Starting Small programs of the Community-Wide Dialogue work with the youth of our community to bridge the racial, ethnic and economic divides between the city and county, breaking down stereotypes and thereby creating opportunities for joint projects between schools and youth centers. The project pairs inner city and suburban or rural schools with a predominately white middle class student enrollment with youth from schools and youth centers throughout Syracuse and Onondaga County.

The dialogue exchange activities forge partnerships between different youth to deeply reflect the diversity of our community, and effectively engage them.  Children and teenagers from grades 3 to 12, gain in understanding, increase their respect for each other, and begin appreciating difference and sameness.  

The Associate Director, Andrea Barnwell, Community Wide Dialogue staff, and volunteers worked with twelve schools, six community youth centers, and the Justice Center in 2005, the first year of the Starting Small program.  A total of 655 participants were reached.  Today, Starting Small expands upon a successful model that was piloted between two high schools and two grammar schools that now includes two new grammar schools and a new middle school partnership. The schools and community centers involved in this far-reaching endeavor for 2005-2006 were:

Most of the partnerships listed above will continue for the academic year 2006-07. The Associate Director and an educational consultant train students as leaders to co-facilitate the dialogue circles and school personnel work alongside the youth to support their growth in the high school exchanges.  A new middle school pilot and new third grade exchanges will be launched this year as we create special curriculum material, work with experts and activate our trained volunteers in dialogue settings to ensure replicable models for use in the coming years. 

A community patchwork of collaboration volunteer resources, individual donations, fundraisers, and year-to-year grants make it possible to continue this body of social justice work. The school and community-wide dialogue circle exchange program format makes a significant difference in Central New York. 

Evaluations are administered to students and adult participants at the beginning and at the conclusion of the full exchange to mark any shift in knowledge acquisition, attitude, and/or behavior change as a result of the CWD dialogue circle participation over the course of the program.  Great to moderate changes are evidenced in many of the opportunities the youth have involved themselves in through the years.  They are the reason why we do this time-intensive work. They are leaders of today and tomorrow’s hope of peace and understanding for racial tranquility and social justice.