Community Partnerships

The Center helps college and community leaders develop, implement, and evaluate programs and policies to reduce student problems related to alcohol and other drug use and interpersonal violence. In order to produce enduring, large-scale changes that will make students’ social and cultural environment healthier and safer, the Center supports a comprehensive approach to prevention, grounded in environmental management strategies that address the institutional, community, and public policy factors related to these problems.

The ERP/EQUIP1 program encourages systemwide reforms by experimenting at lower levels of the educational system (i.e., schools, community, and local government authorities) to test and demonstrate effective strategies for educational improvement. Egypt’s newly developed educational standards provide the framework for the reform overall and the project activities in particular.

IDEJEN is an EQUIP3 Associate Award which was launched in 2003 to provide education and job training for youth ages 15–24 with little to no formal education. IDEJEN provides program participants support in the areas of employability and skills training, basic and vocational education, job placement and small business development. In addition to working directly with youth, IDEJEN provides technical support to different government ministries and is assisting in the development of the National Youth Policy and the Policy on Nonformal Basic Education.

EDC is working with ConnectEd: The California Center for College and Careers, with support from The James Irvine Foundation, to develop a curriculum for career sector academies in California public high schools. This project focuses on the arts, media and entertainment (AME) sector.

The Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program is designed to increase opportunities for students and teachers to learn about and use information technologies within the contexts of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The program supports both youth-based projects with strong emphases on career and educational paths, and comprehensive projects for students and teachers.

In collaboration with EDC’s Education, Employment, and Community Programs, ERO promotes and supports the Ford PAS program. Ford PAS includes an interdisciplinary high school curriculum that challenges students academically and develops their problem-solving, teamwork, and communication skills. We provide ongoing technical assistance for all schools and partners implementing Ford PAS by hosting an interactive Web site and toll-free hotline, designing and conducting an annual national networking and training conference, and offering professional development activities.

This project works with the Prevention Center of Palm Beach County, Florida—and other regions of the United States—to develop, implement, and evaluate a program to prevent violence and enhance school safety for all 36,000 middle school children in the county. EDC trains community police officers to deliver the curriculum, Aggressors, Victims, and Bystanders, and prepares them to become mentors and co-innovators in the program.

EQuALLS2 is an EQUIP3 associate award that aims to increase access to quality education and livelihood skills in areas affected by conflict and poverty in the Philippines. With specific emphasis on the Muslim areas of Mindanao, the EQuALLS2 project targets schools, barangays (barrios), and municipalities to strengthen formal and alternative education and reintegrate out-of-school youth into the economy.

The Cross-Sectoral Youth (CSY) Project is a multi-country EQUIP3 Associate Award that fosters collaboration across sectors (health, democracy & governance, education, environment, and economic growth) in order to meet the holistic needs of youth in developing countries. As a USAID intra-agency initiative, the project is designed to incorporate youth as a strategic priority within the U.S. Government foreign assistance framework while advancing USAID objectives.