Mission Statement

"The ultimate goal of the Get Growing curriculum is to promote the student's ability to investigate the immediate environment; to integrate, to apply, and to communicate first-hand information; and to foster within each student a positive sense of responsibility, and awareness of and sensibility to the natural environment, and a determination for life-long learning."

Special Landscape Projects Description

In the spring of 1996, over twenty trees were planted along the perimeter of the Shaw Middle School as part of an urban forestry program. The maintenance plan for the trees includes two volunteer students watering the trees once a week.

In the spring of 1996, the Shaw's Humanities community designed a memorial garden for four drowned students. The garden will be constructed at a corner vacant lot across from the school grounds. The students were assisted by The Foundation for Architecture's education program led by landscape architect Julie Regnier and University of Pennsylvania Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning student Rachel Sterling Boyers. A copy of the eight-week curriculum can be found in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning at University of Pennsylvania.

In the fall of 1996, the Science Alliance's eight-classroom community worked on the design of a community garden to be located behind the school building. Landscape architect Ms. Regnier, compiled all their designs into a construction plan. The Science Alliance 1996 summer day camp worked on the construction of the community garden.

The Center for Community Partnerships, University of Pennsylvania students, and the Shaw Middle School are collaborating on the implementation of an environmental education curriculum. Science Alliance is one of four learning communities at Shaw. Since the fall of 1996, the Science Alliance curriculum has been centered around the designing and building of a community garden. The Science Alliance curriculum is composed of references to two existing environmental education curricula. Copies of these curricula can be found at The Center for Community Partnerships. Get Growing, written by University of Pennsylvania education major Jane Horwitz, 1995 The Growing Classroom, "Garden-based Science" by Robert Jaffe and Gary Appel, 1990

Shaw Middle School
(215) 727-2161
Mr. Albert Bichner, Shaw Principal
Ms. Patricia Whack, Shaw Teacher who initiated contacted with Upenn
Ms. Donna Saunders and Ms. Clara Gay, Science Alliance teachers

University of Pennsylvania

Cory Bowman, Center for Community Partnerships (215) 898-0289
Karalyn Stanley, Science Alliance student program coordinator (215)417-8273
Abby Close, Science Alliance student program coordinator