FACE began in 2013, as a volunteer organization to assist teachers in finding the supplies they so desperately needed for their classrooms. It expanded quickly into providing professional development for teachers in the areas of reading/literacy, cultural competency, and creating support systems for teachers in their first five years of the profession. FACE continued this role until 2019, when they received a grant from the Saint Paul in Minnesota foundation for $20,000 to help with a literacy project with Washington technology magnet school. Here, middle school students or partnered with a program called. Let’s go learn, to help increase literacy, practice, and increase knowledge and skills. Shortly after the program was accepted, the great Covid pandemic began, and there was a shift to do the program on line because of all of the different demands, the schools were changed from Washington Technology Magnet School to the Community School of Excellence, a charter school that was better equipped to be able to use Let’s Go Learn from home. Even with all of the difficulties at home learning created, students still found great success with the program. At the same time, FACE was asked to also assist Saint Paul public schools in two other needs during the pandemic. FACE personnel assisted with delivering meals on school buses to children who needed the food at home, but depended on school lunch and breakfast to get them through the day. Second, FACE assisted the district with finding ways to get hotspots on other school buses and putting them in areas where kids had no Internet and could hook onto the hotspot so they could attend school during the pandemic. Both were equally hard to manage, but we were honored to be part of the solutions to both of these problems.
Today, FACE has four main program areas. The first is helping young students through our gifting instruments initiative. Community members throughout the Twin cities area donate used instruments. Volunteers fix them up and get them out into the hands of young people so that they can learn more about music and have an instrument of their own. We work primarily with special needs students and kids in middle school. The program initially started out with acoustic guitars, but quickly moved into electric guitars, cellos, ukuleles, drums, keyboards, flutes, and even saxophones. We now have a volunteer core that is at the ready to help.
FACE believes that every human being has the right to learn how to read and write. Our literacy programs focus on literacy for everyone. Dr. Strait began as a literacy teacher, and then a literacy professor most of her professional career has been dedicated to helping people learn how to teach literacy to others. Now, with literacy rates dropping drastically in the United States, there is a true crisis in public schools. There is a need for newcomers to learn English in the US and they will need literacy instruction. FACE is committed to helping create innovative ways to help people of all ages learn to read and help our newcomers with the literacy skills they need to navigate in their new country
Our work with the FUSE campaign began while working on a partnership with Missouri State University. This initiative began through a department of homeland security grant under the direction of Dr. Steven Spates, until his departure to the University of Michigan. Dr. Kathy Nordyke continued working with the program at Missouri state with direction from Dr. Spates. FACE became involved when they were asked to be a part of a podcast on restorative justice circles, which is now on the Fuse website. When the United States government Changed its legal stance on diversity and integration, many colleges started to close down their DEI programs. Missouri state transferred the Fuse program to Dr. Spates at the University of Michigan, where he continues partnership work with Dr. Strait and developing the expansion content.
FACE is committed to social justice, removing barriers so all citizens can thrive. We problem solve lasting pathways and partnerships that sustain and grow communities. FACE provides training for teachers and workshops on inequality. We help families communicate with teachers and administrators, so they have a strong positive relationship. We want to help kids succeed. We want to help teachers succeed. We want to help families succeed.
Central to FACE’s mission is the service to the communities and families we support. Collaborations with organizations like Little Earth Tribes in Minneapolis and the Mdewakanton Sioux community family engagement programs support strong relationships with families and their students as they navigate educational systems that were once so brutal to many of the adults. FACE assisted the City of Mounds View to help remove racial covenants. https://www.startribune.com/mounds-view-moves-to-discharge-racist-deed-language-before-home-sales/60037928 Download PDF
We help distribute food to Mounds View residents and we still do everything we can to help educators.
Mission
Vision
Dr. Jean Strait, Executive Director
jean@faceeducation.org
Joyce Jones Strait, Middle School and High School Specialist
joyce@faceeducation.org
