CLP Site Profile  --  Connecticut Pipeline Initiative, Hartford, Connecticut

• Capital Community College
• Hartford Office of Youth Services
• Community Groups
• Community Learning Partnership

• Associate of Arts degree in Social Services, with concentration in Community Change Studies; this degree option has been approved by Capital's Board of Trustees
• Cohort of approximately 20 students takes series of courses together
• Faculty team to coordinate the development of these courses so they develop an increasingly integrated curriculum with courses building upon each other and preparing students for the practicum
• Five courses are being rewritten for this cohort, including:
  • Introduction to Development Studies,
  • Political Science 101 focusing on community organizing and PAR,
  • Group Dynamics,
  • Participatory Action Research, and
  • Community Organizing
• Practicum in final term providing hands-on team experience with Senior Organizer as mentor
• General Education Requirements include range of courses for distribution credit; some of these may be modified to relate more directly to organizing and community change

• Program approved by the Board of Trustees and is underway with initial students
• Intro course being taught in 2009; two more courses start in January 2010 as a "learning community" to develop cohort learning and add to flexibility of the courses

• Students are recruited and screened to maximize the number of enrollees who are serious about pursuing careers in organizing and community change
• Extra academic counseling support available through the degree program
• Students are eligible for stipends/work study/scholarships in addition to Pell Grants, depending on the resources available

• The nation's first AA program for organizers and community change agents
• We will be adding CO courses in high school to interest youth in entering the Community College program
• Early pilot for the program included income support from Youth Employment programs and VISTA to help students afford enrollment

• Site Coordinator: Chiedza Rodriguez <chiedzarodriguez@gmail.com>
• Faculty Lead Person: Josiah Ricardo, Coordinator, Social Services Degree Program <JRicardo@ccc.commnet.edu>