Teaming up to help students advance through learning and leadership program
January 17, 2008 | Chicago
Arnstein & Lehr recently sponsored two Smyser Elementary School classes to attend Exchange City, a 25,000 square foot simulated city with the look and feel of Chicago, located at 770 North Halstead Street.
Students who visit Exchange City can learn more than 90 occupations. And, as citizens of the city, they are taught to create resumes, apply for jobs, write business plans, develop products, deliver mail, publish a newspaper, vote in an election, produce a TV show and learn to be conscientious consumers and voters. If they break the law by stepping on the artificial grass or running, they can be ticketed by a police officer that patrols the city on a Segway. Offenders can then have their say in court if they wish to contest the ticket. Exchange City is a division of the Experiencia Immersive Education Foundation.
"Cash" they earn can be spent on t-shirts, snacks, and other Exchange City goods. A snack shop owner, for example, might start their business by taking out a $250 loan from LaSalle Bank, calling the AT&T office to set up phone service, and then spending the rest of the day selling popcorn and Eli's cheesecake.
Arnstein & Lehr's contribution covered special training seminars for two Smyser Elementary teachers, and over 40 hours of in class teaching and preparation, as well as attendance at this special day at Exchange City. The Illinois State Board of Education designates Smyser, a Chicago Public School, as a high-poverty, high-performing institution. For the past several years, several Arnstein & Lehr attorneys have been volunteering to teach three classes per year at Smyser, through the Constitutional Law Foundation Chicago's (CRFC) Lawyers in the Classroom program.
Our two sponsored Smyser School classes attended Exchange City on December 21. Attorneys W. Toby Eveland, Laura Lau Marinelli, and Sharilee Smentek attended a special training seminar and then accompanied the students to Exchange City. Paralegal John Fuller, an active participant in CRFC, first heard of Experiencia/Exchange City and thought it would be a wonderful opportunity for Arnstein & Lehr to support. He met with Smyser School's principal and teachers to pitch his idea and then successfully solicited the firm's involvement.