We know that when communities come together, change is possible. That’s why on Aprill11th, KIPP DC and the Deputy Mayor for Education’s office brought together more than 50 families, students, staff, and community members to identify and solve challenges related to safe passage. Using a design thinking approach, participants identified community assets and resources along with potential barriers to student safe passage in their zone. From there, participants teamed up to ideate solutions and build of the ideas of others using collaborative techniques such as “yes and”.
During this activity, participants learned the abstract concept of “Yes And” through a paired activity where groups where asked to create a new, innovative version of a typical household item (microwave). Participants then used what they learned in that activity, and applied it to the team identified recommendations. The purpose of this activity was to prepare teams to contribute to ideas without the fear of the word no, which can cause distrust and fear among group participants.
By the end of the night, the group identified the three following recommendations:
- There is safety in numbers, students should consider walking with friends (buddy system) when traveling to and from school. This idea should be messaged by the schools to families and students.
- The city should build an app that notifies schools, students, community members, MPD and families of local incidents immediately. The app should be able to track student’s location, and notify people of concerns in the area.
- Increase cameras in specific locations.
