��� �HUD Assistant Secretary. With his help, the Authority recently completed a procurement process for the real estate development partner necessary to assist with the tax-credit application and the complex nature of these transactions. Columbia Residential has a proven track record of success and excellence. Their Columbia Parc redevelopment of a troubled, post-Katrina public housing neighborhood in New Orleans has just won awards for “Best Family Development” and “Best Overall Development.” Early resident consultation and design work in Athens is just beginning. Application for tax-credits is planned for the next available cycle in June 2012 with award expected in the fall of 2012. Construction would then begin in the spring of 2013 with occupancy of the first of three planned phases in 2014. The mutually shared goal of both AHA and Columbia Residential is an award winning redevelopment of Jack R. Wells for the benefit of the current public housing residents and the entire Athens-Clarke County community. Summary of Evidence: Since the groundbreaking studies reported in Jenks and Mayer about the ways in which neighborhoods affect their resident children, several studies have attempted to show the effect of neighborhood influence on child development. Leventhal and Brooks-Gunn utilize the quantitative studies of the previous ten years to show that there are three primary mechanisms of neighborhood influence on children and adolescents: institutional resources, relationships within the neighborhood, and norms/collective efficacy. Citations: Jenks, C. & Mayer, S (1990). The Social Consequences of Growing Up in a Poor Neighborhood, in Lynn, L. E. and McGeary, M. (eds) Inner-city Poverty in the United States (111- 118), Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. Leventhal, T. & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2000). The Neighborhoods They Live In: Effects of Neighborhood Residence on Child and Adolescent Outcomes, Psychological Bulletin, 126[2], 309 - 337. Williamson, O. (2004). Successful Homeownership and Renting through Housing Counseling.

Neighborhood Engagement: Solutions 7.1-7.3 Solution Number 7.1: Neighborhood Leadership Solution Description: Beginning in 2012, twenty FC-CIS Neighborhood Leaders will participate in a Neighborhood Leadership Academy (NLA) and receive common training and education in areas such as conflict resolution, mediation, public speaking, cultural competency, inter-personal communication skills, and community advocacy, among others. Trainings will be provided by local partners, including the UGA Fanning Institute, the Georgia Conflict Center, and Mind Body Institute. The Academy will connect training, skills and

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��� �resources from various community programs and organizations to the residents and neighborhood citizens interested in becoming parent leaders, community advocates and those interesting in creating a successful culture in the neighborhoods within the ACC PN. NLA Core Training classes will meet for six weeks, with two 3-hour sessions each week per class. Neighborhood Leaders will also have the opportunity to become “specialists” with additional sets of trainings and resources to assist with delivering solutions identified by FC-CIS as having positive outcomes on student educational achievement. These specialization areas include early childhood parent education, K-12 school system navigation/connecting to school resources, post-secondary assistance, health education, nutrition/exercise, community safety, information referral, and others. The NLA will offer relevant training and support to Neighborhood Leaders in a variety of areas. Members of the FC-CIS Neighborhood Leadership Advisory Council will be engaged in identifying developing standards for trainings as well as values which serve as guidance for the Academy. The Leaders will also be involved in determining who will be providing the trainings. Brief Summary of Evidence: Making Connections, an initiative of The Annie Casey Foundation, works to support strategies around authentic demand in resident leadership. The strategy’s goal is to strengthen resident leadership in communities. Various sites implemented the authentic demand strategy in developing leadership trainings and course offerings for community residents. Success was measured noting positive outcomes for attending residents and their families. In Milwaukee, the resident leader training provided a pathway for graduates into jobs and other asset building opportunities. Others took up leadership positions in local organizations, boards and commissions in the community. In Milwaukee, for example, since 2006 more than 200 residents have graduated from the Institute for Resident Leaders, and it already has a thriving alumni network. A key outcome of the program in Milwaukee was the reliable financial education attending residents received. The trained residents were connected to organizations that assisted in credit repair and home ownership. Additional positive outcomes were noted in Providence, Rhode Island. As of 2006, more than 160 residents had graduated from the Making Connections Resident Leadership Institute. The Resident Leadership Institute results were successful, positive outcomes. The graduates organized and fought for the implementation of Play and Learn groups that helped other parents serve as their primary teacher. Also, they created a Family, Friend and Neighbor child care provider network. The Resident Leadership Institute increased parent involvement in the local schools. In its study of the efficacy of its Strengthening Neighborhoods leader training programs, the Denver Foundation found four factors that emerged as most significant in the development of grassroots leaders: support and inspiration from family and friends; mentoring, both formal and informal, from elders and seasoned leaders; lessons learned from life experience, such as exposure to injustice, overcoming obstacles, pursuing a passion, acting on spiritual beliefs, or playing sports; and formal training through a community organizing workshop, civic leadership retreat, or similar opportunity.

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��� � According to a report from the Aspen Institute, offering community-based planning and leadership development opportunities are an essential way to build the civic capacity of residents. These efforts open the door for providing residents with a chance to have a meaningful stake in the decision-making processes in their own neighborhoods. Increased civic engagement allows for more robust and healthy communities where families can grow and flourish. Citations: Annie E. Casey Foundation (2009), Des Moines Community College, Instituting A Neighborhood Resident Leadership Certificate Program, Collaboration in Des Moines Prepares Neighborhood Leaders to Take on a Community Change Agenda. Ashan, N. (2008). Sustaining Neighborhood Change: The Power of Resident Leadership, Social Networks and Community Mobilization. Making Connections; an Initiative of The Annie Casey Foundation. 20-21. Auspos, P., et al. (2008). Living Cities and Civic Capacity: Leadership, Leverage, and Legitimacy, The Aspen Institute. Washington, D.C. Crew, T.B., Kim, Woo, J. & Schweitzer , J.H. (n.d.). Taking Care of Our Neighborhoods: Exploring the Leadership and Participation in Urban Communities in Lansing, Michigan, Urban Affairs Programs Michigan State University East Lansing, MI. Foster-Fishman, P.G., Cantillon, D., Pierce, S. J. & Van Egeren, L. A. (2007). Building an Active Citizenry: the Role of Neighborhood Problems, Readiness, and Capacity for Change. American Journal of Community Psychology, 39, 91-106. Greenberg, M. (1999). Restoring America’s Neighborhoods: How Local People Make a Difference. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. Greenberg, M. (2000). Grassroots Leadership, Personality, and Urban Neighborhood Environments: A Case Study in New Jersey. Human Ecology Review, 7[2], 21 - 29. Soto, C. & Casey, P. (2007). Neighborhood Leadership: A Report on Lessons Learned from the Experience of The Denver Foundation’s Strengthening Neighborhoods Program, 17 pp. The Denver Foundation, Denver, CO. Solution Number 7.2: HandsOn NE Volunteer Coordination Solution Description: Neighboring is a community strategy used across the nation which engages local residents in volunteerism, reinforcing that assistance need not always come from the outside, but that the resources exist within the neighborhood. HandsOn Northeast Georgia (NEGA) Volunteer Coordination will support a Neighborhood Leader Volunteer

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��� �Coordinator Specialist in engaging the broader community in the ACC PN through a variety of FC-CIS-coordinated and community-based projects. HandsOn NEGA will take this model a step further by assisting the Neighborhood Leader Volunteer Coordinator Specialist in developing a single entity for each school in the ACC PN to recruit volunteers who are passionate about working with youth to serve as tutors, mentors, and after-school leaders, among other responsibilities. This single entity will also coordinate efforts relating to large days of service; the school can serve as a project site as well as a volunteer opportunity for the students and parents affiliated with that school. Brief Summary of Evidence: Neighboring helps families succeed by providing opportunities, resources, and role models. Participants in neighboring projects in other parts of the United States reported that they gained life skills that have had an indirect impact on their family’s economic security. For these reasons, HandsOn NEGA seeks to engage neighbors in the FC-CIS zone in service to their community. The Points of Light institute carried out an evaluation of the HandsOn Network and its affiliates. This effort discovered that volunteers who serve through HandsOn Network affiliates (one was HandsOn Northeast Georgia) feel certain that they are effective agents of change in their communities. Also, HandsOn Network affiliates are able to assist individuals in finding volunteer opportunities that are personally meaningful, which leads to a stronger volunteer commitment. Additionally, this matching between volunteer and organization leads to affiliate-mobilized volunteers filling true community needs. Citations: HandsOn Network. (2010). Neighboring Summative Evaluation Study Report. Points of Light Institute. (2008). Measuring the Impact of HandsOn Network: An Evaluation of Direct and Secondary Impact from the Stakeholder Perspective. Solution Number 7.3: 2-1-1 Information and Referral Solution Description: Having access to and information about community resources is important to community stability and neighborhood engagement. Communication Connection of Athens will provide residents of the ACC PN with accurate information about the services (health, social services, education, etc.) that he or she needs with a free, confidential phone call to the 2-1-1 Information and Referral Call Center (IRCC), via online database access, or individual meeting. They will also provide printed information about services and increase outreach efforts at resource and health fairs, community events, and collaborative workgroups to assure that all citizens and agencies are aware of the centralized database and know to call 211 for needs and opportunities. Community Connection will facilitate collaboration among agencies to assure that service gaps are filled where feasible, that needless duplication is eliminated, and that service delivery is efficient and effective. FC-CIS proposes that Community Connection will train community members and two Neighborhood Leaders to serve as ‘2-1-1

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��� �Resource Specialists’ who utilize system to locate available resources and serve as advocates to track down community resources that may not be easily accessible. Brief Summary of Evidence: In multiple studies conducted on the 2-1-1 system, including the cost-benefit of utilizing centralized information and referral systems, several benefits of the efficiency and effectiveness have been identified. The evidence indicates success on the following fronts: helping people maintain their independence while using government and non-profit resources more efficiently to meet their needs; client efficiency in time saved, including work time; cost efficiency including decreased need for public assistance because of timely connection with appropriate intervening services, reduction of nonemergency calls to 9-1-1, savings for businesses through reduced absenteeism and increased productivity due to enhance information of where employees can find services, cost savings for local, state, and federal governments for misdirected calls for services; and ability to disseminate public health and crisis preparedness information Citations: Fisher, K.E., et al. WIN 2-1-1: Performance Evaluation and Cost-Benefit Analysis of 2-1-1 I & R Systems. Information Behavior in Everyday Contexts, University of Washington. Seattle WA: 2005. Michigan Association of United Ways. Michigan 2-1-1: Business Plan. Second Draft. Lansing, MI: 2005. O’Shea, D., et al. National Benefit/Cost Analysis of Three Digit Accessed Telephone Information and Referral Services: Final Report. Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas. Austin, TX: 2004. Solution Number 8.1: Information Literacy Initiative Solution Description: Although there seems to be a headlong rush to adopt iPads and other tablet computers in many schools and universities around the nation, decades of educational technology research shows that clearly identified goals, teacher professional development, high quality content, and effective pedagogical strategies are much more important than technology alone. Accordingly, these components are at the forefront of the proposed activities and programs described below. At Alps Road Elementary School, a pilot project will fully integrate iPads into the first grade curriculum. The initiative will utilize an “educational design research” approach whereby teachers, technology and media specialists, university professors, and other stakeholders will collaborate closely to clarify the needs this project will address and to design prototype innovations related to professional development, program activities, and assessment. These innovations will be refined based on iterative cycles of testing. These 21st Century information literacy skills are aligned with the Georgia Performance Standards/ Common Core standards and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards adopted by

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��� �the state and CCSD. Developing the information literacy of students at Alps Road Elementary School will be the major focus of this initiative, especially as this relates to the achievement in reading, language arts, and mathematics. Brief Summary of Evidence: Apple Computer’s iPad was only released in January 2010 and virtually no studies have been conducted specifically investigating its effectiveness in K-12 education. However, several studies are underway using a variety of different research approaches. For example, Empirical Education, an evaluation company located in Palo Alto, CA, has been awarded a contract by the California State Board of Education to conduct a quasi-experimental study comparing students using the iPad-delivered Algebra textbook to those using a conventional textbook with a report of the findings expected in fall 2011. Fortunately, there is research that examines the effectiveness of ubiquitous computing and Internet access delivered via other types of mobile devices ranging from laptops to handheld devices. The bottom line of this research is that the fundamentals of effective teaching and learning remain most important, regardless of how instructional materials and activities are delivered. Pedagogy (instructional design) and the alignment of learning activities with objectives, content, and assessment are much more important than the technology per se in any successful rollout of mobile devices in education. Citations: Ash, K. (2010). U.S. Ed-Tech Plan urges rethinking In K-12 schools. Education Week, 29[24], 1-17. Hattie, J. A. C. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses related to achievement. New York: Routledge. Kennedy, M. (2011). Learning tools. American School & University, 83[10], 16. Norris, C. & Soloway, E. (2011). From banning to BYOD. District Administration, 47[5], 94. Reeves, T.C. (2006). Design research from the technology perspective. In J. V. Akker, K. Gravemeijer, S. McKenney, & N. Nieveen (Eds.), Educational design research (pp. 86-109). London: Routledge. Tamim, R. M., Bernard, R. M., Borokhovski, E., Abrami, P. C. & Schmid, R. F. (2011). What forty years of research says about the impact of technology on learning. Review of Educational Research, 81(1), 4-28. Solution 8.2.: Expand Internet Access In the ACC PN, just over 60% of the residents have home Internet service; 45% of those with access use their phones to connect. Thus only approximately 30% have access that is meaningful to the academic development of children. Internet connectivity requires two components: the hardware and the signal.

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Signal: To increase access to 21st century technology, FC-CIS proposes to set up WiFi hot spots throughout the zone that will provide substantial access; these are in addition to numerous private businesses in the area that provide free access. (See WiFi Map in Appendix G21) Hardware: For the hardware component FC-CIS is partnering with Free IT Athens to provide 250 laptops for students in grades 6 through 12. Free IT Athens is an all-volunteer non-profit dedicated to increasing the availability of free and open information technology and providing individuals with the experience and knowledge necessary to become comfortable with IT and proficient in its usage and to understand internet safety issues. CCSD will donate 250 surplus laptops. Free IT Athens will repair any damage and install free, open source software. Free IT Athens will work with FC-CIS and CCSD to identify the students and train them and their families in basic computer skills and care. Students also have computer and Internet access at each of the schools in the zone, ACC library, Boys and Girls Club, and Housing Authority Community Centers. Computer to student ratios at Alps, Clarke Middle, and Clarke Central are 2.81, 2.09, and 1.54 respectively. There is wireless access at each of the schools and students can bring their own hardware in to use. Brief Summary of Evidence: In a sixteen month study by Michigan State University in partnership with HomeNetToo.org, 140 children between ages 10 and 18 (83% African American, 58% boys) living in single parent households with an income of $15,000 or less showed improved academic outcomes with internet access. While older children tended to use the internet more frequently, the enhanced academic performance of all ages was documented. The researchers found evidence for a digital “use” divide indicating that internet access does in fact make a significant difference in academic performance. The students grade point averages increased 2.0-2.2 or higher and the largest contributing factor to the improved scores was the additional reading facilitated by the internet use.��Another series of studies has found that home internet and computer use has a greater influence on cognitive development then socio-economic factors. The greatest impact was found in below middle class households. Citations: Barbatsis, Gretchen; Biocca, Frank A.; Fitzgerald, Hiram E.; Jackson, Linda A., Von Eye, Alexander ; Zhao,Yong, Developmental Psychology (2006) Volume: 42, Issue: 3, Publisher: American Psychological Association, Pages: 429-435. Johnson, G. M. (2010). Internet Use and Child Development: Validation of the Ecological Techno-Subsystem. Educational Technology & Society, 13 (1), 176–185. �