Wheelock College (USA)
Wheelock College is a private, coeducational college located in Boston, Massachusetts. The school was founded in 1888 by Lucy Wheelock. The mission of Wheelock College is to improve the lives of children and families. With an enrollment of about 1,000 students, Wheelock offers graduate and undergraduate programs through three schools: the School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Education and Child Life, and the School of Social Work and Family Studies. Wheelock College’s website>>
Center for Community Service
Every student (graduate and undergraduate) must fulfill community-based fieldwork to graduate. Some fieldwork locations included: Boston Public Schools, Shriners Hospitals for Children, Horizons for Homeless Children, and Mission SAFE. The Center for Community Service at Wheelock provides students, faculty, and staff with the resources necessary to engage in volunteer opportunities and service experiences in and around Boston’s community. Each year more than 60% of Wheelock students contribute:
- 75-300 hours of service learning work for
- 270 organizations representing an estimated
- 100,000 hours of community service
Education
Given its emphasis on children and families, Wheelock has traditionally focused heavily on education. Wheelock runs or participates in a wide range of community engagement activities in the area of education. For example, through the Boston higher Education Partnership, Wheelock has 41 partnerships with local public schools. Drawing from Wheelock’s extensive network of education alumni, the Education Mentor Corps (EMC) is a volunteer network of skilled educators who provide high quality mentoring to new teachers in the greater Boston area. The Math and Science Education Initiative (MSEI) is an Aspire Institute program dedicated to improving the math and science literacy of children, their families, their teachers, and their communities. Learn more about these education initiatives>>
Public Policy
Wheelock College takes an active role in advocating for public policy favorable to children and families. For example, the Community Ambassadors Network seeks to identify key policy issues related to Wheelock’s mission and create an online network for policy advocacy across all six New England states. The Early Childhood Policy Coalition Project organizes Massachusetts communities on behalf of children (birth through school-age) and their families. The Leadership Empowerment Action Project (LEAP) is dedicated to building the advocacy and policy skills of early childhood practitioners through a twelve-week, credit-bearing course. Learn more about Wheelock’s policy advocacy>>