California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
IN-2: Innovation 2

REGENERATIVE COMMUNITIES INITIATIVE Recent studies have highlighted the educational disparity between high-income and low-income Americans, noting that the achievement gap between these groups has grown substantially in recent years. Lack of achievement is often accompanied by a lack of developmental assets that are important in promoting healthy development. This lack of developmental assets is often exacerbated by significant local environmental problems, such as pollution, inadequate access to healthy food, and lack of open space. While these environmental challenges are troublesome, they also provide rich learning opportunities which engage students in relevant natural science, social science, and public policy issues The Lyle Center’s Regenerative Communities Initiative seeks to address the achievement gap by 1) encouraging pathways to higher education for underrepresented students; 2) empowering communities to address environmental challenges; and 3) developing a model for university-primary school partnership which can be replicated. We have established a relationship with Westmont Elementary in the Pomona Unified School District, through previous environmental workshop sand other engagement activities. The core of this initiative is the establishment of fellowships for Cal Poly Pomona students, to allow for continual interaction with Westmont students during the academic year. Initial funding for this project is provided by the Ernest J. Prete Foundation. Student Fellows work with Westmont faculty eight hours a week, integrating environmental science and action into curricula, facilitating activities to engage Westmont families and build developmental assets, and hosting visits to Cal Poly Pomona for Westmont students. Fellows are interdisciplinary, recruited from across the University at the undergraduate and/or graduate level. They work collaboratively to plan and implement the program, creating an enriching co-curricular experience for both present and future CPP students. http://polycentric.csupomona.edu/news_stories/2012/02/environment-lesson-westmontes.html http://polycentric.csupomona.edu/news_stories/2012/12/lyle-center-westmont.html http://www.csupomona.edu/~annualreport/env.shtml http://www.csupomona.edu/~crs/documents/Westmont_initiative.pdf