ABSTRACT
Civic engagement must be treated as a skill set in order to ensure that all students learn to make their voices heard in their own communities. Place-based education creates equal opportunities for all students to write for authentic audiences and engage with organizations in the community. In this chapter, the author details a collaboration with several organizations and innovative educators to pilot a series of place-based units designed to actively engage students in telling the stories of their own hometown. The culminating project, a podcast unit titled Stories of Our Community, encouraged students to chronicle “stories worth telling” for other residents of Twinsburg, Ohio. The student-led nature of this project empowered learners of all abilities to tell unique stories in their own voices for friends, neighbors, and community members. Searching for opportunities to share student work outside of the classroom and engage students with organizations in the community led to a series of partnerships with people and groups that are genuinely invested in student’ success.
