Not only did he take a lot of pride in the job, but at the end of the school year, he told Atkinson Elementary School counselor Lisa Hirsch-Aarvig that it “helped me improve my grades and make more friends.”

Michael was one of 20 Atkinson students assigned “jobs” in an experiment created by University of Louisville social work students to build self-esteem in young students. The program was launched through an ongoing effort to improve one of our city’s most impoverished schools.

UofL has “adopted” Atkinson through its Signature Partnership, an initiative to tackle health, education, social and other disparities in economically disadvantaged West Louisville. Faculty, staff and students from literally every college and school at the university have become involved in the project to help Atkinson become better.

More than 500 children in kindergarten through fifth grade attend the school, which traditionally has had low academic achievement scores, a high proportion of disruptive students and a large number of teachers transferring out. But that’s beginning to change.

Here are just a few examples of how the partnership is working:

Besides the support being offered by UofL, a wide range of community organizations have now joined in the effort, including the YMCA, Highland Presbyterian Church, Louisville Free Public Library, Seven Counties Services and Boys and Girls Clubs.

This fall, Atkinson will begin the school year with a new name—J.B. Atkinson Elementary School for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. But there’s a lot more going on there than just a name change. Students at the school are hearing the message every day that it’s important to go to college.

Academic achievement at the school is steadily rising, and Atkinson just had the biggest increase on writing scores in Kentucky’s history.

The project has been far from a one-way street. UofL has become a better university because of the experience. Not only are our own students getting real-world experience through their involvement with Atkinson, but the school is providing countless research opportunities for our faculty. That “two-way” learning will help us improve the quality of life for everyone in our state and region.

In December, the university learned it had received the highest rating from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in the area of community engagement, a classification developed in 2006 to recognize colleges and universities that are deeply engaged with their communities. We are among only 119 schools nationwide to earn that designation in two areas, curricular engagement and outreach and partnerships.

In these difficult economic times, it’s tempting for universities to cut back on the resources they devote to community outreach. But our experiment with Atkinson has shown us that the enterprise is one of the best investments we can make. Every dollar—every hour—we spend partnering with our community will be paid back many times over.

If the goal of higher education is to make the world a better place, we can’t just start the job when students first walk onto our campus. We need to think outside our own classrooms, research labs and offices, and be creative in linking our resources to community needs.

Are we making a difference in the lives of the young students at Atkinson? We think so, because that’s what great universities do. And a few years down the road, we wouldn’t be surprised to see some of them joining us as college freshmen.

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