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MicroSociety
Dear MicroSociety Community,
MicroSociety Inc. made remarkable strides in 2022 that advanced our mission to deliver transformative learning experiences and prepare our youth for success in the 21st century.
The MicroSociety 2.0 Pilot at Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship (PHCSE) in Pittsburgh was a testament to MicroSociety’s adaptability and resilience. Though 2021-22 school-year Covid protocols divided students physically, the citizens of "Soarmania" embraced web development, online shopping, and banking – and built a unified digital platform that brought everyone together.
The MicroEconomy Game, which lets students create 3D virtual societies, underwent design improvements that promise a more immersive educational experience.
We developed important new curricula to address students’ social, emotional, and health needs and foster respect, kindness, fairness, and a culture of wellness in our miniature societies – keen needs in the wake of pandemic lockdowns. We piloted our resulting HEART curricula and health venture with our partner, HealthCorps, at PHCSE during the 2022-23 school year.
The communications team revitalized our social media presence, created exciting new multimedia assets, and showcased the profound impact of the MicroSociety experience on young minds in two video series: Alumni Stories and Youth Now!
Collaboration with partner schools remains at the core of our mission. Stenstrom Elementary, North Heights, and Imagine Morningside embarked on new MicroSociety journeys, showcasing impressive achievements in their first year. Veteran schools like Jersey City Global Charter School, Eugenio Maria de Hostos MicroSociety School, and Dufrocq Elementary School received support for sustained success.
We welcomed educators from the U.S., Canada, and Colombia at our second virtual annual conference in 2022. Guided by our founder’s refrain "Ask the Kids," we placed students at the center of our conversations about driving MicroSociety forward and explored the MicroMindset, MSI’s digital innovations, and much more.
We could not have accomplished all this without an amazing team. A heartfelt thank you to everyone – our staff, consultants, interns, board, partners, and donors – who played a part in our success. Here’s to another year of commitment to innovation, collaboration, and student-centered learning.
All my best,
Carolynn King Richmond
CEO, MicroSociety Inc.
Accomplishments
MicroSociety 2.0 Pilot in Pittsburgh Advanced
MSI successfully took Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship’s MicroSociety online and laid important groundwork that will enable us to bring a modernized, truly 21st century MicroSociety model to many more schools in the future.
MicroSociety 2.0 and a parade of external mentors from an expanded community partner program had a transformative impact on PHCSE and its MicroSociety. Citizens dove into web development and online shopping and banking. Their digital platform unified their society of “Soarmania” during the 2021-22 school year, when Covid protocols divided them by classroom. And adult mentors from the Pittsburgh business community, two universities, and a global online platform touched the lives of every single student in-person or online.
At the start of the 2022-23 school year, the initiative took a giant leap forward. Soarmania citizens were, once again, able to work together across age groups. Their financial system got a significant upgrade with custom software by our technology partner, AG Strategic Design. And students benefited from a community partner program that continued to gain momentum. Meanwhile, MSI and PHCSE developed a MicroSociety 2.0 Manual and guidebooks for partner and fellows programs that captured our learnings and will benefit our movement for many years to come.
The close of 2022 marked the end of a project funded by the Richard King Mellon Foundation to pilot MicroSociety 2.0 and build the partners program at PHCSE. But we won a new grant in December 2022 from the foundation for another 18-month, $250,000 project to work with PHCSE to prepare for expansion to additional schools in Pittsburgh in 2024. Onward!
Nina Tortorice, MicroSociety Coordinator at PHCSE, expertly and creatively shepherded the MicroSociety 2.0 pilot at Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship
MicroEconomy Game Got Design Improvements Ahead of 2023 Pilot
Our in-development 3D online simulation game got a facelift in 2022, with Drexel University co-ops creating an array of new design elements ahead of a planned pilot at Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship in 2023.
The MicroEconomy Game invites students to collaborate in teams and use knowledge gained during class and MicroSociety to create and manage their own virtual society. As teams buy, manage, improve and sell city properties, they are given business and citizenship challenges that develop vital critical-thinking, decision-making and communication skills and encourage them to apply science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts.
“Property Assets” were redesigned – a stylized, vibrant, and cartoony art direction is now reflected in all graphics and models – and new ones were created that allow for more customization and variety for players. All models and textures were also optimized to function well on the Chromebooks often used inside schools. The game board was also updated to look more like a city with clear streets and a central park to provide a more immersive gameplay experience.
New HEART and HealthCorps Curricula Respond to Pandemic-Era Needs
MSI developed new HEART and HealthCorps curricula to address the pandemic-era social, emotional, and health needs of students and piloted them at Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship during the 2022-23 school year.
Our new HEART curriculum and its HEARTCorps nonprofit venture are designed to instill respect, kindness, and fairness in our MicroSocieties and build cultures of belonging at school.
Meanwhile, we created a HealthCorps nonprofit venture in partnership with HealthCorps, a national nonprofit with a curriculum designed to foster a culture of wellness through mental, physical and community health.
We also continued a major effort to update longstanding curricula on banking and many other topics to at once modernize the content and prepare lessons for digital delivery.
Two New Video Series Show MicroSociety's Impact on Young People
A Googler, a firefighter, a politician. Our hit Alumni Stories series offered a window into the lives of an array of adult MicroSociety graduates now working in many different careers and into the profound impact that the MicroSociety experience has on young people.
Our young leaders interview series, Adventures with Jaida, was rebranded to Youth Now! with the arrival of a new host, 7th-grader Chance. Then in October, Martin, a 5th-grader, took over the mic.
Parenting with George (2021).pdfIn 2022, our communications team also reinvigorated our social media accounts published a MicroSociety-inspired eBook for parents called Parenting with George and released several fun new animations!
Partner School Highlights
When we work together, everyone succeeds. MicroSociety Inc. is committed to providing educators with tailored professional services by veteran MicroSociety educators who can help plan, launch and build powerful, effective, and innovative MicroSocieties that produce results. We work with new and experienced schools alike to elevate their work and keep our our movement growing.
New Schools & After-Schools
Stenstrom Elementary School in Oviedo, Florida
Principal Jake Novack and Micro Coordinator Kristen Hodges launched MicroSociety at Stenstrom in 2022, and 2022-2023 was the school’s first full school year implementation. A STEM-centered community school, Stenstrom students participate in the society of MicrOviedo, where they are developing vital career and real-world skills as they start and manage their own business ventures, government agencies, and nonprofits.
North Heights in Texarkanas, Arkansas
2022-23 was North Heights’ first year as a MicroSociety school. It is on a high after its first series of marketplace days, during which all businesses sold out their products! Principal Samantha Coleman and MicroSociety Coordinator Stephanie Watts are determined to reach new levels of success in 2023-24. They will increase MicroTime from three to four days per week, strengthen their alignment teams, add events to increase parent and community involvement, and further community partnerships.
Imagine Morningside after-school in Morningside, Maryland
Imagine Morningside restarted its MicroSociety in 2022 as an after-school program after its day school implementation, launched in 2018-19, was shuttered by the Covid-19 pandemic. Principal Sarah Cypress and Coordinator Alex Hendricks are focused on improving school culture and behavior, while enhancing student “voice and choice.”
Veteran Schools
Jersey City Global Charter School in Jersey City, NJ.
A MicroSociety school since its founding in 2013, JCGCS has received professional development services from MSI every year. The extra support, provided in 2022-23 by Francie Summers and Michelle Pedalino, has helped JCGCS rank among the top performing charter schools in New Jersey.
Eugenio Maria de Hostos MicroSociety School in Yonkers, New York
A long-term MSI partner, Hostos has been a MicroSociety school since 1991. This veteran had not received training services in some years, but in 2022 it signed a contract for training during the 2023-2024 school year to get up-to-date on MicroSociety knowledge and innovations.
Dufrocq Elementary School in East Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Dufrocq received refresher training in 2022 with Kiana Smith and Darlene-Dingess Adkins designed to prepare recently hired teachers to facilitate MicroSociety and provide a reset following a pandemic pause. We also helped Dufrocq integrate MicroSociety with its new ESports program.
2nd Virtual Annual Conference
In 2022, we held our second virtual summer conference. The theme, “Ask the Kids,” challenged us to put students at the center of our conversations about how to drive MicroSociety forward and address our most pressing challenges. We rediscovered the many ways educators can empower students to take charge of their own learning – and seize hundreds of moments when students can shine and lean into their growth as young leaders and thinkers.
During the conference’s two days, MSI hosted 33 sessions and 26 speakers, including many faculty members – and students! – from MicroSociety schools. We dove deep into the MicroMindset, new ventures, and the MicroSociety 2.0 pilot. And we learned why we need to be more curious, turn over control, and “ask the kids.” It was a rich learning experience for us all.
The next annual conference will be our 30th! And we’ll be back in person inside a MicroSociety learning environment. We hope to see you in Pittsburgh at Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship in March 2024! Click here to learn more.
Thank You!
Partners:
Thank you for your partnership and the opportunities you gave our students,
AG Strategic Design
Drexel University and the Science Center
HealthCorps
Nepris (Pathful Connect)
HealthCorps
TakeCare
University of Pittsburgh’s Big Idea Center
Donors:
Many thanks to the generous foundations and individuals who extended us vital support during 2022:
Pittsburgh Project Supporters:
Richard King Mellon Foundation, The Heinz Endowments, The Pittsburgh Foundation, TisBest Philanthropy
Drexel University, Lenfest Center for Cultural Partnerships
All the individual supporters and donors who gave of their time and resources!
Financial Report
For the year ended December 31, 2021
MicroSociety Inc. is growing and its financial picture is improving, as a rise in foundation giving combined with fiscal discipline enabled a rise in net assets.
Information from MicroSociety Inc.'s independent audit report for the year ended December 31, 2021.
Our People
Board of Directors
Chair: Richard B. Wickersham Jr., Esq., Partner, Post & Schell, PC, Philadelphia, Penn.
Carolynn King Richmond, Ed.M., Esq., President and CEO, MSI, Philadelphia, Penn.
Stephen K. Mack, President, Gnomist, New York, N.Y.
Triana Olivas, Former Principal, Sageland Elementary MicroSociety School, El Paso, Texas
Sandi Williams, Ph.D, Chief Visionary Officer, A Wealth of Women International, Philadelphia, Penn
New Board Members
Triana Olivias is a former MicroSociety Training Consultant who was Principal of Sageland MicroSociety School in El Paso, Texas, for 12 years. During her principalship, Sageland was recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School and was featured in The Learning Connection: New Partnerships Between Schools and Colleges as well as School Change and The MicroSociety Program by Dr. Cary Cherniss. Triana has received many awards, including a MicroSociety George Award, Region 19 Principal of the Year, El Paso Commission for Women Hall of Fame Inductee and Gold Nugget Award in Education from University of Texas at El Paso. Upon retirement, she served in interim positions as Principal, Bilingual Director and Associate Superintendent.
Dr. T. Sandi Williams, Ph.D, former head of development at MicroSociety Inc., is a consultant and transformational psychologist dedicated to inspiring people to live their best lives. She is Founder & Chief Visionary Officer of A Wealth of Women International based in Ghana and Philadelphia, which supports the education, personal growth and development of young girls. Sandi is also Africa Ambassador for MSI and US/Africa Chief Consultant with Africa Reconnect. She works with B.O.S.S. (Bringing Our Spectacular SuperPower) Women, and serves on the board of The Diaspora African Forum. Sandi has worked with the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, SEPTA, and The Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity.
Staff & Consultants
Carolynn King Richmond, President & CEO
Milt Williams, Executive Director, Canada
Laura Mejia, Executive Director, South America
Sandi Williams, Africa Ambassador
Chris Bozzone, Director of School Partnerships and Community Relations
Riva Richmond, Director of Content & Development
Jess Dixon, Media Lead and Operations Assistant
Donna Wilson, Senior Program Advisor
Francie Summers, Certified Senior International Consultant
Michelle Pedalino, Certified International Consultant
Mary Harris, Certified International Consultant
Kiana Smith, Certified International Consultant
Nadira Jack, Certified International Consultant
New Training Consultants
In 2022, we significantly expanded our bench of experienced MicroSociety educators who provide professional development to our schools and work with us to develop curriculum.
2022 Drexel University Co-ops
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