41st Annual Appalachian Studies Conference
Re-stitching the Seams: Appalachia Beyond Its Borders
April 5-8, 2018 Cincinnati, Ohio
Oyler Community Learning Center and the Community Learning Center Institute will be among the featured presenters at the 41st Annual Appalachian Studies Conference in Cincinnati.
A tour of Oyler Community Learning Centers, a prek-12 school in the historical Appalachian neighborhood of Lower Price Hill, will be led by the Community Learning Center Institute on Friday, April 6 at 10:00 a.m. to noon. Oyler
is a national model for Community Learning Centers, whereby the school serves as
the hub of the community. Providing a myriad of services to students and
community members alike, such as early childhood education, mental health,
primary, vision, and dental services, Oyler has been reimagined to optimize the
conditions for learning and to catalyze the revitalization of the community. The
tour will focus on the transformation of Oyler School to a Community Learning
Center, followed by a panel of educators, service providers and community
leaders who will address how this model has been adapted to serve the unique
needs of a traditionally urban Appalachian community.
On April 7 at 1:30 – 4:15, the Community Learning Center Institute will lead a walking tour of Lower Price Hill. Guided by the philosophy that the success of the school and the success of the neighborhood are inextricably linked, the Community Learning Center Institute(CLCI) based in Cincinnati, Ohio is an emerging leader in school-centered community revitalization, whereby neighborhood reinvestment focuses on improving academic outcomes for children by addressing neighborhood
variables that impact school performance, such as health, housing, blight and
crime. Beginning at the Oyler Community Learning Center, the CLCI, along with
community residents and neighborhood stakeholders, will lead an interactive
tour of the traditional Appalachian neighborhood of Lower Price Hill while
addressing the importance of grassroots engagement in community
revitalization, reviewing the recent Lower Price Hill planning process, and finally,highlighting completed and planned investments as a result of this work.
Oyler students will be featured in an Urban Appalachian Showcase of performers on Satruday evening at the Aronoff Theater with Pauletta Hansel, Poet Laureate of Cincinnati. Ms. Hansel worked with Oyler high school students to create collective works of poetry which they will present.
The 41st Annual Appalachian Studies Association Conference will be held outside the official borders of Appalachia for the first time in more than a decade. As we move beyond the third generation of Appalachians living in urban migrant centers, and cities within the region’s traditional boundaries continue to grow, what it means to be Appalachian is evolving to encompass these communities, as well as rural areas and small towns. We find common ground and purpose in shared geographic origins, values, and similar challenges to life and livelihood. Even as we emerge onto ever changing landscapes, our seams line up. How might we best work together, regardless of our location, to address the larger issues facing the region’s extended family and to develop the social, cultural, and economic resilience necessary for future generations to thrive?
http://appalachianstudies.org/annualconference/files/2018-preliminary-program.pdf