Birchview Elementary Celebration on February 23, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Plymouth, MN – Birchview Elementary School will host a community celebration honoring four elders in the Birchview Elementary School gymnasium on Thursday, February 23, 2012 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM. Free and open to the public.
Long has been working in partnership with the West Metro Education Program (WMEP) to provide the Elders’ Wisdom, Children’s Song™ process for schools that are members of the WMEP consortium. Recently, Long has been working with 4th grade students at Birchview Elementary School to collectively write songs and gather recitations that honor the life stories of the following community elders:
- Colonel Jerry Driscoll: Retired Air Force pilot, who was a Prisoner of War (POW) for two thousand, four hundred, and eighty-five days in North Vietnam from 1966-1973.
- Esther Kamara: Survivor of the civil war of Liberia. Her son is a student a Birchview Elementary. Ms. Kamara is presently completing her degree in nursing, with hopes to return to her village in Liberia to build a hospital clinic and school for children.
- Gary Rohweder: Grew up on a farm outside of Pine City, Minnesota. Owns a family construction business and builds homes with Habitat for Humanity. Grandfather of Birchview student.
- Steven Narr: Poet, woodworker, and beloved custodian for Birchview Elementary School.
Contact Information:
Larry Long, Executive Director
Community Celebration of Place
3357 – 36th Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612-722-9775
larrylong@communitycelebration.org
Jason Wenschlag, Principal
Birchview Elementary School
425 Ranchview Lane N
Plymouth, MN 55447
(763) 745-5310
jason.wenschlag@wayzata.k12.mn.us
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Larry Long, called "a true American Troubadour" by author Studs Terkel, has made his life work the celebration of American stories and heroes. In a curriculum called Elders' Wisdom, Children's Song™, he has brought these heroes to the classroom to share their oral history with our younger generation. A Smithsonian Folkways recording artist, Larry has sung at major festivals, concerts and events throughout the U.S. and internationally. Long is a recipient of the prestigious Bush Artists Fellowship, the Pope John XXIII Award and In The Spirit of Crazy Horse Award for his work in forgotten communities. (www.larrylong.org)
Founded out of demand for Long’s work across the country, Community Celebration of Place is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that uses oral history, music and art to strengthen communities and foster reconciliation. For more information visit www.communitycelebration.org.
The West Metro Education Program (WMEP) School District was formed in 1989 to cooperatively address integration issues in the west metro area. The mission of WMEP is to build the collective capacity of its members; to raise the achievement of all students; to eliminate the racial achievement gap; and to prepare all learners to thrive in a diverse world through regional leadership, integrated learning opportunities, shared resources, and mutual support.
Member districts of WMEP are: Brooklyn Center, Columbia Heights, Eden Prairie, Edina, Hopkins, Minneapolis, Richfield, Robbinsdale, St. Anthony/New Brighton, St, Louis Park, and Wayzata. (wmep.k12.mn.us)