As a CTC HOME, Inc has been working with the Boston Public schools to develop community computer/media labs in several schools. The main thrust of the program has been based on a Media Literacy and Health project that was funded by the U.S. Department Education under which we developed media and technology curriculum in five schools. We now have two fully equiped meda labs that operate both during and after school hours to serve low income residents and students. Our first lab with the English High School is now operating with 80 students and with over30 teens involved in the after school program, A second School, the Social Justice Academy, is in it's second year of operation and has over 15 teens involved in after school. We expect to add two new school media labs this year. This Summer we are projecting having 25 teens in a 30 hour per week six week, media intensive at the BNN studio in Roxbury
The media lab project has four areas of focus:
1) strengthening teens' confidence through projects after school in media arts, that include self expression through media and computer techonologies.
2) providing professional development for teachers in project-based learning and media literacy to help connect after school with in school learning,
3) providing workshops and projects after school that increase teens' critical thinking, communications and problem solving skills,
4) building an in-school and after school network of teachers, parents and mentors to support teens.
Currently HOME, Inc has two full time staff devoted to the project.