2020 Norte Explore Report

NORTE’S EXPLORE ACADEMY

2020 EXPLORE ACADEMY REPORT

The Explore Academy is an introduction to the built environment and its impact on our lives. It also introduces teenagers to citizen engagement. As the program develops, students progress towards a final project that aims to improve their community. Due to the 2020 pandemic, students were encouraged to work in safe teams but were not required to have partners. Many groups developed projects in concept only until a future time when it was safe to implement.

Projects in 2020 ranged from students planning a direct community action or developing a plan.

Students were encouraged and given introductions to engage local leaders in making a change they see needed for either path.

For the last meetup, 34 students, divided into 19 teams, presented final projects. The majority of projects focused on placemaking initiatives. Example projects include:

● ​Campus beautification ​at West Senior High, incorporating native rain ​garden at the entrance of their school. The team developed a proposal to implement on campus ​beautification day in the spring of 2021. ​ ●

Recognizing an absence of sitting options, one student pursued adding a bench at Hickory Meadows​, a popular recreational area. This action turned into a hard lesson about the process and how even a bench can take ​multiple meetings when multiple governing jurisdictions are involved.

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One team built a Free Little Library to present to Long Lake Township and hopeful placement at a popular boat launch in the spring of 2021.

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Numerous teams chose to research the history and responsible bodies for areas like the Grand Traverse Commons and surrounding park area. They then sent letters of appreciation with interest to be further involved.

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To encourage staying active and getting to know your community, one team developed a scavenger hunt that they hosted on Instagram @explore.tc

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One student pair explored the impact of the Traverse City Film Festival and other programmed events on the community, both in general, and how those events impact public space use.

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Several teams spent time identifying difficult crossings and disconnects in the sidewalk and trail network.

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NORTE’S EXPLORE ACADEMY

What is one word ​from the 2020 Explore Academy that you think you will remember when you're 25?

* Word cloud generated from student feedback.

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The 2020 Explore Academy had 43 students enroll, 41 participate, and 34 complete and present a final project. As an online course, it was a new challenge to encourage participation. However, in each session, students engaged and participated in both the group and breakout discussions.

Thirty students participated in at least five of the sessions, and 20 students participated in all six.

In the post-class survey, we asked students to rate how compelling the class was on a scale of 1-10.

The average score was 7.6. The students reported an average score of 8.3 when asked to rate the course on meeting their expectations. Students reported being very likely to recommend the course to their classmates (score 8.5).

“I had a bunch of fun with this program and learning more about how things happen in the community!” ___________________________________________

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In your own words, what is the strength of the Explore Academy?

I honestly thought it was so interesting how this class was able to engage a group of teenagers into caring for the local community and questioning and how it works.

It helps you pay attention to things that you might not have normally in your community, and also gives you tools on how you can make change.

I think that the Explore Academy really showed what makes a community a community, and how people within that community strive to make it better.

It opened my eyes to a lot of aspects about our community that I hadn't really considered before.

I believe the Explore Academy raises awareness of how difficult processes can be to improve the community.

I think one of the largest strengths is the fact that the Academy is led by leaders who truly care about making a difference in our community. I think that energy comes through, even through the screen, and goes to the students and it makes the whole class more fun and energetic.

It created a safe place to talk about community problems and create a sense of meaning. * Comments are a representative sample of student feedback.

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Community Developer and Planner Megan Olds of Parallel Solutions and Gary Howe, a former elected official in Traverse City, Michigan, and Advocacy Director at Norte, taught the course.

During the academy, guest speakers included current City Commissioners Tim Werner and Mayor Pro-Tem Amy Shamroe to discuss the process of local government and how ideas for public space become a reality. The program also hosted Jim Moore, Executive Director of Disability Network Northwest.

Depending on their team projects, students also engaged independently with other community leaders. Students reached out to Traverse City’s Downtown Development Authority, the Grand Traverse Conservation District, Bay Area Transportation Authority, The Joint Garfield and Traverse City Recreational Authority, the Humane Society, and other regional authorities, like Long Lake Township’s Planning Department.

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In your own words, what is the weakness of the Explore Academy?

This year specifically I think it was the online setting, it is a class made for the real world, not a zoom call.

I feel like the class would have been extremely engaging had we all been in one location instead of all at home.

Because of the pandemic, it was harder to collaborate with others. While the breakout rooms were effective, it is more difficult to communicate ideas especially when one another's wifi was spotty.

I think that it was tougher to connect as much to the community because we were online and weren't able to explore the town.

I think a more class-like structure could benefit the experience and allow for more instruction and learning.

More fun assignments and more engaging meetings.

Explanation of the final project. It was too vague.

Not very directed and as students, that can be stressful. * Comments are a representative sample of student feedback.

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The program thrives through the partnership with the Traverse City West and Traverse City Central Senior High Schools. Tak Ready (West) and Paige Paul (Central) encourage and incentivize their AP Government and civics students to participate in the Explore Academy at West and Central. Students who complete the program receive community service hours credit. They also share their experiences with their classmates. The majority of the participants originated from either Mr. Ready's or Ms. Paul's class.

Although aspects of the online learning were a positive experience, future academies will benefit from in person instruction and interaction. Holding the course online lowered barriers to participation and lowered logistical challenges. However, we offered no snacks and students intuitively noticed the intrinsic value the Explore Academy offers for in-person learning. As one student commented, ​“Overall, it was a fun experience but it would have been better if we all met up in person and worked together.”

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NORTE’S EXPLORE ACADEMY

The impact on the students and system change highlight three points:

1. Developmental:​ The program introduces students to the idea that the world around them at a critical developmental time. They learn that the environment around them is mostly by design. Thus, different decisions that better reflect community values are possible.

2. Engagement: ​Teenagers who enroll in Explore Academy are engaged and curious about their community. They often are eager to follow-up and seek out ways to be engaged.

3. Lasting Impression​: We trust that the program has made a lasting impression on students that they will carry with them as they become adults and engaged citizens.

In the post academy survey, the average rating was 8.9, on a scale of 1-10, on how effective the 2020 Explore Academy is in developing their ability to "identify and clearly articulate an opportunity for change in your community?" In rating their "confidence to be someone who advocates for change in the community?" the students reported an average rating of 7.7. We understand these results reflect positively on the lasting impact the academy has on students.

“The explore academy really shows you what it's like, and all the work it takes, to run a community.”

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The local organization, Aspire North REALTORS, underwrote the 2020 Explore Academy through a Smart Growth grant via their national partner, the National REALTORS® Association.

Government Affairs Director, Connor Miller, presented to the Explore Academy at the first meetup. He introduced the participants to Aspire North REALTORS and the importance of ​Smart Growth Principles​ in developing our communities. This partnership was a natural fit as Explore Academy curriculum develops around the idea of sustainable and healthy communities that support our community residents' diverse needs. This presentation helped frame discussions as the class progressed and students related learned experiences to the built environment.

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NORTE’S EXPLORE ACADEMY

POST EXPLORE ACADEMY SURVEY RESULTS

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2020 DEMOGRAPHICS

Compared to 2019, the 2020 Explore Academy class skewed older, representing a larger share of students enrolling from the two Traverse City High Schools, West, and Central. This change addressed one of the challenges from 2019 in teaching across a more extensive age spread. It probably eased the comfort level for the online breakout discussions.

This past academy school distribution originated 100% from the two schools mentioned above, with no middle school-aged participants. An additional difference to note compared to 2019 was the flip in most students representing Ms. Paul's class to the majority enrolling as part of Mr. Ready's class..

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SMART GROWTH GRANT AND NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS

10 Smart Growth Principles

Based on the experience of communities around the nation that have used smart growth approaches to create and maintain great neighborhoods, the Smart Growth Network developed a set of ten basic principles: 1. Mix land uses 2. Take advantage of compact building design 3. Create a range of housing opportunities and choices 4. Create walkable neighborhoods 5. Foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place 6. Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty, and critical environmental areas 7. Strengthen and direct development towards existing communities 8. Provide a variety of transportation choices 9. Make development decisions predictable, fair, and cost effective 10. Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration in development decisions

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