KND Service Learning Class

The KND program was the only school district in the finals and was a winner. The Program's coordinators are Cynthia Asiala, Deborah Crandell and Christine Makinen. Karen Fredrickson of Manistee County and the Kaleva Village Council nominated KND's project for the award. The next day after winning the Governor's Award, the BHS Service Learning Program received one of 33 awards (chosen from 300 entries) given by the MEA (Michigan Education Association) in the MEA annual awards program titled "Showcasing Public School Success." KND Service learning Project was a winner in the category, Community Service Volunteer Programs.

Service Learning Program Beginnings
In 1995 Manistee County received a grant written by Karen Fredrickson to implement service learning. KND Superintendent Greg Webster volunteered KND to do pilot projects for the program. Service learning is learning through (community) service, and includes three components: pre-training, meaningful service, and reflection. Planning the project with a class of 20 students started in January of 1996. The high school's program was an extension of the service community program for elementary students developed by Christine Makinen. An initial survey of community residents was needed, and a statistician, Mark Bergstrom, instructed students in survey requirements. Students were also trained in conducting interviews of the 20 senior citizens who were eventually interviewed.

Priorities which surfaced were, (1) preservation of the Finnish heritage, (2) preservation of historic buildings, (3) economic development, and (4) community festivals. After developing a plan the students presented it to the village council. Following approval of the plan, students set to work on projects which included components of art, literature and economic development. All work done by students is completed in class time four days a week. Class periods are 80 minutes each, but with travel time, about 45 minutes is the length of daily work time. On each fifth day students reflect on work completed and plan future work.

Service Learning Program Accomplishments
The initial projects included repainting of the Kaleva signs followed by landscaping the Asiala Park next to the fire station. Student ideas were incorporated by adding benches, a drinking fountain, Finnish flower gardens, and flagpoles carrying the American and Finnish flags. The following fall of '96, students designed and painted a mural on the fire station wall behind the park. Done in black, white and grays, it contains representations of four of the important early institutions in Kaleva: Bethany Lutheran Church, the bank, the first cooperative food store, and the post office.

A Welcome Center, it was the office of the grain elevator, was prepared and open in the summer, Thursday through Sunday. Restoration of the old depot was a major project for the students. With the ceiling falling, and a rotting floor, the building required extensive labor. Students primed, painted and learned to glaze glass. Extensive work was needed in redoing the wood doors, making the building handicapped accessible, and constructing the tongue and grooved ceiling. Doyle Eckhardt served as construction mentor for the project. The building will become a railroad museum in summer of 1998, and will include Sonny Miller's large railroad collection. The N.W. Train Enthusiasts' Club will display their model trains there and help staff the museum.

The Kaleva Art Gallery, which opened in December, 1997, was first of the larger projects of KND's Service Learning program. Terwilliger's donated the building and Deborah Crandell served as mentor for the project. While the building was being prepared as a gallery students from the Service Learning class were seeking out local artists. Presently the gallery displays and sells work from over 30 adult artists of the area. Prices range from 50-cents to $2,500 for work including note cards, T-shirts, watercolors, rugs, quilts, metal sculpture, acrylic painted rocks, ceramics, bead jewelry, and photography. Artists staff the gallery for sales.

Another unique Service Learning project has been the development of a totem, which includes characters from the Kalevala legend. The totem greets visitors to the Welcome Center on Osmo Street north of Kaleva. Jim Reynolds served as mentor for this project which holds potential for further economic development. Vince Aquilar served as mentor for the depicting the "Land With Midnight Suns." Done with an air brush, the colorful painting is adjacent to the art gallery across from Kaleva Best Foods.

The Service Learning Class recently completed a sculpture of an eagle, a tree, and a nest to be displayed in the Sculpture Garden just west of the Art Gallery. Andy Priest from Wellston was the mentor for this project. Two student designed banners with nature themes are hanging on Kaleva's light poles, with more scheduled for the future.

Future Projects
Service Learning students under the mentorship of local craftsman Rex Alexander, are currently developing a line of furniture for future sales. A primitive log cabin from the Asiala homestead will be moved to a town lot donated by the village. Restoration work on the cabin will begin in fall 1998. Terri Herwick's English class has done research on original settlers and written first person vignettes which will be presented by costumed "Finns" greeting visitors to the cabin. Also in the works is a literacy center, with a Finnish book exchange area and coffee bar. An Internet connection with Finland is a possibility.

Funding and Volunteerism
Although the bulk of the funding has come from a federal Learn and Serve grant, channeled through the Michigan Service Commission, numerous other donors have contributed. Project Kaleva, an ad hoc committee of the Kaleva Historical Society, solicits money from current and former residents. Time and labor in addition to mentoring have been donated by local citizens from painting to hauling landscaping materials to typing and printing brochures.

Source: Janet Townsend Stroup (Manistee News Advocate)