THIS IS OUR CITY. Some of us have lived here our whole lives, while some of us have just arrived. But for all of us, New Haven is home. This site is a guide to New Haven's neighborhoods, through our eyes -- the eyes of high school students at Common Ground High School.

The Project

PASS IT ON is a growing collection of first-hand descriptions, histories, walking tours, and essays about new haven's neighborhoods. To produce these neighborhood guides, students chose, researched, and wrote about the people, places, and things that they thought were most interesting and representative of their neighborhoods. They interviewed community members, conducted surveys, used secondary sources from the Web and New Haven 's libraries, and drew on their own experiences to craft these stories.  

The Course

THE FOUR CORNERS BLOCK CLASS is a trimester-long, team-taught course focusing on the past, present, and future of New Haven 's neighborhoods. Students in the course meet for three hours a day, developing museum exhibits on important themes in the city's history, traveling out into the city to document the current status of New Haven 's neighborhoods, and discussing present and future struggles that face their communities. High school students in the class also work each week with 2 nd graders at Katherine Brennan Elementary School , where they support students' literacy development and collaborate in the development of children's story books set in New Haven . In the process, the students earn credit in both U.S. History and English.

The School

COMMON GROUND HIGH SCHOOL, a program of the New Haven Ecology Project, is the first Public Charter School with a focus on the urban environment. Common Ground offers a comprehensive high school curriculum to prepare students for college and future careers. Through hands-on inquiry, research, and investigation, students develop academic accomplishment, ecological literacy, commitment to community, and strong character. Common Ground students contribute to the building and operating of NHEP's farm. Raising plants and animals, studying neighborhood, social and environmental issues, and investigating the dramatic ridge environment are part of the academic courses. Common Ground is located on the New Haven Ecology Project's 20-acre farm at the base of West Rock Ridge in New Haven, CT.

Pass it On Common Ground High School www.nhep.com 358 Springside Avenue New Haven, CT