3:00 P.M. Featured Speaker

Friday, 3:00 p.m. Featured Speaker Bill Curtin

Redbird D (Coffee & Cookies served)

Let’s Go Dave: Service Learning in Action

In 1999, Kankakee was named the “least livable city in America,” and David Letterman gag-gifted two gazebos to “brighten the spirits” of its residents. Fifteen years later, 35 juniors at Kankakee High School learned how the now-familiar gazebos came to their city, and decided to re-gift them to Letterman for his retirement. In the process they showed everyone that a small group of committed individuals can make a difference–and learned plenty of real-world lessons in Language Arts.  Teacher Bill Curtin shares the lessons he learned as he guided them through this process, and offers ideas for how anyone can help their students use the power of words to make a difference.