The following post is written by Heal The Streets Intern Aja Minor, 24. Aja is a Bay Area native and holds a BA in International Studies with a minor in Music and a MA in Migration and Diaspora Studies from California State University Long Beach. By working with Heal The Streets Ms. Minor hopes to empower and educate youth to fight for justice and complete social change.
For the past six months Heal The Streets has been assessing the needs of community organizations in Oakland, Richmond and Alameda, in the development of community based curriculum, the College of Alameda in partnership with Peralta Colleges are in the beginning phase of a larger assessment that will take place this summer. This assessment will be on the development of an exciting series of curriculum for the people. The two schools are trying to develop AA and certificate programs that are applicable to local concerns, primarily Prevention Curriculum.
The College of Alameda in partnership with Peralta Colleges is beginning to develop an exciting series of curriculum aimed at the community. The two schools are trying to develop AA and certificate programs that are applicable to local concerns and issues. A Violence Prevention Curriculum is one of them.
This curriculum grew from The Community Development and Leadership Initiative (CDL) and the Sustainable Peralta Initiative. The CDL seeks to support community efforts in development, urban leadership and civic engagement. Sustainable Peralta, on the other hand, the District-wide campaign has several aims: to expand the work of maintaining and enhancing economic opportunity and community well-being while protecting and restoring the environment upon which our neighborhoods and economies depend.
The power of these initiatives lies in their desire to offer vocational education programs in street level politics and provide community members who are already working to impact the community, with accreditation opportunities.
Unveiled in 2009 and planning to accept student in Fall 2010, the CDL will offer “applied politics” and social change agency certificates and degrees. Skills the programs develop range from “preparing people to “run” social change campaigns, engage in urban and community development work”, facilitate participatory democracy and organizing to work on large political campaigns. Ultimately both the CDL and Sustainable Peralta Initiative want to allow clientele of Bay Area Community Change Organizations (like the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights) and the general public to become students accessing skills that enable them to change their communities and build upon the work they are already doing.
The potential social change impact of these curriculum is great! The population of Junior Colleges make these programs a prime place to motivate and empower low-income, at-risk youth of color, by intentionally giving them practical/applicable education. Curriculum development meetings are currently taking place and those involved are passionate about keeping the program accessible, relevant, and community driven; giving those who would probably dismiss higher education, a taste of accreditation. This is the type of education reform needed.
For more information about the Community Development and Leadership Initiative as well as Sustainable Peralta, please visit:
http://www.alameda.peralta.edu/apps/comm.asp?$1=20707
http://alameda.peralta.edu/apps/comm.asp?%241=20439
http://www.peralta.cc.ca.us/apps/comm.asp?Q=191
