Mission Inn Museum and Foundation docents, from left to right: Patti Koesling, Adele Burns, Dottie Smith and Foundation President Jennifer Gamble, in front of some of the student projects. (Ken Crawford)
The Mission Inn Foundation joined efforts with Riverside Unified School District to create a comprehensive local history curriculum specifically designed for English language learning students, fostering community connections through historical knowledge and hands-on research projects.
The collaboration emerged when the district’s usual education coordinator was no longer available, prompting foundation docents to step in and completely revise the existing program. Their new initiative, known as Hands on History, offers an immersive approach to connecting English learners with the city’s past and present.
"We started because the docent who usually runs the education program was not working here any longer, and they asked if we thought we could handle it," said Dottie Smith, a Mission Inn Foundation docent who helped develop the curriculum. "And of course we said yes, because we can handle anything."
The program served students from all over the world, many with limited English skills.
"These are all English language learning students, and they were not just Hispanics — there were kids who were from China, Vietnam," Smith said. "Some of them really had very limited English skills. They were using the phone to translate and everything."
Smith and her team completely rewrote the curriculum to emphasize Riverside's history, incorporating neighborhood mapping exercises, citrus history education with tastings, downtown tours and library research training. The centerpiece was a creative project where students produced their own “Riverside Magazine,” featuring articles and artwork about their discoveries.
"We completely rewrote the curriculum so that it really covered Riverside history," Smith said. "We taught them about how Riverside was founded and how the citrus industry helped Riverside grow."
Students also conducted live interviews with community members using suggested questions provided by the foundation, connecting them directly with longtime residents and creating bridges across different community segments.
The program culminated in a presentation at Grant School on June 30, where students shared their work and discussed how the experience impacted their understanding of local economic development.
Smith said the students' response to the program was positive, noting that "they realized that this is something that they could use later in life and impact Riverside’s culture and economics."
The initiative's success has attracted attention from neighboring districts. Alvord School District has requested to participate in next year’s program, expanding the foundation’s reach to serve additional English language learners.
Student projects, including mock-up Riversider Magazine covers created by the participants, are currently displayed at the Mission Inn Foundation headquarters and museum store at 3750 Market St., giving their work visibility within the community.
The collaboration demonstrates how historical knowledge can serve as a bridge for newcomers to connect with their adopted community, transforming students from observers into active participants in documenting and understanding their city’s heritage.
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