CLPS Initiatives
Community Schools Corps members serve in neighborhood-driven community schools projects, which include eight elementary after-school programs, two middle school programs and two high school projects. Site facilitators at each school are supervised by Albuquerque Public Schools/Charter School administration. Corps members design and implement curriculum based on a holistic, integrated, community-based approach to literacy for children and family supports/ESL for parents. Many of the sites are full-service sites.
Community Health Corps members serve in some of the most innovative community health projects within the state. Project sites include: an affordable health clinic in one of the most marginalized communities of Albuquerque; a program that serves people with disabilities; a full-service pre-school for children of families in distress; and community-health clinics in rural New Mexico that utilize grass-roots food and nutrition non-profits. The Community Health Corps is also developing a policy council and policy manual to bring about statewide and national policy change.
Community Sustainability and Development Corps members serve in a variety of grass-roots community projects which include: alternative approaches to the juvenile justice system through cultural reclamation and healing; a young women’s empowerment project; environmental justice projects that work on re-connecting community to traditional farming practices; community gardens; and a project to help youth and families access resources and learn skills in community mobilization. Many of the organizations work on direct service and policy change through civic engagement.
Financial Literacy Corps members will serve at existing sites, and will draw on lessons learned from the local community college, from leaders in a community-based multi-service center, and from professors from the university. Students will co-design and implement workshops and curriculum focused on providing children and families with the information and skills they need to understand financial institutions and become financially literate. Workshops and individual assistance may include benefit maximization, financial coaching, information and educational opportunities for families, and connecting families to resources in their own communities. Access to specialized services includes assistance to families undergoing extreme financial distress, including foreclosures and bankruptcy.
TeacherCorps Corps members are a special group of Service-Learning Teacher Education students who bring their knowledge and skill in service-learning/experiential education to the whole school, to affect policy change. TeacherCorps members will serve as mentors and connect community-based projects to service learning in the community learning centers.
Tribal Service Corps Corps members, most of whom are Native students, serve in the first Native American Charter School in Albuquerque. The school focuses on cultural identity development, health and well-being, academic preparedness, leadership, and community-service. The second TSC project is with the Native Health Initiative, which strives for the health and wellbeing of native communities through community engagement.
Youth Development Corps members serve in a variety of initiatives which include four civic engagement projects for teens and five campus- based mentoring and community-engagement projects, including campus-based youth radio. Projects focus on high school and college age youth connecting their academic programs of study to larger socio-political issues.