Dinapolis 95-54337 The Midtown Educational Foundation (MEF) is dedicated to the professional success and personal happiness of inner city youth. Since its founding in 1965, MEF has helped thousands of disadvantaged, primarily minority youth by connecting them with successful programs and caring adults to provide motivation, guidance, and support. Its success, or rather the success of its students is built on a holistic philosophy that equips youngsters with the habits and attitudes necessary for life-long achievement. Central program features include character development, parent involvement, academic enrichment, mentoring, and collaborative partnerships. Its programs operate on a supplementary basis: students participate in the evenings, weekends, and in the summer. MEF programs have been replicated in four major U.S. cities and have received awards internationally. In 1995, MEF will serve over 800 students. This study will create a replicable model for successfully integrating technology into established not-for-profit agencies. It will also share lessons learned with educational systems. In this way, NSF will promote innovative use of computer and networking technology to support the work done by not-for-profits, as well as providing valuable information to systemic reform efforts that are active in Chicago. With support received from NSF, MEF will hire an education specialist who will direct a team that will include current students, alumni, parents, business people, educators, and community leaders. The team will analyze MEF's mission and the needs of students. It will measure the strengths and shortcomings of current MEF programs. The team will then assess current best practices by viewing technology in other environments. Based upon these findings, it will purchase a base of equipment to allow students to work with available technology. Through the support of a collaborating organization, the team will attempt to provide computers in the homes of participating students. This unique feature will create a valuable test environment. Once students have experimented with purchased equipment, feedback will be obtained. Additional refinements will be made. In the end, a report will be produced that specifies how technology can be integrated into MEF's mission and its activities in a way that supports and enhances the effectiveness of this established not-for-profit. The report will describe a model that can be replicated throughout the not-for-profit sector. It will also give insights to those working on a broader, system-wide scale to integrate technology into education.
