Applications Due March 1, 2012.

The Emerson Fellows of the Netter Center will offer two graduating Penn seniors (Class of 2012) —who have worked with the Netter Center for Community Partnerships and/or its university-assisted community schools program as undergraduates—an opportunity to engage meaningfully in practice and policy and to disseminate their work to a national audience through a one-year appointment (potentially renewable for a second year) starting in June 2012.

Emerson Fellows will be full-time employees of the Netter Center. One Fellow will be based at the Netter Center and work to advance university-assisted community schools in West Philadelphia. A second Fellow will be based in Washington, DC at the Coalition for Community Schools, which is housed at the Institute for Educational Leadership. The Netter Center expects to provide the Emerson Fellows unique opportunities to engage with policy and practice, meet leaders of major national organizations, as well as become involved with influential national networks in the field of university civic engagement such as the Coalition for Community Schools, the Anchor Institutions Task Force, the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools and the Netter Center’s replication network of university-assisted community schools. The Netter Center also expects that the Emerson Fellows will, as young scholars, begin to contribute to the field through research, publications, and presentations at national conferences, as well as guest blog for sites such as the Emerson Collective, the Coalition for Community Schools and others.

The West Philadelphia Emerson Fellow will be tasked to increase the amount of resources from Penn, the community, and governmental agencies to support university-assisted community schools, as well as the integration of these resources. For example, he or she will work to increase the capacity of these institutions and organizations to offer workplace learning opportunities and other supports to youth from local schools, and to provide supports and opportunities for parents and other community members. The Fellow will also write reports and assist in evaluation of the effort to engage and coordinate additional Penn, governmental and community resources. The Fellow will work closely with Netter Center Associate Director Cory Bowman, as well as the Center's Director of Community Schools and its Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) Coordinator on strategies to identify and integrate such resources at the school sites. Working with the Netter Center Director and staff, this Fellow will produce a major case study of how to develop and implement effective place-based, university-school-community partnerships on the ground, which is intended for a national audience.

The National Policy Emerson Fellow will work in close partnership with a major national organization in Washington, D.C, the Coalition for Community Schools (CCS), which is housed at the Institute for Educational Leadership. This position will provide experience in public policy in general, and in education and university-assisted community schools policy more specifically. The National Policy Fellow will work under the direction of CCS Director Martin Blank, who also serves as President of the Institute for Educational Leadership and with other Coalition staff.  The Fellow will report to Joann Weeks, the Netter Center's Associate Director for National/International programs. The Fellow will work closely on upcoming legislative issues, explore new opportunities for intergovernmental collaboration that advances development of community schools, particularly university-assisted community schools, and assist with Coalition efforts to promote curricular changes in community schools that are consistent with the Netter Center’s strategy of learning through community problem solving. The position will include policy research, working with the CCS and partners on draft legislation, interacting with Capitol Hill and Administration (e.g., Education, HHS, HUD, and Labor) staff, and writing reports. Working with the Netter Center’s Director in his roles as Chair of the Anchor Institutions Task Force and Chair of the Coalition for Community Schools, as well as with the Coalition Director and staff, this Fellow will have a significant opportunity to help develop and promote public policy that advances university-assisted community schools.

Emerson Fellows Application Process

The Netter Center will select two Fellows from the pool of graduating seniors who have outstanding academic credentials and have shown leadership in and commitment to the university-assisted community schools program. Indicators of such involvement would include: number and types of academically based community service courses taken and performance in these courses, leadership roles in student programs that support the Netter Center’s university-assisted community schools (e.g., Community School Student Partnerships), and participation in an academic year and/or summer internship.

Students must develop an application portfolio that includes:

• An essay on interest in and goals for being an Emerson Fellow, as well as the relationship of the position to their future career goals; please specify whether applying for West Philadelphia or National Policy Emerson Fellow.

Note: This essay will serve as the cover letter.  Please also separately attach the following:

• List of ABCS courses completed, as well as internships and Netter Center-related work-study positions.
• Resume
• Recommendation letter waivers (can be found here).

The following should be sent directly from your references to the Netter Center:

• Letters of recommendation from at least two Penn faculty members.
• Letter of recommendation from a university-assisted community school principal, teacher, community school director, or community partner.