The Center for Research in Educational Policy (CREP) has partnered with the Virginia Department of Education since 2005 to evaluate the Commonwealth's 21st Century Community Learning Centers program. The 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) is a federal grant program established by Congress as Title X, Part 1, of the Elementary and…

Youth are natural scientists at birth, discovering and exploring their world and trying to make sense of it (Bers, 2008). A child's education is not limited to just the time they spend in the classroom. Children learn at home with their families, in public libraries, or through out-of-school-time (OST) experiences provided at community centers and…

This article rethinks digital access and community literacy by sharing aspects of intentional engagement informed by social justice frameworks to establish community partnerships that empower communities both local and global with digital literacy. The article explores access, privileges, and positionalities that the author strategically utilizes…

Equitable education requires racially, and economically integrated schools staffed by skilled teachers who are adequately prepared to teach in diverse classrooms. This summary includes best practices reflecting the concerted efforts of communities across the country working to pursue integrated communities reflecting the rich diversity in the…

Using Kotter's model of change as a framework, this case study will describe the structure and efforts of a centralized unit within an urban, research university to deepen and extend the institutionalization of community engagement. The change model will be described along with details about the implemented strategies and practices that fall…

The purpose of this report is to demonstrate the power of connecting Children's Savings Account (CSAs) to college access-success programs and show that, when done together, they produce greater outcomes. First, we briefly describe these closely related fields and explain the merit of partnerships between CSA initiatives and college access and…

Games and other forms of play are used in today's libraries to attract underserved patrons, to introduce patrons to other library resources and services, and to facilitate engagement between library patrons. While many perceive gaming as a new library service, gaming services have been part of librarianship since the nineteenth century through…

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) remains a leading cause of infant death in the United States, and in Virginia. We sought to gauge the perceptions among community-identified stakeholders regarding community resource needs to reduce SIDS. Snowball sampling identified important community stakeholders to be interviewed as key informants. A…

The Applied and Industrial Mathematics program partners applied mathematics students with businesses, governments, laboratories, and agencies to solve real problems. We will discuss the logistics of the program and give advice on starting and running similar programs. We also give a detailed example of a specific project, namely our work with the…

Over the past 4 years, rain barrel programming for residents has been implemented in both Northern Virginia and New Jersey as a method for educating the public about stormwater management and water conservation. Program participants demonstrated a significant increase in knowledge of water resource issues. Follow-up surveys showed 58% of New…

In this essay, we explain the development, implementation, and preliminary findings of an innovative writing program that drew upon a peer collaborative model and a community literacy perspective. Developed as an after school program, this project represented a community-university partnership designed to provide an enjoyable forum for teaching…

This publication is part of a series of tools and resources on financing and sustaining youth programming. These tools and resources are intended to help policymakers, program developers, and community leaders develop innovative strategies for implementing, financing, and sustaining effective programs and policies. This strategy brief presents a…

Five Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA)/Local Education Agency (LEA) programs designed to provide youth with employment-related services were reviewed. Onsite visits were conducted to assess program development and implementation in Houston, Worcester (Massachusetts), Minnesota, Fairfax County (Virginia), and Los Angeles. (Each area…

This document contains 34 abstracts that describe sex equity projects operating in Virginia during fiscal year 1986-87 with federal funding through the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act of 1984. The abstracts are organized in the following eight categories: (1) centers to serve single parents and homemakers; (2) programs to serve teenage…

This guide advocates an alliance among diverse groups for the purpose of decreasing the incidence of adolescent pregnancy and improving the outcome of pregnancies that do occur. It provides useful information for communities interested in developing pregnancy prevention activities. Statistics about adolescent pregnancies are given and the…