Opening Photo: Isonnette, Glow, Joel, Jessica, and Aiden wade out to remove cattails that are out-competing other wetland species. This past Friday, two dozen Common Ground students showed up after school to care for the educational wetland on our campus. Four teachers were on hand to help, but Isonnette O’Brien – who last year as a 10th grader founded our Wetland Crew – was the natural...
Voices & Stories
Robyn Stewart | Joel Tolman May 30, 2022
What if urban public schools could mobilize their cities and schoolyards as classrooms – helping city students connect to their urban environments, master high academic standards, and grow into environmental stewards? Teaching our Cities and Schoolyards was a two-year project that aimed to do just that, with support from the EPA’s Environmental Education Grant Program. Two Common Ground...
Joel Tolman December 10, 2019
When Chauncey Robinson walked into his 10th grade English class last week, he did a double take: There were a half dozen extra adults in the classroom, filling it to bursting. Kathy Fay, Stephen Cremen-Endez, and Adam Rawlings were there to share their work on homeownership, community engagement, and sustainability issues at Neighborhood Housing Services. Jeff Carter, the dad of a recent...
Joel Tolman October 27, 2019
Each fall for the last half decade, I’ve gotten a precious half hour of time with our new 9th graders just as they are arriving at Common Ground. I get to hear each of their names for the first time, and see them warm into their first week of high school. It’s an incredible gift. Together, we watch a quick video of one of Common Ground’s first students, Nichole Wells, talking about what...
Joel Tolman June 14, 2019
Teaching Our Cities -- a network of urban public high schools with a shared focus on the environment and social justice -- is welcoming applications from teams of teachers, students, and others to join in a curriculum design institute, taking place August 5 to 7 at Common Ground High School in New Haven, Connecticut. We are seeking: Teams of students, teachers, and potentially...
Joel Tolman February 18, 2019
Teaching Our Cities -- a network of urban public high schools with a shared focus on the environment and social justice -- is seeking proposals for presentations for our April 5th Teaching Our Cities School Summit at Connecticut River Academy in East Hartford, Connecticut. Proposals are due by Monday, March 11. We are seeking: Teams of students and staff Sharing work...