community.