The Front Porch Initiative (FPI) was created to help re-establish space for conversations, commonality, and community. They are a collaborative group of leaders who are passionate about transforming the community by investing in one another. They focus on Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and help students tell their individual stories using their proprietary curriculum booklets that cover the following chapters: Beginnings, Challenges, Hope, and Future.
I facilitate this (SEL) tool. I Love this tool! And as a facilitator of this treasure, I’ve seen some tremendous transformations begin to take place during my sessions. I’ve witnessed students, teachers and even administrators become emotional during our trainings, as they engage in guided conversations with their peers, and they start to reflect on commonalities they didn’t know were shared. The result is often a stronger and more cohesive community! I’ve included just a few, mostly anonymous comments from past participants. Their respective schools are also represented:
“The P.D. was wonderful! The staff had the opportunity to connect and work together! It was exactly what we needed! Thanks.
“Really made me reflect on how I will face upcoming challenges Thank You!”
“I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation. Both of you were genuine and authentic. Activities were engaging and I learned some new things about my colleagues. I hope that you both can come back again soon. Tiffany aka Monique”
“Loved It!!! Great way to start the year through bonding and learning a little of everyone’s story. I feel more connected to everyone because of these activities.”
“Thought you were very welcoming, engaging and knowledgeable.”
“My take away was, Always try to consider the students lives & what is influencing them to make the decisions they make. Great job Johnny!”
“Keep doing what you are do! It’s a great thing and you’re good at it.”
“Have this speaker back. The presenter was Top Notch! Keep doing what you’re doing.”
“You are awesome and I could listen to you all day.”
“I appreciated the laughs we had today. I believe it helps us as coworkers be a more cohesive unit. Reminders of empathy and challenges that we all face help us understand other people.”
“This session was quite helpful and I appreciate the opportunity to be open & honest. Johnnie is Best!”
“I appreciated the deep conversations along with the humor. I definitely think people felt challenged. People were engaged which is hard to get from us after parent teacher conferences. Good Job!”
“I think this session was well worth our time. Very beneficial and eye-opening in many ways. Overall great job!”
“Inspirational yet very honest, authentic. Thank You!”
“I love the booklet and the open conversations. I think this can be impactful for staff & students.”
Schools Represented Above:
- Homewood Flossmoor High School, Flossmoor, IL 60422
- Heather Hill Elementary School, Flossmoor, IL 60422
- Woodlawn Community Elementary School, Chicago, IL 60637
- Frazier Preparatory Academy, Chicago, IL 60623
- Prairie-Hills Junior High School, Markham, IL 60428
- Germantown Hills Middle School, Peoria, IL 61548
