Exchange City is on the Rise in Rhode Island
New grants and donations get things off the ground
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – November 28, 2006 – A new city is on the rise in Rhode Island thanks in part to new grants and donations. Exchange City, an innovative interactive educational and entrepreneurial project for middle and high school students, housed on the campus of Johnson & Wales University, has received a $375,000 grant from The Champlin Foundations, and a contribution of $50,000 from the United Way of Rhode Island, according to Ken Fish, executive director.
"The Champlin Foundations enables us to build a promising future for the young people of Rhode Island," Fish says. "In addition, the generous donation from the United Way adds a valuable endorsement to what Exchange City represents. We are very grateful to both The Champlin Foundations and the United Way for their contributions."
"This is an exciting opportunity for young people in Rhode Island to apply classroom learnings in a practical forum," said Anthony Maione, president and chief executive officer of United Way of Rhode Island. "We're excited to be involved with training the leaders of tomorrow."
Exchange City is recognized nationally for its pioneering economics, government and civics programs that support a new vision of teaching and learning about American enterprise, entrepreneurism and government. Both a hands-on learning lab site and a curriculum that is used in the classroom and in the home, Exchange City combines a seven-week classroom experience with a state-of-the art interactive government and free enterprise laboratory. The Exchange City experience helps students learn and apply rigorous academic standards in math, civics, social studies, language arts and technology in real-life roles as citizens of their very own mini-town.
Keith Lang, executive director, The Champlin Foundations, notes that one of his organization's key focus areas is education. "We viewed Exchange City as a tremendous hands-on, educational experience for Rhode Island's young students. It's been proven in other parts of the country, and we thought it was time now for Rhode Island to have one of its own," he says. "We are pleased to support it and look forward to its opening."
In 2003, the Cody Foundation, a non-profit education foundation opened the first Exchange City in New England. Located in Portsmouth, N.H., more than 15,000 students participate annually.
In January 2006, Johnson & Wales' Providence Campus partnered with the Cody Foundation of Portsmouth, N.H., to establish the nationwide project in Rhode Island. The University has contributed $800,000 through renovations within its historic Paramount Building located at its Harborside Campus where Exchange City resides.
"Inherent to the mission of Exchange City is creating an opportunity for young people to acquire the skills they will need for successful careers," stated Dr. Irving Schneider, president of Johnson & Wales University's Providence campus. "A symbiotic relationship exists between Johnson & Wales, as America's Career University® and Rhode Island's Exchange City program. We are proud to be their host site, as we firmly believe in their mission, vision and goals. Additionally, we believe both organizations will benefit from the interaction of our programs."
The University is developing academic programs so that its students and faculty can both teach and train at the new site for which construction has already begun. The University will encourage its students, who are required to fulfill a community service program during their time with the University, to engage their time with Exchange City.
Exchange City will be housed on the second floor of the Paramount Building, a 200,000 square-foot building that recently underwent an extensive $8.5 million renovation. The building, as rich in history as it is in technology today, once housed Kaiser Shipbuilders, New England's center for the production of "Liberty" ships used during World War II. Today, it is home to the University's world-famous Culinary Archives & Museum, a state-of-the-art culinary library, and other University administrative offices. Exchange City will occupy 20,000 square feet of the building's second floor.
"Exchange City has a profound and life-long impact on students who participate in it. Our goal is to bring Exchange City and the EarthWorks science program to 100,000 middle and high school students in New England each year," Philip Ross, executive director, Exchange City, Portsmouth, says. "Johnson & Wales University has taken a visionary and leadership position in making sure that these two remarkable programs will be available to students throughout New England. With the support of The Champlin Foundations and the United Way, we can get things off the ground, and build a profitable foundation for entrepreneurship within Rhode Island."
Exchange City was created in 1980 in response to employers' and community leaders' concerns that students lacked the basic understanding of government, economics and skills needed for future roles in the workplace.
In 1994, the first Exchange City license was granted to Junior Achievement of Central Indiana, Inc. Since that date, more than 26 licenses have been granted in 16 states. There currently are 21 Exchange City programs operating nationally and serving approximately 150,000 young people.
Experiencia, Inc. owns and distributes the Exchange City program and its sister program, EarthWorks®. EarthWorks is a hands-on science program based on the same Immersive Learning™ model as Exchange City.
Exchange City is designed to reflect three proven themes of contemporary education: experiential learning, constructivism, and collaborative learning. The program models effective instructional practices and education reform for teachers, parents and students. This innovative learning model adds a layer of expectation and application not seen in other programs. It is indeed a unique and comprehensive design.
Johnson & Wales — America's Career University® — was founded in 1914. It is a private, nonprofit, accredited institution offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business, food service, education, hospitality and technology. Preparing students for successful careers is the cornerstone of the University's educational philosophy. A benchmark of the University has been its 29 consecutive year employment record — within 60 days of graduation, 98 percent of its students from the 50 states have jobs in their chosen career field. With an enrollment of more than 16,000 students, Johnson & Wales maintains campuses in Providence, R.I., North Miami, Fla., Denver, Colo., and Charlotte, N.C.
