The Milestone Park Project
Each Emerging Digital Academy (EDA) Cohort is tasked with a client project towards the end of their time at EDA. The client project allows our students to work in a group setting with a member of the community on a project to solve real-life 
problems.
This past April, members of our Leavitt Cohort worked on a project proposed by James Bergman, a strong community advocate and local artist, called the Milestone Park Project. The goal of the project is to put signs in local parks that would tell parents about the developmental milestones that are expected for kids entering kindergarten. The signs would also have a QR code directing parents to a website (MilestoneParkProject.org) that not only lists available resources but also provides developmental questionnaires to help parents figure out if there are any areas in which their child may need help.
James got the idea for the project through his work in early childhood education. When James was in grad school at MSUM one of his internship placements was at Washington Elementary with Ann Tunheim. She is an elementary school speech-language pathologist. At his internship, James found a growing passion for public schools and the positive impact they have on the community.
James left the area for a while, but upon his return in 2013, he landed a job as a speech-language pathologist at Lincoln Elementary. He would then work at Lewis and Clark Elementary, Davies High School, and finally at Early Childhood Special Education. Through his work at various levels of development, he found a passion for working with special education preschool students.
“Getting kids ready for kindergarten and helping schools get ready for these kids was very rewarding. But even with our best efforts, new kids still arrive on that first day of school unprepared, leaving us asking, “Where have these kids been all this time?” James said.
