Detroit — Collaboration is the foundation of education, using past knowledge and surrounding resources to teach the next generation.

Gesu Elementary School, situated between Detroit’s two Catholic colleges, is emphasizing this connection by collaborating with the University of Detroit Mercy and Marygrove College to expose youngsters to higher education while giving college students a chance to serve the community.

Collaboration between the Catholic elementary school in northwest Detroit and its higher-ed neighbors is nothing new, however. In the past, the two colleges have worked with Gesu on a series of projects, from having education majors complete their student-teaching assignments at Gesu, to college classes giving presentations at the school.

This partnership solidified April 21 with a “collaboration celebration,” in which the schools acknowledged their special relationship.

“We’ve done a lot of things together over the years for a long time,” said Christa Laurin, principal of Gesu School. “We’ve done a lot with their education department, providing professional development for their teaching students. We also have a work-study program, where students come over and take jobs around the school, helping out in any way they can.”

UDM and Marygrove students have the opportunity to sign up for work-study programs at Gesu at the beginning of the year. Students are assigned positions based on their interests, earning money and experience while completing their degrees.

“The work-study program is great because it financially helps college students, and they learn the skills they will need in the future,” said Anita Sevier, community outreach coordinator at Gesu. “We can take on just about any student, even non-education majors. We had a computer science major who helped with our computer class, making sure our hardware was up to date and getting hands-on experience.”

UDM students apply online for positions at Gesu, while Sevier sets up a job fair during the beginning of the school year at Marygrove.

Many college students are required to complete service hours for scholarships and classes, and Gesu offers a nearby location to satisfy those requirements.

“We are a close, safe opportunity for students to help out and make the area better,” Sevier said. “It’s great hands-on experiences, and we at Gesu find a lot of talent to help us around the school. We had a journalism major who worked with us since freshman year and is now working for a newspaper.”



Student workers help teachers in the classroom, complete maintenance projects and work in the school’s office — gaining professional experience for the first time.

“The college students really get to know the kids and they form a connection very quickly,” Sevier said. “And for the elementary students, they love hanging out with the big kids; it gets them interested in higher learning at a young age.”

Outside the classroom, UDM fraternities and sororities complete service learning projects at Gesu, and university staff share information with Gesu teachers and offer counseling services. Currently, Marygrove is working on a math seminar with Gesu and the other three Catholic elementary schools in Detroit.

“Marygrove College shares Gesu’s profound commitment to quality education, supporting human dignity and serving the community,” former Marygrove president David Fike said in an April statement announcing the partnership. “We are thrilled to be deepening our special bond and collaboratively working to enhance our northwest Detroit neighborhood.”

The partnership spreads to the administrative side of the school, with the UDM Athletic Department allowing Gesu’s teams to use the Titans’ track, softball and baseball fields.

Since the partnership’s infancy and official recognition in April, the three schools have provided opportunities, resources and support to one another, reinforcing the concept of one large Catholic educational initiative.

“As two Jesuit-founded institutions, Gesu Catholic School and University of Detroit Mercy’s 90-year collaboration is becoming strong as we develop more ways to expand the education experience of Gesu’s students in 2015 and the future,” said University of Detroit Mercy president Antoine Garibaldi.

Laurin said the partnership has been successful and shows what can happen when Detroit’s Catholic schools work together.

“For students to end up across the street (at UDM or Marygrove) for their college choice would be wonderful,” Laurin said. “The collaboration enriches the students’ education and shows they have two great options close to home.”