Neighborhood College Programs

Over the past decade, leadership development programs have emerged across the country. The latest innovation in leadership programs is at the community level, training citizens to become effective leaders and active members of an engaged citizenry. Sometimes referred to as 'Citizen Academies' or 'Neighborhood Colleges', these programs are often designed with a 6-10 week curriculum that teaches citizens about local government processes, community issues, and critical skills for community leadership.

Most recently the Community Services Team facilitated a series of training courses on "Cultural Competency and Creating a Healthy Community" for several Neighborhood College programs in Fairfax County, Virginia. The course is designed to educate participants about becoming more culturally competent and expose them to skills around strengthening intergroup relations and collaborative problem solving. The course is part of a 6-8 week curriculum that is designed to teach participants concepts related to leadership and community-building. The program began in Herndon, Virginia, in June 2001 and has since spread to other locations in the county.

The neighborhood college process is a tool that can be used as a stand alone product or in concert with NCL's Strategic Planning and Visioning and/or with our signature tool the Civic Index.

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