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Dearborn Park
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DEARBORN PARK

Ed Adams, an SPU Alumni (‘97) who has taught at Dearborn Park Elementary School for seven years, had a dream of a “day at college” for his 5th grade physical education students. For many of his students, the terms “college” and “university” were not so much goals that seemed out of reach as much as possibilities that they didn’t even consider that they might have. Ed believed that these students need a jump-start to think about college education as a reality, not just a dream. With increasing competition for freshman slots in our colleges and universities, the preparation through testing and coursework needs to be addressed earlier in our schools, as high school could be too late to make up necessary credits and increase GPA, WASL scores, and AP classes. This was the impetus for a conversation with the SPU School of Education (SOE).

Dearborn Park is a school with an extremely diverse student population – including approximately 98 percent ethnic minorities, predominantly Asian American and African American. Seattle Pacific University is a faith-based private school on 43 acres in a primarily residential area on lower Queen Anne Hill, in Seattle, Washington. With a student population approaching 4000, Seattle Pacific University graduates over 170 new teachers each year, and serves over 7000 more with Continuing Education and graduate degrees. Seattle Pacific University students are over 85 percent Caucasian, and recruited minorities struggle with financing a four-year degree. On May 9, 2005, over 65 Seattle Pacific University students joined 50 Dearborn Park students for the day.

The Lilly Grant allows us to continue and build this program so for the second year we will have students on campus on Monday May 15. Curriculum was developed and SPU student teachers are placed in the school to help prepare the students for their visit. It is a true partnership as SPU and Dearborn Park students both benefit from their contact.