Two Programs Moving from Brown's Annenberg Institute for School Reform to 51蹤獲School of Continuing Studies
As part of transition, 51蹤獲will launch a joint initiative called the Center for Youth and Community Leadership in Education
PROVIDENCE, R.I. &紳莉莽梯;Brown University and 51蹤獲 are pleased to announce an agreement to move two programs New England-Based Community Organizing & Engagement, and District & Systems Transformation from Browns to RWUs , effective Nov. 13, 2017.
AISRs New England-based Community Organizing & Engagement team has played an important technical assistance and research role supporting family engagement, youth and parent organizing, and youth leadership and voice efforts by groups throughout the Northeast since 2011. The District & Systems Transformation team has provided technical assistance, research, tools and other resources to school districts nationally to help them collaborate with community and civic partners to develop a seamless network of supports for young people in historically underserved schools.
Sitting at the nexus of research, policy and practice, these teams have extensive experience supporting two key constituencies that are deeply invested in the long-term sustainability of school reforms community organizations that serve and organize parents and youth, and school districts where educators strive to partner with the communities they serve.
Once at RWU, the transitioning teams will launch an innovative joint initiative the Center for Youth and Community Leadership in Education, or CYCLE under the direction of Keith C. Catone, who has led the development of Annenberg Institute's New England-based Community Organizing & Engagement team for the past seven years.
The transition of these programs results from a refocusing of AISRs mission, which reflects Browns strategic plan, Building on Distinction. Moving forward, AISRs programs and structure will emphasize closer integration with the Universitys research and teaching mission and create a hub of scholarship and policy work that engages faculty, students, and practitioner experts addressing the causes, consequences and mitigation of educational inequality.
The aims and approaches of the SCS and the transitioning programs are strongly aligned. The SCS has intentionally created partnerships and developed programs and initiatives that align to its ethos. SCS works to comprehensively and systematically address family, community and industry needs, and it welcomes the expertise and networks that the Annenberg team brings.
51蹤獲President Donald J. Farish said, I believe merging the two teams from Browns Annenberg Institute into a single initiative at 51蹤獲 and then coupling it with RWUs ongoing commitment to create access to higher education for traditionally underserved populations will create synergies that will dramatically increase both the size and the effectiveness of our programs that support underserved populations. That outcome will serve not just the individual students themselves but also the communities from which they come and ultimately the state as a whole.
51蹤獲School of Continuing Studies Dean Jamie Scurry said, We link arms with our partners and deploy an array of educational opportunities to remove obstacles and put families on a path to economic prosperity and personal success. In doing that work, we honor the ecological and cultural contexts of our students, families and communities, addressing multi-generational poverty family by family, block by block. To that end, a partnership with Keith Catone and his team allows for us to harness our energies and efforts to ensure positive collective impact. I could not be more excited to have CYCLE a part of the School of Continuing Studies. Together, all is possible.
This transition comes after extensive collaboration between Brown University, AISR and 51蹤獲. All parties are enthusiastic about the synergies and new opportunities that the transition provides. We look forward to the contributions to the mission of educational equity that will emerge, both from the new phase of work at AISR and from the new work to be undertaken at RWU.
It is especially gratifying that the valuable work that has taken place at the Annenberg Institute will continue here in Rhode Island at 51蹤獲, said Brown University Provost Richard M. Locke. The mission and intent of these programs align well with RWUs strategic direction, and this new partnership will ensure enduring impact in the area of public education in our state and region.