‘Drive to Read’ Hits the Road in Jordan

AED’s Drive to Read program is inspiring children to dream big and believe in the future. Through the program‚ a mobile library offers free educational‚ cultural‚ and recreational activities to young people ages 6–12 in Amman‚ Jordan.

Three times a week‚ the “bookmobile” visits parks‚ schools‚ and community centers in high-need neighborhoods‚ including those with large concentrations of refugees.

Drive to Read provides a versatile platform for promoting a culture of reading for education and for pleasure. It engages children and youth in the art projects‚ science demonstrations‚ computers‚ and other activities that reinforce learning.

The mobile library started operating in January 2009 in partnership with the Haya Cultural Center. Local NGOs‚ the Greater Amman Municipality and the Jordanian Ministry of Culture are contributing to this exciting program.

For more information‚ contact Naseem Akhtar at nakhtar@aed.org

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Toolkit Helps Meals on Wheels Staff Prevent Fires

Fire safety and prevention are the focus of training and materials AED developed for the Meals on Wheels Association of America‚ whose Fire H.E.L.P. program installs free smoke alarms for homebound‚ older adults.

Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control‚ AED created userfriendly resources for Meals on Wheels staff and volunteers that include training curricula; a home assessment tool; a client education tool; and leave-behind fliers‚ magnets‚ and phone stickers—all in both English and Spanish. AED conducted a training of trainers for Meals on Wheels staff in Texas‚ where Fire H.E.L.P. was piloted‚ and revised the materials based on participants’ feedback. AED is currently working on an expanded suite of materials that will help other community-based organizations implement fire safety programs for older adults.

For more information‚ contact Elizabeth Ryan at eryan@aed.org

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Opening School Doors to Vulnerable Children in Senegal

AED recently launched a new project in Senegal to bring children who live on the streets into the classroom. The five-year Basic Education Program‚ which is funded by USAID‚ will also help return estranged children to their families.

In partnership with the Ministry of Education‚ the project also focuses on improving middle school curricula by making them more relevant to the economic and social development of Senegal. Civic education and an introduction to the world of work are being built into the lessons‚ along with core components that increase access to and use of information technologies.

At the community level‚ the project aims to improve educational governance by increasing parental‚ business‚ and local community participation.

For more information‚ contact Margaret Snow at msnow@aed.org

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Improving Postsecondary Success for Low-Income and
First-Generation Students

Students from low-income households or from families in which they are the first to attend college face complex barriers to succeeding in postsecondary education. Over the next five years‚ AED’s Citi Postsecondary Success Program will address some of these issues.

Working with the Citi Foundation and the Public Education Network (PEN)‚ AED seeks to increase the number of students who apply to postsecondary education‚ enroll in college‚ and complete their first year in a postsecondary institution. With leadership from local education funds in Miami‚ Philadelphia‚ and San Francisco‚ the initiative will develop partnerships among key stakeholders that will develop systemic approaches to addressing the barriers to postsecondary success in their respective cities.

To determine the effectiveness of the programs in selected schools‚ the program will track a cohort of 4‚500 students over five years. An external evaluation will also be conducted to reveal the program’s challenges and successes‚ and to inform the replication of its approach in other districts.

For more information‚ contact Alexandra Weinbaum at aweinbaum@aed.org

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