Thank you, Quad Cities Investment Group, Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds and BOS Electronics, for your Great Minds Trivia Night Sponsorship!

We also want to thank each of the businesses and individuals who have donated to the silent auction and raffles!

Great Minds Grade Level Outreach Experience (GLOE) Trips provide Davenport Community School District students with opportunities to experience the community in which they live, while collaborating with community partners to provide place-based learning that directly aligns with their curriculum educational objectives in order to enhance learning. The impact is profound as Great Minds educational experiences provide access to real-world, tangible examples of what is being taught in our schools.

Generally, the program runs throughout the academic year to connect the grade level curriculum with the partner site visit. This year has been another busy one with student experiences including:

Grade Level GLOE Trip/Community Partner

K Davenport Junior Theater

1 Family Museum & Davenport Public Library

2 Wapsi River Environmental Education Center & Ballet Quad Cities – “Dance Me a Story”

3 Ag in the Classroom & Ballet Quad Cities – “The Nutcracker”

4 Putnam Museum and Science Center & QCSO Symphony Day

5 JA BizTown & Figge Art Museum/Common Chord

6 School of the Wild & JA Career Speaker Series

7 John Deere Davenport Works

8 JA Inspire Career Expo

The Davenport Schools Foundation continues to fund about 60% of the total cost of the Great Minds GLOE programming through the unrestricted donations it receives each year. With partner sites' discount pricing and the District contributing the balance, the program serves students Kindergarten - Eighth grade. While the educational value of these experiences for all grade levels is obvious, the additional value is the community benefit realized through students and their families continuing to visit and support these partner organizations. The benefits of place-based education are numerous. Learning is grounded in local communities and contexts, is student-centered and personalized, relevant and engaging, and students can have more autonomy - boosting motivation and persistence. In addition, the benefits of place-based education also include instruction is interdisciplinary, design-thinking can be encouraged, students can meet deeper learning outcomes and gain better appreciation and understanding of the world around them.

The team of Davenport Community School District educators that have developed and implement the Great Minds GLOE programming continue to ensure that it runs smoothly and make refinements as needed. Given the popularity of the program with all involved, the plan for future funding continues to be seeking unrestricted dollars from grant funding and the network of existing Davenport Schools Foundation donors and new ones who want to be part of an impressive, results-based program. The challenge is real as the program costs continue to rise each year, especially for student transportation. Students themselves also are involved in the fundraising effort with the annual Major Saver Card campaign for which the proceeds are restricted for the Great Minds GLOE program.

These experiences, which enhance the science, social studies, art, and music standards, focus on place-based learning and allow students to experience their classroom lessons in a real-world setting, while at the same strengthening the bond with their community.

Roars, Paws and Gas for the Road