Harvard's 'Educational Portal' proposal and University-sponsored Community Learning Centers across the country

At the Harvard Allston Task Force meeting last night, Harvard offered space in their 175 North Harvard St warehouse building for a “education portal” where Harvard would run a after school math/science tutoring program. Harvard suggested that they would conduct a community survey this fall/winter and then being discussions about the scope of this program. Until then, Harvard is not making any commitment about how many tutors they might provide, how many students could be tutored, the hours of operation, or other details.

Here are two examples of programs at other universities with similar or larger ambitions:

In 2006, Yale University opened the Dixwell-Yale University Community Learning Center in the Dixwell neighborhood of New Haven, CT. This center, which is funded by Yale with an annual budget of $200,000, has a year-round full time director, several full time staff during the summer, and part-time paid interns throughout the year. The Learning Center was built as part of the Rose Center, a 30,000 sq ft building that is the home to the Yale Police Department headquarters. The police use 27,000 sq ft of the building and the Learning Center uses the other 3,000. The center has 400 youth and 300 adult members who are able to take part in an impressive array of programs including soccer, basketball, SAT and college prep, arts & crafts, computer room and computer training, home buying and financial literacy classes, judo, and dance. Staff also arranges field trips to local museums and sports events.

More information about the Dixwell-Yale University Community Learning Center can be found in these stories:
A Rose Blooms in Dixwell - The New Haven Independent
Yale Daily News coverage

In South Bend, IN, the Robinson Community Learning Center is a unit the University of Notre Dame's Office of Public Affairs and Communications. The Robinson Center offers tutoring, GED preparation and ESL classes, violence prevention programs, yoga classes, piano instruction, healthy-living workshops, and many other programs. Last year, 175 RCLC tutors worked one-on-one with South Bend schoolchildren. More information is available from:
A commitment to the neighborhood - Notre Dame Magazine
Robinson center celebrates fifth anniversary - South Bend Tribune