The 11th annual OAV Summit took place on May 9th at Guaranteed Rate Field (home of the White Sox) in Chicago, and at the State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois on May 16th. The program, which began in a handful of Chicago area schools, now extends from Wadsworth to Mattoon, Danville to Peoria, inner city Chicago […]
OAV, DePaul partner on new venture–read all about it… The Barat Education Foundation, creators of Our American Voice, and DePaul University’s Office of Innovative Professional Learning are teaming up in a new joint venture to establish a new Center for Civic Learning and Engagement Communities (CLEC) in Illinois, designed to be be a model replicable […]
A fundraising home run; what’s next for 2017-18 On a glorious day to play two, a national political leader anonymously bought enough tickets to give every OAV teacher a chance to win our 2016-17 season-ending fundraising raffle. And with Callie and Ella on the field, Katie Lamb Heinz took their best pitch and hey hey, […]
Komensky Elem launches a new, all-inclusive playground June 12, 2017 is a day students and teachers at Komensky Elementary School in Berwyn won’t soon forget, the culmination of two years of hard work that began when 5th graders in Komensky’s Our American Voice program decided that their school needed a […]
Clearview raises school pride in an unusual way… The last to leave for the weekend every Friday, Clearview Elementary’s Our American Voice group decided early on that what most needed their attention was just down the hall—their school’s restrooms. “They began by charting a plan, interviewing teachers and presenting ideas to administrators,” OAV educator Rosanna Cardenas […]
Healy Elementary OAV stars on Steve Cochran Show Kaelyn S of Healy Elementary School in Bridgeport, IL, is the Kid of the Week on the Steve Cochran show on WGN, as she and teacher Stacy Coglianese talk about her school’s Our American Voice project, an outdoor lending library stocked with more than 500 books […]
Oakville’s OAV program honors veterans with year-round support As reported in the Danville’s Commercial News, Oakville Junior High’s Our American Voice team has been busy throughout the year brainstorming and carrying out projects in their community, with a special emphasis on supporting and honoring the area’s veterans. Fall’s main focus was on planning and […]
OAV all the rage at Dubois, Fox reports Educator Shalanda Gaines and 5th grader Isabella Sexton of Dubois Elementary School in Springfield, IL describe the peer tutoring program Dubois students developed as their 2017 Our American Voice project, and talk about the upcoming OAV Summit, on Fox’s Good Day Marketplace show.
OAV Summit IX is upon us, in Springfield… Students and teachers from all around the state of Illinois will be descending on Springfield Tuesday, May 2, for the ninth Our American Voice Summit. Participating schools and students will be touring the capitol, sitting in on a legislative session, meeting with their state senators and representatives, and […]
Students make case for salad bar to Arcola school board There’s no arugula in the Arcola junior high cafeteria, but as reported in the Champaign News Gazette, there may be soon, if students participating in the Our American Voice program have their way. Through OAV, seventh and eighth graders learned how to really do their […]