A new semester is upon us, and the Urban Initiative has a great slate of work--and a great team of students to help us do it--lined up. What does that work look like? Here's a quick rundown of the types of projects we're working on:
- Evaluating programs
- Conducting survey research
- Building a website
- Conducting applied research
- Supporting course-based student research
And here are the issue areas those projects will touch upon:
- Education
- Housing
- Economic opportunity
- Financial literacy
- Veterans
- Food security
- Environment
- Public health
We hope this gives you a better sense of how we will work to address challenges and opportunities in Fall River and New Bedford in 2014.
|
SouthCoast Urban Indicators Project
|
We have a new education page called ' Teacher Qualities,' which measures characteristics that have been shown to impact school performance. Indicators include: - Evaluation ratings
- Average salary
- Diversity
- Turnover
- Proportion of courses taught by highly qualified teachers
As always, data is available for Fall River and New Bedford. |
From the blog
|
- Bob Golder examines the practice of licensing dogs in New Bedford and points to the importance of policy history.
- Katya Starostina looks at the charter school debate through a local lens and adds some perspectives that were shared at a recent Leadership SouthCoast session on education in Fall River and New Bedford.
- Our monthly project update expounds on the ways our projects integrate the aforementioned strategies and issue areas.
|
Recommended reading
|
Here is some material we suggest reading/watching/listening to for its relevance to policy issues faced by cities like Fall River and New Bedford: - Improving retention of the young and educated is critical for many smaller cities, but how do you hang on to talent? Here's a piece from CEOs for Cities on strategies being employed in Michigan and Ohio.
- House Rules aired on This American Life last November. It looks at the Fair Housing Act and the influence of the place you live on education, health, and more.
- What's behind MassDOT's transportation financing plan? Watch a piece about proposed projects (and dollars) on WGBH news. Look for talk of South Coast Rail around the 4:00 mark.
Have you read--or written--something we should share here? Get in touch! |
Grants
|
Third Sector New England's Inclusion Initiative - Deadline: 1/31/14
Planning grants are available to support collaborative, cross-sector approaches to addressing poverty in low-income communities in MA and RI. Details here.
Ben and Jerry's Foundation's Grassroots Organizing for Social Change program - Deadline: 3/14/14
Grants of up to $20,000 available to nonprofits with budgets <$500K who are using community organizing and base-building strategies to accomplish their goals. More details available here.
|
Job opportunities
|
Do you need help getting the word out about a job opportunity? Send us your announcement and we'll share it here. Buzzards Bay Coalition (New Bedford)
Multiple opportunities are posted; view them all here.
SouthCoast Energy Challenge
Paid internships are available; details available here.
|
