San Diego Neighborhood Technology Partnership

East Baltimore Empowerment Zone

Part 1 - General project information

Community Name: East Baltimore Empowerment Zone State: Maryland
Contact Information	Alternate Contact Information
Michael Gaines 5200 Eastern Avenue Mason F. Lord Building, West Tower Baltimore, MD 21224 410-558-5930 mgaines@mcatworks.org	Ellen Atkinson 5200 Eastern Avenue Mason F. Lord Building, West Tower Baltimore, MD 21224 410-558-5930 eatkinson@mcatworks.org

Part 2 - Community partnership information

List each community agency and organization partnering in this effort. Provide a contact name and email address for each partner, if available. Partnerships may include any kind of community agency or organization that brings together people in the community for any purpose. Examples might include educational institutions, church groups, libraries, youth groups, volunteer service groups, social and hobby clubs, community centers, Chambers of Commerce, local businesses, etc.

The East Baltimore Empowerment Zone consists of several community organizations that have been active in the community for five or more years. The community is anchored in the North by the Historic East Baltimore Community Action Coalition and to the South by the East Habor Village Center. The partnership assembled to complete the "Digital Village" proposal also includes government organizations, the local school system, higher education institutions, businesses, and non-profit organizations. The following list outlines the Baltimore Digital Village Partnership:

Government Partners:

Mayor Martin O'Malley mayor@baltimorecity.gov
Deputy Mayor Laurie Schwartz lschwartz@baltimorecity.gov
Baltimore City Department of Planning, Charles Graves, cgraves@mail.pratt.lib.md.us

Baltimore Development Corporation, Paul Taylor ptaylor@baltimoredevelopment.com

Office of Employment Development,Karen Sitnick, ksitnick@oed.com

Community Partners:

East Harbor Village CDC, Talib Horne, talib5@hotmail.com
East Harbor Village Center, Clara Butler, baltimoreehvc@hotmail.com
Apostolic Community Development Corp, Paul Showell
Apostolic Housing Corporation, Jean Murdock
Fathers United for Equal Rights of MD, Janet Cottman
Business Association of Historic Jonestown, Phillip Kramer
Central Avenue Coalition, Stuart Schuck
Centro de la Communidad, Inc., Dr. Wilfredo Nieves
Ralph J. Young Recreation Center, David M. Smallwood
Chapel N.D.P Association, Bettye Scott
Citizens for Washington Hill, Inc., Anne Damiano
Clarence Perkins Homes Tenant Council, Vanessa P. Skinner
East Star-Perfect Image,Ernestine King McCoy
Fells Point Antique Dealers Association, Joseph Frank
Fells Point Business Association, Nancy Caudill
Fells Point Community Organization, Steve Bunker
Flag House Courts Tenant Council, Robert Hazel
Har Sinai Church of Christ, Bishop Jeff Johnson
Helping Up Mission, Tyrone Lucas
Hispanic Apostolate, Sister Mary Corcoran
Jonestown Day Care Center, Ann Harris Lofton
Jonestown Planning Council, Father Richard Lawrence
Juel’s Adult Day Care Center, Renee Blackwell
Landowners Group, James Kavney
McKim Community Center, Dwight Warren
Pentecostal Housing Corporation, Sheila Montgomery
Preservation Society of Federal Hill and Fells Point, Romaine Somerville
Southeast Baltimore Business Association, Dean Charlton
Southeast Community Coalition, Valencia Jones
Southeast Development Inc., Sandy McCollum
Transformed Inc., Sharon Green
Living Classrooms Foundation, James Bond
First Apostolic Faith Church, Inc., Bishop Franklin Showell
Flag House Tenant Council, Valerie Tinsley
GBMC Community and Family Health Center, Monica Marshall
Pressley Ridge School of Maryland, Lisa Ott
Historic East Balitmore Community Action Coalition
Ron Samuels rsamuels@hebcac.org

East Monument Street Merchants, Efrem Potts
Johns Hopkins Hospital, Colene Daniel, cdaniel@jhmi.edu
Johns Hopkins University, Richard Grossi, rgrossi@jhmi.edu
Kennedy-Krieger Institute, Jim Anders, janders@kki.org
Casey Family Services, Anna Williams
The Chance Center, Cynthia Adams
The Door, Jim Davenport
The Women's Comprehensive Health Center, Betsy McCall
Sojourner-Douglass College, Dr. Charles SImmons
The Dunbar HUB, Hattie Harrison
Eastern District Police Station, Major Moye

Educational Partners:

Charles Carrol of Carrolton, # 139, Robert Thomas
City Spring Elementary School, Bernice Whelchel
Lombard Middle School, Robert Hopkins
Morgan State University,Dean Eugene M. Deloatchdeloatch@eng.morgan.edu
University of Maryland Baltimore County,Dr. Freeman Hrabowski hrabowski@umbc.edu
Baltimore City Public Schools, Carmen Russo crusso@bcps.k12.md.us
Baltimore City Community College, Dr. Barbara Hopkins bhopkins@bccc.state.md.us
Enoch Pratt Free Library, Patricia Wallace, pwallace@mail.pratt.lib.md.us

Non-Profit Partners:

Maryland Center for Arts and Technology, Michael Gaines mgaines@mcatworks.org
Aaron & Lillie Straus Foundation, Jan Rivitz jrivitz@aol.com
Open Society Institute, Patrice Cromwell pcromwell@sorosny.org
Empower Baltimore Management Corporation, Diane Bell dbell@ebmc.org
Baltimore Community Foundation/Opportunity,Inc., Thomas Wilcox
twilcox@bcf.org
Abell Foundation, Melanie Styles styles@abell.org
The Enterprise Foundation,Brian Lyght,blyght@enterprisefoundation.org

Business Partners:

Struever Bros.,Eccles and Rouse,Inc.,Carl "Bill" Struever cws@sber.com
Comcast Cable,Tom Williams, tom_williams@cable.comcast.com
Honeywell Technology Solutions Inc.,Antonio Jones, antonio.jones@honeywell-tsi.com
Johns Hopkins Health System,Dr. Judy Reitz, jreitz@jhmi.edu
MYCOM, Shelonda Stokes, sstokes@mycom.com
Tecco, Inc.,Jem Pagan,pagan@tecco.com
MSBDFA Management Group, Inc.,Stanley W. Tucker,tuckerst@erols.com

Identify the people or groups in the community served by the partners (up to 250 words)

The East Baltimore Empowerment Zone residents, have a unique support system which includes institutional, educational and government partners, private businesses and non-profit organizations. Large institutions like Johns Hopkins University, Hospital and Medical Systems employ a substantial portion of the local residents and are involved extensively in the community by providing health care services, crime prevention, mentoring and economic development. In addition, Struever Bros., Eccles and Rouse are initiating redevelopment of old industrial buildings to stimulate the community by attracting new technology companies, the Maryland Center for Arts and Technology provides customized workforce training in the information technology sector.

Empowerment Zone residents also receive education and training support through programs offered by the Enoch Pratt Free Library and Baltimore City Community College as well as higher education opportunities for low income high school graduates at the University of Maryland, Morgan State University and an alternative learning center at Sojourner-Douglas College. Career development is also available at the community village centers in East Harbor and Historic East Baltimore in addition to a myriad of other programs that support families, remove barriers to economic opportunity and engage residents in recreational activities.

Much of the underlying support given to the village centers is provided by local and national foundations located in the Baltimore region. The East Baltimore Empowerment Zone is fortunate to receive funding from the Aaron & Lillie Straus Foundation, The Enterprise Foundation, the Abell Foundation and the Open Society Institute.

Describe the resources that the partnership will provide to the project, e.g. staff, funding, etc. (up to 250 words)

The partnership will provide resources to the project, which will assist in making the project a success.

The Mayor’s office will provide leadership and support in the development of a policy agenda for sustaining and maintaining our project, a member of his staff to represent him on the partnership and volunteering the support of various agencies of government to work with the partnership eg. Planning, Police Department, Department of Public Works, etc.

The Village Centers in the Empowerment Zone will provide community input and staffing to the project.

The Colleges and Universities will provide graduate and undergraduate volunteer support, research assistance from its staff.

Maryland Center for Arts and Technology, Inc. will provide overall leadership and management of the project as the lead organization of the effort.

Our Business partners will provide funding, job opportunities and in-kind services to support specific programs and staffing. Johns Hopkins, the largest employer in the city will lead the way with continued support through staffing, funding, in-kind services for programs and a commitment for purchasing goods and services from community based businesses.

The Foundation community has pledged funding support for the project, assistance in strategic planning and the development of our evaluation and monitoring system.

Identify any current and past support from other sources including corporations, funders, etc. for any current and past partnership efforts. (up to 250 words)

The Historic East Baltimore and East Harbor Village Centers continue to receive support from other sources. A partnership with the Baltimore City Health Department and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is studying ways to improve the lack of access to preventive health care to men and women in the community. The Violence Prevention Theatre is a partnership of the Department of Juvenile Justice and the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development (OED) that engages young people in discussions about violent behavior and its impact on the family. The new Youth Opportunity Project provides teens direct access to a comprehensive array of academic services-from remedial to GED training, career and job specific skills training, leadership development, computer literacy, sports and recreation is sponsored by the HEBCAC village center and OED.

A partnership of the East Harbor village center and the United Way provide financial literacy and information about Individual Development Accounts. The Abell Foundation is also working with East Harbor to develop an energy cooperative. Support for community development programs is provided by the Casey Foundation in partnership with the Empower Baltimore Management Corporation. And lastly, Johns Hopkins Hospital provides opportunities for local businesses including the donation of two houses to be renovated by Cooper Construction – a new local company seeking opportunities to build new homes in the community.

Identify any HP employees involved in current and past community efforts.

Part 3 - Community vision

A vision statement for the community is considered essential for this grant opportunity. See Section 6 of the information packet for details on what should be included in a vision statement.

Does your community have a group of local government officials, business people, civic and social service group representatives, and citizens that has developed a vision document for the community?
Yes

If yes, please list the groups, organizations, and citizens who contributed to the development of the vision (name and affiliation). Provide e-mail addresses for all groups/people that have them - List name, affiliation, and email address, one set of information per line (Joe Johnson, YMCA, jjohnson@aoj.com)

Jan Rivitz, Aaron & Lillie Straus Foundation, jrivitz@aol.com

Melanie Styles,Abell Foundation,styles@abell.org

Barbara Hopkins, Baltimore City Community College bhopkins@bccc.state.md.us

Charles GravesBaltimore City Department of Planning, cgraves@mail.pratt.lib.md.us

Pamela Johnson,Baltimore City Public Schools,pjohnson@bcps.k12.md.us

Thomas Wilcox,Baltimore Community Foundation,twilcox@bcf.org

Paul Taylor,BDC,ptaylor@baltimoredevelopment.com

Talib Horne,East Harbor Village Center, talib5@hotmail.com

Tisha Edwards,Empower Baltimore Management Corp.,tedwards@ebmc.org

Patrica Wallace,Enoch Pratt Free Library,pwallace@mail.pratt.lib.md.us

Brian LyghtEnterprise Foundation,blyght@enterprisefoundation.org

Ron Samuels, HEBCAC, rsamuels@hebcac.org

Ellen Satyshur,Johns Hopkins,esatysh@jhmi.edu

Michael Gaines, Sr, MCAT, mgaines@mcatworks.org

Eugene M.DeLoatch,Morgan State University,deloatch@eng.morgan.edu

Shelonda Stokes,MYCOM,sstokes@mycom.com

Karen Sitnick,Office of Employment Development,ksitnick@oed.com

Patrice Cromwell,Open Society Institute,pcromwell@sorosny.org

Amy Bonitz, Struever Bros., Eccles and Rouse, Inc.,aab@sber.com

If no, please provide a short explanation (up to 250 words) about why your community does not have a vision statement.

Provide a summary of the current community vision statement. Summarize your vision for the community (up to 1000 words). Address short-term goals and objectives and a longer term vision (10 to 20 years) for the community.

While Baltimore’s past was built on trade carried by ocean currents and on the first railroad and telegraph connections, Baltimore’s future is being built, today, on trade carried by electronic currents.

Mayor Martin O’Malley

Baltimore City’s working waterfront, once dominated by manufacturing equipment, is rapidly becoming one of the nation’s growing ports to a New Economy. Technology companies are filling these revitalized spaces, making Baltimore their home. The recruitment, support, and growth of these companies has become the City’s highest economic development priority. Baltimore’s future is its Digital Harbor.

Baltimore City is uniquely positioned to reinvent itself to meet the needs of the New Economy. With endorsement from the mayor, public and private sector initiatives are developing more than 7 million square feet along Baltimore’s waterfront, totaling $2 billion in investment. Essential to the success of this resurgence is the inclusion every Baltimore resident, not only those who live and work in its waterfront communities. By producing a vital workforce, where technological literacy is key, Baltimore can fulfill the needs of technology companies moving into its port. Baltimore’s strategy to bridge the Digital Divide will provide a new prosperity for our City through wealth creation, job creation, and neighborhood stabilization.

Situated just east of the Inner Harbor, with our southern border touching the harbor, the East Baltimore Empowerment Zone is poised to capture the immense potential of the technology economy in our City. As one of Baltimore’s oldest communities, we are rich in cultural history and our assets are numerous.

We were created as a result of Baltimore’s successful bid to receive Empowerment Zone designation by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), in 1994.

We are a coalition of representatives from a variety of organizations: tenant groups, business associations, homeless organizations, health institutions, and civic groups.

We have two thriving village centers, not-for-profit community-based organizations, that provide job training/placement and resource coordination to our residents.

We are home to the Johns Hopkins Medicine campus, the nation’s premiere hospital and largest private employer in the City of Baltimore.

We are predominantly an African-American community, with residents of Hispanic and Caucasian decent. We are home to the Native American Center, the Centro de la Communidad and future home of Maryland’s African-American Museum.

We received two Hope VI grants awarded by HUD to replace public housing projects with mixed-income communities.

We are partners in Baltimore City’s recently awarded $ 44 million Department of Labor Youth Opportunity grant. These funds, granted to only ten cities, will establish a network of electronically-linked youth career centers to promote the long-term employability of our teens.

Though the untapped potential of our community is abundant, we face a number of challenges including:

over 35% of students in K-8 schools are eligible for free or reduced lunches;
low performance in Maryland School Assessment Program;
high school drop out rate is over 50%;
unemployment rate of residents is nearly 10%; and
1990 consensus indicates that 40% of our community’s residents had incomes below the federally designated poverty level.

This description of challenges demonstrates a population in need of opportunities for greater empowerment. To address these challenges, we have developed a strategic plan that promises to strengthen our community. The sustainability of our vision depends on the involvement of our partners and on the increased utilization of technology. Through the development of a sound community network, supported by a sustainable technology-based infrastructure, we can maximize the economic, educational, and community growth of our residents and businesses and provide, in part, the skilled workforce to sustain our City’s Digital Harbor.

Our strategic plan is driven by the vision that our community will be very different in years to come. The long-term goal for our community is to see it become a “Digital Village” where the use of technology helps to expand the personal, professional, and social opportunities for our residents. Technology will become an intrinsic part of everyone’s life. More than just a tool, it will become the means through which each resident will feel connected. Connected to a comprehensive educational experience. Connected to sustainable employment and entrepreneurial opportunities. Connected to community services. Connected to government agencies. Connected to viable housing opportunities. Connected to community activities. Connected to each other, enjoying the benefits of e-living.

The initial phase of creating our Digital Village will begin with the development of a series of community technology centers, structured to support a community network. These centers will serve as vehicles through which community residents and businesses can gain access to computers, the Internet and information. In these centers, members of our community will be trained to use technology to advance their opportunities for enhancing their personal and professional lives. Through the successful development of these centers, we will achieve a number of short-term goals including:

Education

Reclaim out-of-school youth and retain in-school youth through e-based education;
Maximize resources for education and job training by connecting all the partners in education.

Workforce and Economic Development

Foster the development of entrepreneurial initiatives, particularly associated with the New Economy;
Create a technology-based pipeline beginning with computer literacy in the schools and continuing with job readiness for adults, specific technology skill development, job placement/retention, and advancement opportunities.

Community Development

Develop leadership and association/community participation through technology-based training and mentoring programs for adults/children
Elevate, through technology, the way grass-roots organizations function;
Create programs for senior citizens, ensuring their access to technology-based information/education;
Establish Baltimore’s Digital Village as the national Digital Village Hub, providing a centralized location for all HP communities (selected) to share best practices and allow residents to communicate

Community Service Delivery

Develop a Hot-Line network to deliver support services to children/families: child care, tutoring, after-school, summer, employment, and athletic programs
Increase the availability of services to provide incentives and lending programs for prospective home-owners

How will you sustain and maintain the community vision? Describe how the community's vision effort will be sustained over the long term (up to 500 words). Include any pertinent information like sources of funding, dedicated staff, organizational commitments to participate, etc.

The following directives will be implemented to sustain our community’s vision:

1) ensure that every resident has an opportunity for a job which pays, at least, a family- supporting wage; 2) implement strategies to create and expand the middle class; 3) support policy that fosters the revitalization of communities; and 4) ensure that each resident is connected to the digital economy.

Further assurance of our vision’s sustainability will occur through the execution of our project plan. Several strategies will be used to implement our plan:

the creation of a Digital Village Partnership, collaborating with Hewlett Packard to oversee the planning and execution of the project plan;
the formation of a development committee which will monitor and negotiate proposed development projects;
a special benefits districts program to raise funds to improve security and sanitation;
a business-match program to help small businesses access new market
opportunities; and
a venture fund program to provide capital for business expansion and technical assistance.

The primary responsibility of the Digital Village Partnership will be to ensure the execution of the project plan. The operating plan for the Partnership will be modeled after the successful Charles Center/Inner Harbor Committee (CCIH) and the Empowerment Zone Village Centers. CCIH led the redevelopment of major portions of Downtown Baltimore. The success of CCIH depended on committed leadership driven by a singleness of purpose. Like CCIH, the Empowerment Zone Village Centers have dedicated leaders who utilize a planning process that engages many community constituents. The successful implementation of this process allows the constituents to efficiently reach consensus on major issues. With the strength of this model supporting them, the Digital Village Partnership will focus on their primary mission: to realize the vision of our community through the implementation of the project plan.

Key to the sustainability of our project will be the formation of an Advisory Council. Members of this Council, comprised of the same organizations who brought this vision together, will provide leadership for the ongoing success of our efforts.

Staffing for the implementation of our project will occur primarily through a training the trainer approach. As part of our vision to empower community residents, through employment and economic opportunities, we are committed to filling our staffing needs by hiring community residents who demonstrate an interest in our vision and who are technologically literate.

Financial support for the project will occur, in large part, through the future development of the Information Technology infrastructure in Baltimore City. We will also solicit financial support from local foundations and corporations. In addition, funding support from national foundations will be sought, after an evaluation of the first two years of our project.

If your community receives an award, how will the community extend and build upon the effort after the three years of comprehensive support? Describe how the community will provide leadership, staffing, and financial support for the community network after the first three years (up to 1000 words).

We will extend the effort of our project beyond the years of comprehensive support through the operations of the Digital Village Partnership. Key to the sustainability of our project will be the formation of a dynamic Advisory Council. Members of this Council, comprised of the same organizations who brought this vision together, will provide leadership for the ongoing success of our efforts. The Council will include representatives from community agencies, government, foundations, local businesses, technology companies, universities, department of education, and community residents. As noted earlier, the operating plan for the Council will model the Charles Center/Inner Harbor Committee, which led the redevelopment of major areas of Baltimore’s Downtown and the Inner Harbor.

The Advisory Council will work together, in a collaborative manner, to create a sustainable strategic plan that extends beyond the three years of comprehensive support. The establishment of this plan will create the framework from which the Council can establish priorities, craft a budget, assign leadership responsibilities and set a timeline. The Council will also be responsible for stewarding relationships to further long-term goals and leverage dollars for continued financial stability.

Crucial to building the success of our project will be the Council’s ability to effectively sustain policy development and to monitor and evaluate the outcomes of our program(s). A mechanism will be developed to enable us to evaluate the success of our initiatives. The development of our policy agenda, to support our long-term vision, will be driven by the results of these evaluations. The Council will also develop and implement innovative and creative technology-based solutions based on the results of the evaluation and monitoring system.

Staffing for the implementation of our project will occur primarily through a training the trainer approach. It is our belief that the greatest resource for staffing will be found within our own community. As part of our vision to empower community
Residents, through employment and economic opportunities, we are committed to filling our staffing needs by hiring community residents.

In addition, the Advisory Council will provide support to those (staff members) directly involved in the daily execution of our project. The relationship between these two entities will be facilitated by the employment of a third-party (i.e. community agency, nonprofit organization). This third-party will serve as a liaison, coordinating the efforts of both the Advisory Council and staff members (of the project).

The Digital Village Partnership will develop financial support for the project, in large part, by creating a sustainable source of funding through the future development of the Information Technology (IT) infrastructure in Baltimore. We believe there is an inextricable link between the successful expansion of the IT industry in Baltimore and the inclusion of our community residents in their efforts – providers will realize economic benefits by connecting our community to their services. To that end, we will form partnerships and alliances with IT infrastructure and service providers to maximize the value of our community’s connectivity and to secure sustainable funding. We will also maximize our funding efforts by soliciting support from local foundations and corporations. In addition, we will seek funding support from national foundations, after we have completed the evaluation of the first two years of our project.

What will your community do if it does not receive an award? Describe what plans the community has, if any, to use the proposal as a springboard for the community/region to address technology needs and/or to develop and sustain a community network (up to 1000 words).

If the East Baltimore Empowerment Zone does not receive this award, our efforts to realize our community vision will not be diminished. We are uniquely positioned to capture the benefits of our City’s leadership; their understanding of the importance and urgency of bridging the Digital Divide is boldly stated. In his speech, Leadership in the New Economy, Baltimore’s Mayor Martin O’Malley acknowledges his commitment to this effort, stating, we should support policies that allow businesses to innovate in new areas, and we should equip our citizens with the learning opportunities and the tools they need to compete in the New Economy. To that end, the Mayor has launched a Task Force to develop a strategy for bridging the Digital Divide. This strategy will ensure Baltimore’s place in the nation as a competitive center for high technology and to secure a place for its citizens in a changing economic climate where technology-based education is essential.

To continue our efforts in developing and implementing our project plan (if we do not receive this award), we will draw from many of the technology-based initiatives occurring in our City. These initiatives, current and future, build on Baltimore’s assets in addressing the needs of both technology companies and Baltimore City residents:

Infrastructure, Space and Place

Projects like The Can Company in Canton, Inner Harbor East and the Bagby Building in Little Italy, and Tide Point in Locust Point have lured more than 20 new companies to the City and created more than 4,000 new jobs in less than two years.

Baltimore’s private sector has identified sites in various parts of the City that could meet the needs of technology firms. Significant investment in public infrastructure is planned over the next five years to support the full potential of the technology boom in our City. Additional investment is planned to create the quality of life in Baltimore’s communities, making them a more attractive place to live and work.

Intellectual Assets, Education & Workforce

The Baltimore region has incredible intellectual assets with some of the strongest higher education institutions in the nation including Johns Hopkins University, Hopkins Hospital, and University of Maryland Hospital. Expanding the tuition tax credits of the Governor’s Maryland Information Technology Initiative will support The Mayor’s Office of Employment Development in its efforts to make the higher education system more accessible to City residents through collaboration with Universities and the private sector.

Baltimore’s greatest human asset is our youth. Initiatives to make sure that no child in Baltimore is left out of the technology revolution are crucial to the future of the City and its ability to grow its own talented workforce. The revised Remedy Plan proposal for Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPSS) describes a comprehensive strategy for greatly expanding technology education, while completing the Governor’s commitment to wire all 183 schools for technology in the classroom. In addition, a Digital Harbor Technology Academy, modeled after the Silicon Valley High Tech High School, will be the flagship of the City’s commitment to technology-based education.

Financing & Incubation

Initiatives are being developed to ensure that the full range of funding resources, for the rapid growth of the New Economy, are being cultivated. These resources include:

1) venture capital and early stage seed funding; 2) commercial and corporate finance; 3) real estate finance and 4) public sector initiatives.

Civic Responsibility & Community

A leadership campaign that focuses its efforts on building a sense of camaraderie among the technology sector is critical to the establishment of a strong technology community. To that end, a new leadership program, Baltimore Giving Project, has been created to target technology entrepreneurs. In addition, the City is boosting its efforts to promote the development of networking and volunteer opportunities to strengthen the civic commitment of the technology community as it grows.

While the City is poised to become a leader in the Information Age, the successful implementation of our project plan will be measured by our community’s ability to aggressively harness opportunities generated by the City’s technology revolution. Hewlett Parkard’s support would assist us in closing the gap between the City’s available resources and our community’s vision to be included in the technology boom. It is our priority, if we do not receive an award, to leverage the myriad of resources in the City, bringing them together under one roof and to fulfill our community’s vision.

To that end, we will continue with the development and implementation of our project plan. However, the timeline for executing our plan may be slightly altered if we do not receive Hewlett Packard’s support. The planning period for the project will be extended, as we secure other sources of corporate funding.

Part 4 - Community demographics

Include only the data that applies to your community. Be prepared to provide additional documentation if requested. (Final candidates for the awards will be asked to provide verifiable sources of this data.)

Population of the community - official population of your community
35805

Is your community or any portion of your community identified as an empowerment zone or enterprise community by the federal government?
Yes

How many children (under 18) reside in the community; what is the percentage of children in the community?
30.4

Percentage of children in the community eligible for free or reduced lunch in school?
68.0

How many people in the community have incomes below the poverty level?
14258

What is the percentage of people in the community with incomes below the poverty level?
39.8

What is the racial and ethnic mix of the population? Describe the racial and ethnic distribution of the population within the community (no more than 200 words).

The East Baltimore Empowerment Zone includes an very diverse community. Many ethnic groups make up the population including, Italian/American, Greek, East Indian, Asian and Hispanic. However, the area is predominantly African American (84%), followed by Whites (14%), and a small representation of Hispanics (1%) and Asians (1%).

What percentage of people is over 55 in the community?
9.9

What is the literacy rate in the community?
26.5

What is the high school graduation rate? (%)
60.3

Please provide gender and ethnicity information for graduation rate above.
70% African American
30% Caucasian

How many classroom teachers are in the local school system(s) serving the community?
404

Percentage of those classroom teachers have received formal instruction on how to use computers and the Internet in the classroom?
97.0

Percentage of those classroom teachers in the community/region have received more than 4 hours of formal instruction on how to use computers and the Internet in the classroom?
26.7

More than 8 hours?
9.7

Part 5 - Community and technology assessment

How many ISPs in the community/region? - This is Internet Service Providers who offer local dial access to the Internet; any national, regional, or local provider may be included, as long as they offer local dial access (a long distance call is NOT required).
35

What percentage of those ISPs are local or regional companies (not national firms like AOL or MSN)?
42.9

Provide the URL for the town/regional Web site (if one is available)
http://www.baltometro.org

Provide the URL for the county Web site (if one is available)
http://www.ci.baltimore.md.us

Provide the URL for the local school district Web site (if one is available)
http://www.bcps.k12.md.us/HTML/districtAreas/DistrictFrame1.htm

Provide the URL for the local community/civic Web site (if one is available)
http://www.ehvc.com; http://www.hebcac.org

How many organizations in the community have broadband Internet access (public and private use) - Broadband access is defined as permanent, full time (not dial up) Internet connections with speeds of 256 kilobits or more; DSL and cable modems can be counted as broadband connections. By necessity, this will be an estimate. Contact any public or private organizations that are likely to have more than 10 to 20 computers in use, and ask about how they get their Internet access. The access may be T1 lines or other broadband access--but NOT dial up modem access.
30

How many community and civic groups in the community? Please describe in 2-3 sentences how you counted the number of civic and community organizations in the community.

The forty-nine civic and community organizations in the East Baltimore Empowerment Zone are those formal entities who came together to support the designation of the federal empowerment zone for East Baltimore. They are long standing and viable organizations that have designated policies and procedures and membership. The organizations have been in existence well over two years and worked together in a formalized fashion to support those living in the community.

What percentage of those community and civic groups have a Web site?
10.2

How many of those community and civic groups use a mailing list to communicate with members? (Specify whether mailing list is manual, electronic, e.g. e-mail, or both)
30 use manual mailing lists

How many neighborhoods are in the community? - Use your best estimate of neighborhoods that have a clear identity and/or are identified by local authorities for planning and zoning purposes.
11

What percentage of the neighborhoods counted above have community technology centers or some other clearly identifiable computer lab or facility expressly for neighborhood use?
36.4

How many businesses in the community? - Use "official" estimates like local government counts of registered businesses.
750

What percentage of those businesses have a Web site?
33.0

Part 6 - Preliminary Project plan

See Section 5 for key ideas in planning your project.

Project plan - Provide up to 500 words that briefly describes the key points of your project as you foresee it. Discuss who in the community will benefit from the effort and how they will benefit.

The primary objective of the Baltimore Digital Village Partnership is to develop the East Baltimore Empowerment Zone into a community where every resident is given an opportunity to be connected regardless of his or her economic or educational circumstance. Instead of developing a revitalization plan based upon the elements of the old economy, residents within the Digital Village will use technology to learn, work, shop, play, and communicate. This new way of living e-living represents a major cultural change whereby the community becomes fully engaged in the digital age. With Hewlett Packard as our partner, we will create a Community Technology Plan based on the framework represented by the following key elements:

Education

Ensure all elementary and high schools are properly wired and the peripheral equipment is installed to effectively integrate computers in the basic K-12 curriculum by 2002; and successful implementation of computer literacy standards that expose students to online resources, web based skill enhancement tools, and homework assistance and tutoring.

Provide programs that will advance middle and high school student achievement in math, science and other subject areas designed to promote technology driven careers; to link students with technology companies that will support their performance through college by providing career opportunities upon graduation.

Establish technology-focused education and training intervention programs that will bridge out-of-school youth and adults to careers in science and technology and provide training to senior citizens to ensure their connection to the digital age.

Workforce and Economic Development

Strengthen technology businesses in the Baltimore Digital Harbor by linking employers to a skilled workforce in our community using a master database that will be accessible to Baltimore City employment offices and local workforce development providers.

Partner with technology companies to establish core competencies and provide customized training opportunities that meet the necessary standards for career paths in technology.

Identify computer programs that promote adult and senior learning in an effort to increase comfort levels when working with technology.

Provide resident entrepreneurs with technical assistance to enable them to integrate e-business strategies in their development plans.

Community Development

Further invest in community businesses by educating companies about local service and product availability and encouraging local procurement practices.

Promote home ownership opportunities to attract technology employees to the East Baltimore Empowerment Zone by promoting existing housing incentives that encourage employees to live near their jobs.

Build organizational capacity by elevating the operational functions of the community’s grass roots organizations through technology.

Service Delivery and Government

Take advantage of interactive government opportunities through the Baltimore City web site that provides City Council hearing schedules, local officials’ email addresses, and information regarding city agencies.

Track service delivery using the newly developed Baltimore City Government Citistat program that interfaces with a geographic information system to identify areas where services need to be improved (e.g. trash pick up, environmental clean up, roads/landscaping, public safety and transportation, throughout the city).

Partner participation - Provide up to 750 words that describe what role each major partner anticipates they will play in the effort, and what each partner is prepared to contribute to ensure the success of the effort.

The Digital Village Program presents a unique opportunity for the East Baltimore Empowerment Zone and Baltimore City. Although many of the partners have already initiated various programs that involve residents in the digital economy and integrate technology into core K-12 education, the creation of a Digital Village provides an opportunity for the partners to coordinate their efforts and focus on a specific geographic area. By focusing on the specific needs of the East Baltimore Empowerment Zone, this effort will have a greater impact on the community and prove to be more sustainable over time.

The programs listed below demonstrate the level of commitment the partners will invest to bridge the digital divide and enhance the educational and career development opportunities of the East Baltimore Empowerment Zone community.

Education Programs

The Enoch Pratt Free Library (EPFL) will offer school-aged children access to software programs and the World Wide Web through its Bridging the Digital Divide program. Over 400 students will be trained each month in MS Word, Excel, and Internet navigational techniques free of charge. EPFL will provide homework support (Student Express), after school learning activities (SmartLink), basic computer literacy (Whole New World) and computer skills that reinforce reading and math skills.

Opportunity Inc./Bridges to Excellence in Science and Technology (BEST) will offer talented youth extensive training in math and science to prepare them for college and careers in science and technology. Founded by the Baltimore Community Foundation and supported by a national network of corporate, university and school partnerships, BEST will identify and train a new generation of students of color and women from urban centers by supporting bridge programs to supplement and challenge public school programs.

The Maryland Center for Arts and Technology (MCAT) will partner with the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) and the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development (OED) to develop alternative education and training for at-risk youth in digital imaging, manufacturing and information technology. MCAT will expose youth to technology careers as well as prepare them for higher education opportunities by demonstrating the relationships between the visual arts, technology and CNC manufacturing.

Workforce/Economic Development Programs

The Maryland Applied Information Technology Initiative (MAITI) is a partnership of Morgan State University, University of Maryland Baltimore County and six other public and private universities to identify and retain technology professionals. The project’s goal is to provide highly skilled employees to technology companies in the Baltimore region. Morgan State will recruit students from the Empowerment Zone to develop into IT professionals through its Computer Science and Engineering programs.

The Baltimore Development Corporation is cataloguing the infrastructure necessary to support the expansion of technology companies in the Baltimore Metropolitan Region. With this information, Baltimore City will soon be better able to assess the costs associated with growing Baltimore’s Digital Harbor and factor the development of the Digital Village into future budgets and incentive programs.

The Empowerment Zone Career Centers and EBMC will provide community residents with customized job training and direct hire opportunities. The Centers will also provide residents with strategies to address barriers to employment, e.g. literacy, job readiness, family and health related issues.

The Space Hope Instruction Program (SHIP), led by the Greater Baltimore Alliance (GBA) with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and Honeywell Technology Solutions, will offer advanced training opportunities to 100 low-skilled, at-risk individuals per year. The SHIP program will offer mentoring and training opportunities to disadvantaged residents with the goal of bringing NASA’s mission and research in IT to local communities in ways that inspire new levels of community involvement.

Computer repair and network cabling technicians are among the most sought after positions in the IT industry. Through a partnership between the Baltimore City Community College and Department of Social Services, underemployed individuals will receive comprehensive training in these fields. Upon completion, participants will earn certification and credentials that ensure long-term career growth in the PC and IT industries.

Community Development Programs

Johns Hopkins University continues to reinvest in the East Baltimore community through its local procurement initiative; JHU spent $126 million in 1999 on local purchasing, e.g. milk, paper product, offices supplies, etc.

Struever Bros., Eccles and Rouse , a local development company, will leverage its relationships with technology tenants at the American Can Company and Tide Point to assist community organizations in the East Baltimore Empowerment Zone in leadership training, mentoring and technical assistance.

Project outcomes - Provide up to 750 words that describe what changes you expect to see in the community after the project is underway and after the completion of the project.

The short-term goals of the partnership will occur as a phased approach over the three-year grant period. The first project outcome will be the creation of an organization create whose single purpose is the planning and execution of a comprehensive plan. The partnership will develop an Advisory Council that will collaborate with Hewlett Packard to oversee the development and execution of the project plan. The Advisory Council will negotiate proposed development projects and monitor and evaluate the programs developed in the plan. The partnership will also develop a comprehensive strategic plan that integrates the key elements and programs listed above. Finally, the partnership will develop plans to build, renovate, or use existing facilities to establish technology centers throughout the community.

A second project outcome is to create an e-living culture through the development and use of community technology centers. The technology centers will serve as the nucleus of the Digital Village. Core programs at the technology centers will focus on computer literacy and educational enhancement. Students will have access to computer programs that will assist them with their homework and provide tutoring techniques in math, reading, science and spelling. In addition, students and parents will have the ability to utilize online applications and services to review daily lessons and track academic progress and performance. By making the technology centers available after school and on weekends, the children will have a safe environment where they can learn and play.

A third outcome is that adults will be trained and adult literacy improved. The technology centers will provide adult learning, literacy training and address other barriers to workforce participation. Residents will have access to training opportunities and social programs that meet their individual and family needs.

A fourth outcome is the creation of an evaluation and monitoring system. The Advisory Council will monitor and evaluate the programs provided in the technology centers and link community residents and businesses to other projects underway throughout the City. In addition to developing a staffing plan and providing technical support to the technology centers, the Partnership will serve as the collective voice for the Digital Village community in government agencies and corporate boardrooms in discussions involving technology, business development and the local digital economy.

A fifth outcome will be the creation of partnerships that foster the sustainability of our vision. Long-term goals for the Advisory Council include continued negotiation of relationships to support the sustainability of programs that will benefit Digital Village residents. The partners will be instrumental in developing local policies that support the implementation of the e-living strategy and ensures Digital Village residents are included in the Baltimore City technology strategy.

The Advisory Council will be responsible for identifying resources to support the long-term goal of transforming the East Baltimore Empowerment Zone neighborhoods into a community that is characterized by a healthy economy, growing businesses, a highly skilled workforce, and safer neighborhoods. This vision will be supported by a critical mass of local small and large businesses, community institutions, including colleges/universities and libraries, non-profits and foundations.

We are striving to reach the day when student performance and literacy rates are above average; employment rates will exceed the national average; crime will be at an all time low; incomes will be equivalent to their suburban neighbors; home ownership will outpace rentals; and residents will be fully connected to the community’s growth and development. The digital divide will be a condition of the past and anyone who desires will have access to the benefits of technology.

The overall outcome is to change the culture to e-living. Our e-living strategy will be sustained by a community network characterized by the interdependence between education, economic development, knowledge sharing, technology resources and the telecommunications infrastructure.

Please do not submit a request for specific equipment.

Southern California Tribal Chairmen's Association, Inc.

Part 1 - General project information

Community Name: Southern California Tribal Chairmen’s Association, Inc. State: California
Contact Information	Alternate Contact Information
Jack Ward P.O. 1470 Valley Center, CA 92082 760-742-8600 jackw@simplyweb.net	Lorraine Oscoro 1441 Kumeia Way Valley Center, CA 92082 760-751-7676 oroscorain@aol.com

Part 2 - Community partnership information

Identify the people or groups in the community served by the partners (up to 250 words)

The partnerships included in this proposal will serve the seventeen San Diego and southern Riverside county enrolled Indian population, their families and dependants, and a small non-Indian population that lives on or near the reservations listed below. The proposal will also reach an inknown proportion of about 16,000 Indians (of all tribal affiliations) that reside in the region's urban areas.

Kumeyaay reservations:
Barona Indian Reservation, Ipai-Tipai (Digueno)
Campo Band of Mission Indians, Kumeyaay
La Posta Band, Kumeyaay
Manzanita General Council, Kumeyaay
Mesa Grande Band of Mission Indians, Diegueno
San Pasqual Band, Kumeyaay
Santa Ysabel Band of Mission Indians, Diegueno
Sycuan Rancheria, Kumeyaay (Digueno)
Viejas Tribal Council, Kumeyaay

Luiseño reservations:
La Jolla Band, Luiseno
Pala Band of Mission Indians. Luiseno-Cupeno
Pauma (and Yuima) Band of Mission Indians. Luiseno
Pechanga Band of Mission Indians, Luiseno
Rincon Band of Mission Indians, Luiseno

Cahuilla reservations:
Los Coyotes Band of Mission Indians, Cahuilla-Cupeno
Agua Caliente Tribal Council. Cahuila
Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, Cahuilla; Indio

Describe the resources that the partnership will provide to the project, e.g. staff, funding, etc. (up to 250 words)

Resources to the project will come from individual members of the partnership. Representative examples:

Richard Bugbee (Payoomkawichum/Luiseño), Curator of Exhibits and Artifacts for the San Diego American Indian Museum and Culture Center (SDAIM&CC). The SDAIM&CC is an Indian run and operated museum/cultural center with a mission to serve the distributed tribal community and to link with other regional tribal museums and culture centers.

“Ask the Elders": Warner Culture and Language Community Program, funded by The Civic Collaborative (UCSD) and the Kettering Foundation. Seventy Native American students from the Los Coyotes and Santa Ysabel Indian Reservations and members of the Warner Native Pride Club undertake a three-part study of culture and language:
1) introductory lessons in the regional Indian languages,
2) study of indigenous plants and usage, and
3) oral history interviews with tribal elders about relationships between people and the environment.
Students will analyze the information they collect and share results electronically with their distributed community.

UCSD programs:

California Student Opportunity and Access Program (Cal-SOAP)
The Cal-SOAP project, Computerized Advising and Academic Mentoring, funded by the California Student Aid Commission to implement this interactive mentoring and academic enrichment activity utilizing UCSD students as tutors, mentors and role models for students. Approximately 85% of the student interactions will be conducted by means of personal computer-based live video "Web Cams."

UCSD Academic Enrichment Programs (AEP):
Coordinates the Faculty Mentor Program, Summer Research Program, CAMP undergraduate research program and the Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program, a federally funded TRIO program for low-income, first generation college students. These programs provide year-round research experiences under the guidance and supervision of experienced faculty mentors.

CSEMS. The Computer Science, Engineering and Mathematics Scholarship Program, recently funded by the National Science Foundation to provide $2,500 scholarships annually for two years to forty low-income upper-division UCSD undergraduates, primarily underrepresented students and women majoring in computer science, engineering, or mathematics.

Early Academic Outreach programs:
- EAM UCSD (Enriching Academics through Mentoring)– An intensive after-school tutoring and mentoring program for tenth graders
- Community-Based Tutoring – Tutoring/Mentoring provided for students in kindergarten through community college. Will be extended through e-mail and web-based connections.
- Scholars Writing Workshop – An after-school creative and research writing program utilizing one-on-one tutorials, computer-assisted writing instruction.
- Partners at Learning (PAL) – A program which provides UCSD mentors for grades 4 through 12 in San Diego County Schools, motivating students to think about and prepare for college.
- CREATE/UCSD, professional development groups to deepen the content knowledge and strengthen the pedagogical practices of our teachers: San Diego Area Writing project; California Reading and Literature Project; and La Clase Mágica, a community-based, computer-aided program that partners the community, the family and the university to increase the representation of minority K-12 students in higher education.

Identify any current and past support from other sources including corporations, funders, etc. for any current and past partnership efforts. (up to 250 words)

Other Agencies Projects Programs past & present:

NOTE: Usually these programs do not operate in all the tribes. For example, the anti-Tobacco programs may be for all the tribes served by one of the Health Clinics; there are two Health Clinics (Rincon & Vejas) in San Diego County. Similarly, the Headstart and Early Headstarts have programs in only 5 tribes and do not serve all the community becasue of geography. If this were one small community in one valley or area, these programs would be adequate, but with the diverse communities spread out over the geography, most programs are a drop in the bucket when it comes to meeting the Needs.

- CIMC (California Indian Manpower Consortium) Grant funded (mostly Dept. of Labor). Help finding jobs & training people for jobs.
- AMIHA (All Mission Indian HOusing Authority) HUD housing, also active in Drug Prevention.

BIA (various programs):
- Indian Health Regional Centers- Provide Health Care, Prevention programs, promote health (Indian HMO)
- Funding for general operations, infrastructure, and some special funding initiative.

- Ahmium Education Inc. Federal and State education funding. Indian cooperative provides educational support, operates State Indian Education Center, Early Headstart program & Drug Prevention programs.
- SCTCA (Southern California Tribal Chairman's Association) operates education programs for tribes, TANF (Temproary Assistance for Needy Families - HEW funded), Food-Commodities Programs, scholarship program. Funded with BIA or Dept. of Interior funding (except TANF).
- Early Headstart (0-3 years) - Federal & State programs
- Headstart Programs (4-6 - traditional Headstart) - Dept, of Education
- Anti-Tobacco Programs funded by State through tribe or Regional Indian Health Clinics
- Gaming Tribes provide assistance to non-gaming tribes of some limited
recreation and cultural activities. Including building some infrastructure.

Identify any HP employees involved in current and past community efforts.

Current proposal: Bill Higley, Program Manager-Inkjet Systems, Hewlett-Packard, bill_higley@hp.com

Past contributions: We cannot identify any past direct donations, nor have we found any direct relationships previously on the part of HP people in the past. It is possible that HP donations of money or equipment occurred through other organizations. We belive that an HP choice of this proposal as a Digital Village site would encourage local HP research & development and manufacturing employees to volunteer to work on this project and perhaps begin direct local donations (which have not so far happened as noted above).

Part 3 - Community vision

A vision statement for the community is considered essential for this grant opportunity. See Section 6 of the information packet for details on what should be included in a vision statement.

If yes, please list the groups, organizations, and citizens who contributed to the development of the vision (name and affiliation). Provide e-mail addresses for all groups/people that have them - List name, affiliation, and email address, one set of information per line (Joe Johnson, YMCA, jjohnson@aoj.com)

Jack Ward, Southern California Chairman's Association, Jackw@simplyweb.net

Rosetta Ellis, Director of Development for UCSD's Division of Social
Sciences, rellis@ucsd.edu

Bill Higley, Program Manager-Inkjet Systems, Hewlett-Packard, bill_higley@hp.com

Ross Frank, Associate Professor, Department of Ethnic Studies, UCSD, rfrank@weber.ucsd.edu

Jeff Nagle, Associate Director of Development for the Jacobs School of
Engineering, UCSD, jnagle@ucsd.edu

Linda Locklear, Palomar College American Indian Studies Department, llocklear@palomar.edu

Patty Dixon (Pauma), Palomar College American Indian Studies Department, pdixon@palomar.edu

Yolanda M. Espinosa (Pauma), (760) 742-4512

Lorraine Orosco (San Pasqual), Southern California Chairman's Association, oroscorain@aol.com

Dorothy Tauvi, Tribal TANF office, Pala, (760) 742-8690

Hans-Werner Braun, Research Scientist, San Diego Supercomupter Center, UCSD (HPWRENN Director), hwb@nlanr.net

Jared Aldern, Community Education Coordinator, Warner Springs School district, aldern@altavista.com

Olga Vasquez, Associate Professor, Department of Communications, UCSD, Associate Director, CREATE, UCSD, ovasquez@weber.ucsd.edu

Kimberly Bruch, Science Writer, San Diego Supercomputer Center, UCSD, kbruch@sdsc.edu

If no, please provide a short explanation (up to 250 words) about why your community does not have a vision statement.

Provide a summary of the current community vision statement. Summarize your vision for the community (up to 1000 words). Address short-term goals and objectives and a longer term vision (10 to 20 years) for the community.

The Southern California Tribal Chairman's Association, in partnership with the University of California at San Diego, Palomar College, and the Warner Springs and Valley Center school districts, envisions a non-conventional digital community encompassing 17 American Indian reservations in San Diego and southern Riverside counties.

The San Diego region reservations have a population of approximately 7,675, residing in isolated and scattered communities stretching from the California-Mexico border into Riverside County—an area encompassing 150 miles and requiring 4.5 hours of driving to visit. The current patchwork of reservation lands springs from a history of forced removals, resettlements, and the impoverishment that has come with conscious policies of marginalization. These historical processes fractured family lineages that once moved widely over the region while functioning as coherent distributed Kumeyaay, Luiseño, Cupeño, and Cahuilla communities.

Inevitably, this legacy has marked the reservations with a number of indices defining an "underserved" population. About 59% of the population has a high school diploma. Most reservations experience an average of 50% unemployment rate, and 75% of Indian students qualify for free or reduced-cost school lunch programs. Recent federal reports have shown that rural Americans and tribal areas will lag behind others in gaining access to advanced telecommunications services if deployment is left to market forces alone—a finding that means San Diego tribal communities are doubly disadvantaged. Further, although many individual programs function to address portions of these problems, the fragmentary nature of our community results in a non-uniform delivery of services among the various tribal reservations.

With the help of an HP Digital Village grant, we will create a distributed digital community that mirrors and amplifies the community and kinship networks that have historically sustained these tribal communities. Our vision relies on using new technologies to enable a multitude of existing community initiatives, partnerships, and programs to achieve a more efficient use of current resources and become more effective in meeting their own goals and objectives. Connecting reservation lands digitally will allow many educational, training, and cultural activities to transcend geographical separation and enable interaction and collaboration among members of tribal areas not previously possible.

Central to our plan to realize this vision is building high-speed, broadband connections between the 17 reservations and to the Internet. Currently, tribal communities in the San Diego region have a tremendous opportunity to leverage an existing project to form the technological backbone for a digitally enabled distributed tribal community. The HPWREN (High-Performance Wireless Research and Education Network) project, funded by the National Science Foundation, has recently connected the Pala Education Center on the Pala reservation to broadband Internet. With modest additional resources, the project can extend this high-performance wireless backbone to other reservations in the region. Once high-performance Internet does reach a central reservation location, additional resources can extend the connection to tribal offices, community and educational centers, area schools, and individual homes.

Beyond helping to overcome the distance separating tribal communities from one another, connecting our community digitally will provide access to the resources and opportunities available in the urban areas of the San Diego region. The TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) program, for example, operated with federal funds, illustrates how communication between members and organizations within the distributed rural community and with other regional institutions can fundamentally alter the nature of partnerships, collaborations, and project initiatives. Recent broadband Internet access has just begun to allow the Pala Learning Center to offer classes that teach basic computer skills. In the future these will be followed by more advanced classes, bringing distant resources and teaching personnel to the reservation that otherwise cannot easily participate. Extending access to other regional Indian reservations will allow more efficient use of TANF resources and also enable TANF trainees to collaborate with cohorts who share similar goals, needs, and aspirations elsewhere within the distributed community. A distributed community allows an individual participant’s experience to resonate with that of others. TANF is only one of a number of programs offering training and job placement services that will be immediately in a position to take advantage of broadband Internet connectivity.

At the same time, educational outreach and access programs stand to benefit from similar synergies created by a distributed digital community. For example, a new model for outreach recently begun by UC San Diego seeks to deliver educational resources directly to Indian children to encourage and prepare them to aspire to a college education and become "UC eligible." Although campus and community visits form a crucial part of initiating outreach, the program continually faces the problem of how to sustain contact with small populations of students over a wide area. Frequent visits, or arranging tutors and mentors for individual students, requires an unsupportable commitment of financial resources and a tremendous amount of transportation time. Successful summer residential programs, such as the A.I.R. (American Indian Recruitment), sponsored by San Diego State University, face similar challenges. In the absence of the model articulated in this proposal, they must rely on a relatively small group of students and a strong community network to continue the educational experience and renew contact with mentors.

While many current partnerships, collaborations, and community initiatives can benefit from more fluid connections to people throughout the distributed tribal community, still others will be encouraged to form when a digital community is able to establish innovative links that cannot be easily created or sustained today.

The Project Steering Committee composed of partner representatives will lead this effort by developing training within communities to support the community digital network. They will also work cooperatively to expand existing computer and Internet training within each reservation community. Finally, the partners will develop training teams to help new and existing programs to take advantage of the distributed digital community.

This region provides a compelling site for a Hewlett-Packard Digital Village. In partnership with tribal communities, community organizations, and educational institutions at every level,
Hewlett-Packard can create a distributed digital community that will complement the actual one, and equip all of its members with the tools needed to selectively manage their future. Perhaps most significant, a successful HP Digital Village project in the San Diego region will likely produce a model applicable to a number of other regions in the United States with comparable distributed tribal communities.

How will you sustain and maintain the community vision? Describe how the community's vision effort will be sustained over the long term (up to 500 words). Include any pertinent information like sources of funding, dedicated staff, organizational commitments to participate, etc.

Our vision to create a distributed tribal digital community, will be sustained through effective leadership, and training. We are creating a steering committee composed of, but not limited to, the organizations and agencies participating in grant proposal. The steering committee will provide leadership to this effort by creating educational and training courses for the upkeep and effective use of the network, as well as provide the necessary resources to accomplish administration, organizing, and training. Individual organizations will bring their own funding into the program and the steering committee will work to enable its effectiveness, locate additional funding where needed, and coordinate with other complimentery projects. We think the process we propose for organizing and leading this community will enact a theoretical framework about the ways in which people can come together to create new affiliations and understandings based on both the things that divide us and the things that unite us.

The Digital Tribal Village will develop three types of courses with the following objectives:
1) To train the community on the maintainence and upkeep of the wireless backbone and community network. This will be accomplished in partnership with local HP employees, San Diego Super Computer Center and UCSD, Tribal Chairman’s Association, and Palomar College.
2) To teach community basic and more advanced computer skills. These will include best practices for utilizing the content of the internet and using the internet as a tool for Indigenous people to communicate and work to together not in America and throughout the world.
3) To train community and other organizations how to develop educational and training courses to take advantage of the distance interaction techniques and opportunities made available by the network. Models of digital communication will be emphasized that develop the distributed collaboration between tribal members over all of the reservations.

Part 4 - Community demographics

Population of the community - official population of your community
6330

Is your community or any portion of your community identified as an empowerment zone or enterprise community by the federal government?
No

How many children (under 18) reside in the community; what is the percentage of children in the community?
2327

Percentage of children in the community eligible for free or reduced lunch in school?
75

How many people in the community have incomes below the poverty level?
1832

What is the percentage of people in the community with incomes below the poverty level?
28.9

What is the racial and ethnic mix of the population? Describe the racial and ethnic distribution of the population within the community (no more than 200 words).

"Official" population, figures on children under 18 and above 55, and number and percentage below poverty taken from 1990 US Census.

NOTE: Most demographers and community residents contend that figures for tribal communities based on census numbers are considerably lower than the actual population. Also, we have not included the urban American Indian population in these demographic figures although our proposal will reach portions of the urban Indian community.

San Diego Region American Indian Reservation Communities
(Statistics from Department of Commerce, 1996)

Kumeyaay reservations:
Barona Indian Reservation, Ipai-Tipai (Digueno): 450
Campo Band of Mission Indians, Kumeyaay: 270
La Posta Band, Kumeyaay: 16
Manzanita General Council, Kumeyaay: 67
Mesa Grande Band of Mission Indians, Diegueno: 63
San Pasqual Band, Kumeyaay: 435
Santa Ysabel Band of Mission Indians, Diegueno: 305
Sycuan Rancheria, Kumeyaay (Digueno): 120
Viejas Tribal Council, Kumeyaay: 431

Luiseño reservations:
La Jolla Band, Luiseno: 620
Pala Band of Mission Indians. Luiseno-Cupeno: 585
Pauma (and Yuima) Band of Mission Indians. Luiseno: 151
Pechanga Band of Mission Indians, Luiseno: 420
Rincon Band of Mission Indians, Luiseno: 651

Cahuilla reservations:
Los Coyotes Band of Mission Indians, Cahuilla-Cupeno: 212
Agua Caliente Tribal Council. Cahuila: 296
Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, Cahuilla; Indio: 25

Totals:
5117 (6100 according to 1990 Census) + 2558 non-enrolled reservation residents.

These statistics only tell part of the story, as the Indian population of San Diego county numbers 21,500, according to the 2000 Census. This leaves an estimated San Diego County urban Indian population of about 16,385 (of all tribal affiliations). Many of these people will also participate in the training and educational initiatives that this proposal describes.

What percentage of people is over 55 in the community?
12.1

What is the literacy rate in the community?
not known

What is the high school graduation rate? (%)
14.6

Please provide gender and ethnicity information for graduation rate above.

High school graduation rate (over 2 years) is from Valley Center High School and Orange Glenn High School over 2 years, as Valley Center High School began operation in 1997-98 and incorporated most of the Indian students from Orange Glenn High School.

Valley Center School District is 9% Native American, 25%
Hispanic, 65% White, and 17% other. It has the largest Native American student population (not highest percentage). Most San Diego districts are 1% or less Native American (which is the statewide average). Valley Center serves the five tribes Rincon, San Pasqual, La Jolla, Pauma, some of Pala.

Warner Springs School District serves Los Coyotes and Santa Ysabel in San Diego County and has an erollment that is 23% American Indian.

How many classroom teachers are in the local school system(s) serving the community?
256

Percentage of those classroom teachers have received formal instruction on how to use computers and the Internet in the classroom?
40.0

Percentage of those classroom teachers in the community/region have received more than 4 hours of formal instruction on how to use computers and the Internet in the classroom?
40.0

More than 8 hours?
0

Part 5 - Community and technology assessment

What percentage of those ISPs are local or regional companies (not national firms like AOL or MSN)?
33

Provide the URL for the town/regional Web site (if one is available)
http://www.sanpasqualindian.org

Provide the URL for the county Web site (if one is available)
http://www.co.san-diego.ca.us/

Provide the URL for the local school district Web site (if one is available)
http://www.vcusd.k12.ca.us/

Provide the URL for the local community/civic Web site (if one is available)
http://www.kumeyaay.com/

How many community and civic groups in the community? Please describe in 2-3 sentences how you counted the number of civic and community organizations in the community.

Civic Groups - 5:

(NOTE: for purposes of clarity we have included the civic groups present among the seven tribes in the northern part of our distributed tribal community).

- Pala Boys & Girls Club
- Cupa Cultural Museum
- Rez Ball Association (recreation sport activity for youth & adults mainly non- Indian Sports like softball, basketball, volley ball, but also traditional sports like Rabbit Stick comptetion teams, Team Handball (sports team handball)
- Peon League (traditional stick/hand game with two teams of four. Both boys & girls teams. Partly game of chance includes traditional singing.
- KCRC (Kumeyaay Cultural Re-Patriation Consortium) 12 tribes belong to bring back/rediscover culture fo the Kumeyaay peoples)

What percentage of those community and civic groups have a Web site?
0

How many of those community and civic groups use a mailing list to communicate with members? (Specify whether mailing list is manual, electronic, e.g. e-mail, or both)
5 groups - use manual mailing lists.

EXPLANATION FOR COMMUNITY BUSINESSES: For the sake of clarity, we have listed only the businesses for the northern region of our distributed tribal community:

- Survival Systems manufacture of lifeboats & boating safety equipment (Rincon).
- Rincon Mushroom Farms(Rincon).
- La Jolla WaterPark - recreation (La Jolla).
- La Jolla Recreation Campgrounds (La Jolla).
- Pauma Citrus Orchards (Pauma).

The only other businesses in the whole region are gaming-related. Of the seventeen tribes, 4 (Pechanga, Sycuan, Barona, and Viejas) have gaming.

How many neighborhoods are in the community? - Use your best estimate of neighborhoods that have a clear identity and/or are identified by local authorities for planning and zoning purposes.
5

What percentage of the neighborhoods counted above have community technology centers or some other clearly identifiable computer lab or facility expressly for neighborhood use?
5

How many businesses in the community? - Use "official" estimates like local government counts of registered businesses.
4

What percentage of those businesses have a Web site?
0

Part 6 - Preliminary Project plan

See Section 5 for key ideas in planning your project.

Project plan - Provide up to 500 words that briefly describes the key points of your project as you foresee it. Discuss who in the community will benefit from the effort and how they will benefit.

Short-term goals:
- Extend the high-performance wireless network backbone to all seventeen regional tribes.
- Connect this backbone to individual households and develop innovative programs to introduce and integrate computers into families.
- Develop training within communities to support the digital network.
- Expand existing computer and internet training within each reservation community.
- Develop training teams to help new and existing programs to take advantage of the distributed digital tribal community.

Long term goals:
- Utilize the concept of the distributed digital tribal community and the technology underlying it to reconnect the larger Kumeyaay Luiseño, Cupeño, and Cahuilla communities in ways that overcome geographical isolation and their historical lack of resources.
- Tap the experience and resources of each citizen through a broad range of partnerships to provide Indian youth and adults enhanced educational resources, training, and ultimately increased options and improved life chances.
- Ultimately extend the reach of the distributed digital tribal community to Kumeyaay communities in Baja California that are increasingly separated from San Diego by the international border.

All members of the distributed tribal community described in this project stand to benefit from the introduction of digital technology organized in the collaborative, community-based structure we have described. In addition, the project will increase the reach and effectiveness of all the partners external to the reservations: UCSD's outreach resources; Palomar College's satellite learning facilities on Indian reservations; community initiatives based in the Valley Center or Warner Srings schools. Tribal, federal, and state programs functioning on the reservations will similarly bridge the distance to the broader non-Indian communities where crucial resources and opportunities reside.

Partner participation - Provide up to 750 words that describe what role each major partner anticipates they will play in the effort, and what each partner is prepared to contribute to ensure the success of the effort.

UCSD will provide to the project technical expertise, training resources, and limited funding for the extension of the high-performant wireless network. In addition, through an myriad of US and externally funded outreach and educational enhancement and attainment programs, UCSD will partner with the distributed tribal community in order to ensure that univeristy educational resources become accessible and have greater value for tribal members.

Palomar College will generate innovative ways to deliver educational content to the distributed tribal community using newly deplayed connectivity. UCSD will also invest in partnership programs of academic achievement and the development of UC-elibible students in the community college. Using this relationship the partnership will incorporate outreach and preparation from the pipeline for Indian Students from the Valley Center and Warner Speings school systems.

Reservation based community organizations, projects, and programs will continue to address the long-term social, economic, and cultural needs of the distributed tribal community in partnership with State and Federal agencies.

Each major partner in this projects brings with it a cluster of programs and initiatives which can only reach their fullest potential in an environment enabled by a fully realized Digital Village.

Project outcomes - Provide up to 750 words that describe what changes you expect to see in the community after the project is underway and after the completion of the project.

We anticipate two categories of of outcomes that this project will generate:

1) We anticipate the short-term affects of an operational distributed Digital tribal community to include:

- Building high-speed, broadband connections between the 17 reservations and the Internet.

- Connecting our community digitally to provide access to the resources and opportunities available in the urban areas of the San Diego region.

- Deliver educational outreach and access programs that can benefit from synergies created by a distributed digital community.

- Provide training within communities to support the digital network.

- Foster cooperative enterprises to expand existing computer and internet training within each reservation community.

- Assemble training teams to design new and existing programs optomized to take advantage of the distributed digital community.

2) We anticipate the long-term affects of an operational distributed Digital tribal community to include:

- The creation of a digital network that simulates the powerful interlinking of people historically performed by kinship in Southern California Indian societies.

- Organically broaden and extend the reach of the distributed digital tribal community to the geographically and historically related tribal communities to the north and south of the San Diego region.

Please do not submit a request for specific equipment.