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Listening to what young teenagers have to say and putting on your pajamas at the Putnam in the cities.

It's become a holiday tradition.

Checking out the Polar Express on the big screen at the Putnam Museum.

But you can make new memories this season at the Putnam.

That's just ahead.

But first, listening to the kids.

The United Way of the Quad Cities is in the midst of an interesting project that may help reduce a serious problem in our schools.

The program is called Student Voices and the problem is chronic absenteeism.

The newly released Iowa School Performance Report shows 5000 of Davenport's 13,000 students missed 10% or more of their classes.

That's 38% of students.

The statewide average 21%.

Bettendorf was almost 23% in Illinois.

Molina's 30% rock Island 35%.

And that's well above the Illinois average of 26%.

Now to the solution.

The United Way has assembled middle school students to come together to talk about their concerns about school.

850 students from 13 different schools.

The facilitator is the Senior Vice President of Community Impact.

Daniel Sheridan.

He joined us in the studio.

Let's talk about student voices.

It really is.

It's growing out of the concern over chronic absenteeism, which is what we're seeing all over the place, especially since the pandemic.

Yeah.

Well, you know, students right now, I mean, pre-pandemic, attendance of students who are not chronically absence that's missing 10% of their, classes over the course of a year, about 17 days.

81% of students were meeting attendance needs.

But you know where we are this year, this last school year is about 71%.

That 10% gap is a big concern because a student who's chronically absent once between eighth and 12th grade is four times less likely to graduate.

So that's part of that stumbling process of, you know, obviously the child is not making the decision not to get him or herself to school.

There's all the family dynamics and pressures behind that and stuff kids are experiencing that we might assume we know, but we don't know until we ask somebody what's going on.

Well, you're real familiar with the big table.

That was a few years ago.

It was an effort, to get people to discuss what's good and what's bad about the Quad City area and act on it.

And now you have student voices where you're almost assembling the same type of thing.

You're in middle schools.

You have an age specific group that is very seldom, if ever, heard from.

Right.

Well, and you know, the other thing with the broad based approach is we were in all middle schools in the Quad Cities, so we were able to sit with students at tables of 10 to 12 kids.

And then have a conversation with them that wasn't led by their teachers or the United Way staff.

It was business leaders and volunteers in the community, who came in to engage in these conversations with them.

And, you know, the conversations weren't just, you know, what doesn't work for you in school.

It's what do you like about school?

This is the best way to get a group of junior high kids talking.

Just to start talking is what do you guys think of lunch?

Well, you know.

Yeah.

And then that casual conversation heats up.

But we're there for 40 minutes.

That's a great place to start, right?

Well, the key is that the the kids feed off each other.

And that's how you build the knowledge of what's needed.

Yeah, yeah.

And, you know, I didn't lead any of the conversations, but I was able to sit in rooms where conversations were happening.

So I was able to listen to and start to hear some common threads and also hear kids build off each other, because having these kind of conversations isn't something kids casually have on their own, but they do hear like, oh, I'm having that experience too.

Me too, me too.

What about this and that?

And and gathering all of that information and then resourcing it back to leaders is the first part of Student Voices.

Okay.

So let's talk about the common threads that you're mentioning.

Sure.

What did you notice?

Sure.

You know, I think it'll be interesting where we're working with Western Illinois to take all of the data that we've collected from open conversations and pre and post survey and try to give us back, you know, what those common threads are.

But some of the things that that I was hearing, you know, were stories about one of the reasons I don't participate in afterschool programs is my my parents work.

I could participate in afterschool programs, but it gets dark.

I live a mile away.

I don't feel safe walking home, so I just don't do afterschool programing.

You know, like, wow.

You know, that's, that's important to hear and important to know.

Also things as simple as deferred maintenance.

You know, our schools are dealing with a lot, but somebody talked about how in the men's room, boys room, cafeteria, there's been a urinal that sprays all over you when you flush it.

So there's only one stall and it's the lunchroom, and so I can't go to the bathroom, and I have to go to the bathroom all day.

But I'm not allowed to leave the like these.

Just lots of little stories and and just trying to find, you know, the commonalities in them.

Because because some of the things you're saying, you know, you kind of sit there and go, our kids are allowed to be kids anymore.

Right?

Sure.

There's so many other responsibilities.

And as you said, the family dynamics have changed so much.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, a lot of kids are responsible for getting their younger siblings to school in the morning, and then they show up at junior high.

So they can't do those pre school preschool.

But before school activities it's just very difficult for them to to access those things.

And so just learning about the whole need of the students and then also to identifying in an upfront way.

What do you love about school?

What are concerns you have about school?

But the next two and three year phase of this project was also the question we asked them of what do you think you could do, you know, to change it?

We're not asking you to be the one responsible for it, but what could you do to help make that change?

And then identifying students who are interested in having their voice heard again.

So we're going to be developing a Students United coalition that will be composed of these students that might meet quarterly or, bi monthly.

To make sure that their voices are heard, we're listening to them and then bring key community players or bring them to the key community players so that they have to hear from the kids.

Grown-Ups have all the solutions, right?

But, kids do too.

Students do.

But this is kind of unprecedented.

This particular age group, because you hear from adults all the time and different sectors of adults.

You hear from high school students and seniors, maybe not as much as we should, but you do hear them.

But middle school students, the early teens, we very seldom hear them and their collective voice.

Well, and, you know, so united Way 11 years ago started an education council.

And that's all eight superintendents of the big districts in the Quad Cities, four in Iowa and four in Illinois.

And they're, you know, we we don't just come up with our own directives.

We, you know, we want to collaborate with others and figure out what would be good for them to learn.

And the superintendents exactly that.

Like, we don't have a proper convening of these kids.

And that's what the United Way does, is convene and create coalition to make change.

So this was really directed by them because they, the superintendents also felt like we really need to hear their voices.

And this is a way that group moves as a collective in the Quad City area.

So when they consider third grade reading level, you know, North Scott's not comparing themselves to Bettendorf.

No, they're just looking at the data as a team.

It's an amazing room to be in.

Our superintendents look at that.

You know, the whole spectrum of student experience, even after, you know, K through 12.

So help me understand how this might cut into chronic absenteeism.

Sure.

From what you have learned or what the students have said.

Well, I mean, that's that's the important piece is because we're looking to address chronic absenteeism.

You know, as far as getting the feedback from the students is what what is the most important thing that is making it difficult for them to be in the classroom?

And that question was asked to, and so, you know, hopefully by knowing what it is for them, we can build supports around that because, again, we we think we know.

But it's much better to I mean, they're the ones living in the school.

They're the ones there who are there eight hours a day, experiencing services and stuff.

And so, we're hoping to find something we can act on and then also bring them along, and teach them about their voice and being leaders so that they can advocate for the changes they think are.

Valuable because conventional wisdom.

You blame the pandemic.

Right?

Right.

And and, you know, yes.

I mean, the pandemic is by all education metrics that we follow.

Is this huge buffet in the middle of all of those?

And so now we have these, kids that are after the pandemic or before the pandemic and then after the pandemic.

But we can't, I don't know, I, a lot of the indicators we look at weren't good enough before the pandemic.

You know, we need to be doing better, as a community, as a whole, regardless.

And so, but but these group, these kids were definitely hit by that as well.

And there are new challenges right now in our community, economically and, social mobility and a lot of things that are, placing these kids and their families in difficult situations.

So tell me where you go from here, because this is obviously something that's ongoing.

And the information that you've gotten so far, as you said, Western Illinois University is, for lack of a better term, collating all the information and gathering it all together.

Right, right.

So they'll be getting us, all of the data back probably by late January or early February.

And then we'll be working with our education Council, who isn't just superintendents.

It's also, business leaders and nonprofit leaders that are in the room, to take a good look at that and then develop, some action steps, some things, figure out what is it that we can do now?

But then bringing the students along side that conversation as well.

It's just not it's it's just not good enough to do one and done, you know, like we heard you.

Thanks.

That's exactly the.

Way for four years.

And then we come back and they get, you know, they get here and then we don't continue the dialog.

So, that, I mean, that's just a, a huge component of it is, is keeping students as one of the players at the table for making these choices.

You were pointing out that you had talked to the superintendents, and that they really thought that this was important as a gathering spot.

I mean, we're talking about 800 kids.

For more than a dozen schools.

What are the kids tell you where they happen to be heard.

Oh my goodness.

Yes.

Yeah, absolutely.

And you know, I we were all junior high kids, ones like oh my gosh.

You know.

I'm like, yes.

This is another thing.

That's why that age group that's what I mean.

I mean, to hear those voices.

That's why some people didn't necessarily want to hear them.

Right?

Right.

And then, you know, we've received letters and phone calls and follow up from the volunteers who were involved that were profoundly moved and impacted and are now allied with the voices that they heard, and saying, what are you doing?

What are you doing with this?

Because I went in and I talked to those kids and I told them this was going to matter.

And so now you have to make it matter.

And I love I love accountability.

Yeah.

Right.

So, so there's that pressure, but the kids, the kids along the way.

Because we did not shut down any conversation.

I mean, unless something was openly aggressive or, you know, discriminatory, but the conversation was open.

And so it wasn't, you know, we can only answer these four things.

It was just a dialog.

And I think people enjoy that.

I mean, that's the concept of a big table to you going back to 2018 and 19 in the community.

What goals do we need to set for 2030?

Based off of where we are now and just talk about it from different sectors and, yeah.

We have talked to you on this program several times because you were the head of the Davenport, Junior Theater.

And now you're with, United Way.

And Community impact is an interesting title.

Yeah, that had to be a draw for you.

I mean, what what is it about your experience with the theater and now this new job that you have?

Is it the connection with with youth that you think is going to be really important moving forward?

Yeah, I mean, we obviously youth is a huge component of what we do.

And it was a big draw for me.

You're right.

You know, a junior theater.

My work was about developing voices and helping kids communicate and speak clear and confidently.

Be creative, be storytellers, be empathetic to other people's experiences.

And that kind of work directly translates to this as well.

Is, you know, bringing, bringing voices together to find commonalities and hear one another and then take action in the community.

So not only not only student voices, but another initiative that is underway is our United for schools initiative.

And we started it in 2021, in Madison Elementary, committing staff to build coalitions and resources inside the schools.

Our Vision to Learn program put glasses on all kids who needed them so they can see to participate in class.

Books and barbers for haircuts for kids.

Steam on wheels.

Just building these resources that the school community and families said they need.

And looking at wraparound support.

And that whole concept has grown because we recently received $1 million investment from the Ballmer Group, which is an outside million dollars coming in to the Quad Cities.

And this is going to let us move into five title one schools with five full time employees for three years to listen, work with those schools and develop, develop resources, but not only the staff.

It's also going to leverage about $200,000 of actionable resource in those schools to respond to what those coalitions want to build.

So it's very exciting to draw community into not the broader school system, but the individual schools, because they're all so unique and different.

And that is the place where families are convening.

You know, that's that's the common safe place that a family goes.

So if we can provide more research for the families, more resource for the kids, and, lift them so that they can they can find their way forward and graduate and make a living wage and, feel like they're part of and connected to this community.

Our thanks to the Quad Cities United Way Senior Vice President of Community Impact Daniel Sheridan in a moment.

Get your jammies ready.

We're taking a holiday ride that's up next.

But first, let's check in with visit Quad Cities with a look at events in our area.

Check out the things to do this week in the Quad Cities.

Start off with watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation on December 17th at the Adler Theater.

Then you can attend a polar pajama party on December 19th at the Putnam Museum.

Next, try out an open mic night on December 19th at the Bootleg Hill Honey Meads.

Then John Deere employees can get two free tickets for Storm Hockey at the Vibrant Arena at the Mark And finally, bring your dogs of lights and leashes so they can see those lights at Quad City Botanical Center.

For more events like these, visit our events calendar at visit Quad cities.com.

The Putnam Museum is in the midst of a transformation that will better show off the quarter million artifacts in its possession.

It's part of a three year, $7 million museum wide renovation.

And right now, until January 5th, there's free admission to check out what's new and a chance to bring your pajamas to the museum for a holiday tradition.

We talked with the president and CEO of the Putnam Museum, Cindy Diehl Yang, as well as Scott Peake, the membership director, about the traditions and what's new.

So, Cindy, people can actually experience the Putnam and other museums for free through January 3rd.

Who's this thanks to.

This is sponsored by the Quad Cities Cultural Trust, which is an organization in the Quad Cities that supports the cultural activities and organizations throughout all four of the Quad Cities.

And this is really a great way or a great time, I should say, to see all that's going on at the Putnam.

It is.

It's a fantastic time.

We are just launching our platinum reimagined public phase of our capital campaign.

So right now when you come to the Putnam, you can actually see part of the things that are already finished, which is great.

Our World Culture Gallery and our local history, which is called Common Ground, those are live, as well as the Quad City Innovators Gallery.

So it's exciting, but at the same time you get to see us while we're in progress.

So even driving up, you can see the whole front of the building is being re redone and revitalized.

And then, as you come down the sloped walkway that's going to be all, turned into an outdoor learning area.

So there'll be tables and new concrete and, and graphics as it leads you in signage on the building.

So we're excited to have people take part, like at this really great time.

Well, and Scott, I mean, you know, I'm not telling you anything you don't already know.

And that is that you get people that come and visit a museum such as the Putnam.

Yeah.

And they may not come back for a couple of years because we've already seen it.

Right.

And that's so not true.

Oh, totally not true.

I mean, right now we've got the Hubble Space Telescope exhibit, which is, you know, brand new and awesome.

So you don't want to miss that.

It's out of this.

There's always going to say.

But but still but still, I mean.

There's always something to, you know, if you haven't been there in six months, it would be different.

If you hadn't been here in two years.

It would be wildly different.

So there's always something.

And you talk about that.

What's what's great about the Putnam also is the big screen theater.

So when you're talking about the Hubble and you're talking about the exhibits, you want to go and see the program as well.

Yeah.

Oh, exactly.

Yeah, it's a whole I mean, it's a whole experience.

You could do the Hubble exhibit, and then we've got a new movie.

It's actually a new not just new to the Putnam, but new period, movie called space.

That's in 3D on the giant screen.

Which is the way you want to see it.

Yeah, exactly.

So you can be a space traveler.

Yeah, exactly.

Feel all the rumbles from the rockets.

The other thing about the big screen theater, is, is that there's a tradition of the Polar Express.

Yes.

And I got to tell you the truth, I was really the screen is you really get enveloped in it, and I'm kind of a wuss.

I'm sitting, going, oh, this could be a little unnerving for me because it's a little too much reality coming at once.

But the fun was really turned it into an event which also involves pajamas.

And it's great.

Memory maker.

Absolutely.

Yeah, I know it's a family favorite.

It's our 18th year doing the Polar Express pajama parties.

And, you know, every New year, new things, every year.

This year, we have a new addition to the Putnam family, JP the polar bear.

He's going to be there and they're going it's going to be a storytime with JP.

So he can't he's not going be able to read the story, but he'll sit and cuddle with the kids and hear a story.

It's very, very quiet.

Yeah.

We've we've talked in the past in the in regards to the 250,000 artifacts that is in the Putnam Collection.

Hard to believe.

Yes.

And sometimes it's it hasn't seen the light of day, so to speak, as hasn't been seen in the public and part of this whole renovation.

And rejuvenation of the Putnam Museum allows you to show them off in a specific exhibit.

It does so one of the crown jewels of this whole experience that we're putting together is the vault.

And the vault is a it's a place in the Putnam that will allow us to have our storage on display.

So all behind that, the high glass shelves and it's being all reimagined as a vault.

It feels very vault like, you know, so where all your treasures are kept, the public will be able to see so many of the things that we haven't been able to necessarily put out, whether it be due to size, you know, keeping it safe, some of them are very large that are going in there or some of them we have some smaller collections, and it's hard to say, you know, how do you put that into an exhibit?

There's not quite enough.

And so people will be able to see that, along with interactives that will allow them to get more information on it or create their own exhibit.

There's one where they can pull things from from the vaults and make their own exhibit.

So give me an example of something that would be in the vault that people haven't seen.

So we have in the vault one of we have a goddess that is a statue that is probably 12ft tall that I know used to be out, but has been in the vault for some time.

There is, there's a lot of fashion.

So one of the things that the Putnam has is a fantastic collection of clothing throughout time.

And so part of the vault will have, mannequins where we can change in and out that clothing so that people can see that, how it's all progressed and what the significance has been.

We have several of samurai suits as part of that, which are pretty cool as well.

And like the whole, you know, breastplate all the way down.

So just a couple of examples of things that might, you know, you might see there.

What you think of a museum and you don't really necessarily think of clothing.

But I go back a number of years to the Diana exhibit, which was monstrously huge for the Putnam.

Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

Absolutely.

And, you know, I think there was one just not too recently too, that was about, suffragettes.

There was a lot of clothing was was there as well.

But there's a vast amount of clothing within there.

There are a couple galleries that are already open, a common ground, which we've talked about before.

And don't tell me once again, the key to common ground has always been local.

Local, local.

Yes.

Yeah.

No, it's a local history.

It used to be river very people and had a very specific flow to it.

This is a slightly more inclusive look at our, our history here in the Quad Cities area.

And it came about with a lot of community and absolutely.

Yeah, there were a lot of I wish I knew the number of that in my head.

How many local curators were involved in it.

But the joy of Common Ground really, is that it's no longer in a linear timeline set up.

Right.

It's kind of more thematic so that it can grow and evolve.

And the more part of what we want to do is collect more artifacts, more stories of Quad City things, and put them right into to the exhibit.

It's going to continue to grow.

And and once again, we're talking about community input, especially from perhaps, parts of the community that that don't get represented very well.

Yeah, exactly.

And you know, it it we can show what we have.

So part of that exhibit is saying every story is important to the point where we have a storytelling booth where you can go in and follow some question prompts and tell your story because, you know, we we know what we have, but we know there's so many more things out there that the community has that that are important, that everyone would like to see.

Innovators Gallery is another one that that is open.

I like the smile on your face because you're proud of that as well.

Yes.

Well, probably the Innovators Gallery so far is my is my favorite area just because I'm new to the Quad Cities, so I didn't know that the bread slicer was invented here.

You know everyone.

Knows.

That well now.

Okay, okay.

Because I went to the Innovators gallery.

So now I know that, you know that the first patented washing machine in the United States was patented in the Quad Cities.

And, you know, so that's.

Our favorite.

One.

That is my favorite one, because a son actually built it for his mom.

No best child ever.

Yeah.

What, did he take the clothes out in full?

No.

Probably not.

I took way.

Yeah, exactly.

Exactly.

Another great thing that's that's going out of the podium.

Of course.

Is those winter camps you have?

Yeah.

When when you have your kids home, for the extended break and you want to get them out of the house.

Yeah.

But there's I mean, the camps have been going on for a number of years as well.

Yeah, we just actually just started the winter camps last, last year.

But they're really Stem focused.

So they're going to be doing like when I came home and said to my daughter, I said, oh, are you interested in any of these camps?

I read the two descriptions.

Right, right.

You know, they're making toys for Santa and they're doing, robots and they're doing 3D pens and different stuff.

And she's like, well, I want to do I want to do that, you know?

So I think it's not even just get rid of your kids, but, something fun for, for them to do.

And that's really part of the Putnam's mission, is that it really is a true place for families to to learn and grow.

Yeah.

Families and families with children are a huge, huge market for us.

And and we mean that from the smallest children to, you know, grandparents that bring their, their grandchildren, to take part.

So we see a lot of that at the Putnam and we're excited to have everybody always during the Polar Park.

But then also, you know, for those camps, there's five of them, you know, that you can do one, you can do one day, you can do two day, or you can do all five.

And what is the key for 2025?

What what's the exciting thing that you kind of can hint and perhaps even tell me a little bit more about oh wow.

I mean, there's so many different things.

We're yeah.

We're it's excited for this capital campaign to be done.

Come through fruition.

And have a big splashy opening event in May.

And then we'll have some new exhibits.

We have a new exhibit coming in February after Hubble.

It'll be kind of a fun, interactive exhibit, sort of like an escape room using my in math.

Oh, my.

So that'll be another one.

That'll be great for for all ages, too.

So the Putnam is meeting its mission?

Yes, we are.

Yeah.

We're excited to have everybody be part of that.

Connecting with history, science, culture.

You know that's really we want to preserve, connect and educate.

And the key is to be innovative and also always somewhat fresh.

Yes.

Yeah.

And that's really how all of these new exhibits have been set up is the ability to, to put more pieces in and take pieces out in order to continue to keep the interest there, and also to help bring those 250,000 artifacts out.

Right.

Let's help people see them, interact with them, understand their stories.

And once again, free admission through January 3rd.

January 5th.

Or January 5th.

I'm sorry, through January 5th.

Yeah.

So I mean, now's the time.

Now is the time.

Now is the time to come.

Check out a movie if you wouldn't normally do that.

Now, you don't have to pay the admission.

You can come extra and add on that movie.

And we're going to have a lot of different, movie choices throughout the holiday times, some that are going to play during the days that are going to be different than our normal fare as well.

A lot of stuff for families.

Our thanks to Cindy Diehl Yang, the president and CEO of the Putnam, and Scott Peake, its marketing and membership director.

And once again, the free museum admission is continuing, and it's thanks to the Quad City Cultural Trust.

It runs through January 5th, plus the Polar Express Pajama Party is being held December 19th through the 22nd.

On the air, on the radio, on the web, on your mobile device, and streaming on your computer.

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