"Voices From the Village": A Community-Led Model for Serving African American Youth

• In Event: 21.049 - Living, Learning, and Communities in Black Education

Abstract

This paper presents a community-led, university-assisted model for delivering out-of-school time (OST) education for African American children within a community center located in low-income, urban neighborhood. The resident council of a public-assistance housing community was partnered with a large metropolitan university to implement educational programming and oversee daily operational aspects of an after-school program and summer camp. University researchers provided the curriculum, professional development, and conducted program evaluation to ensure the integrity of service delivery. Results highlight the importance of prioritizing community voices as to “what works” for implementing successful programming for African American youth. The significance of this paper lies in the potential for this community-led model to be replicated in other low-income urban communities.

Authors

• Juwan Z. Bennett, Temple University

• M. Meghan Raisch, Temple University

• James Earl Davis, Temple University