In order to address the complexity of the adolescent literacy crisis and to understand the varied conditions in which families and children live, new systems need to be developed that will allow communities to create or enhance their own structures of supports. The often used one size-fits-all programmatic approach will not suffice. In fact, thoughtful coordination and collaboration among schools, businesses, community organizations, and families to mobilize communities goes further to promote positive change in young people's lives and ensures greater sustainability of programming over the long term. Traditional community mobilization strategies focus primarily on public awareness, in the guise of rallies, public awareness campaigns, etc. These are helpful in increasing public understanding on an issue, but are limited in actually addressing and eradicating a community problem. Therefore, a useful, comprehensive community mobilization model to address adolescent literacy entails both public awareness and clear mechanisms for the public engagement.
Citation: Community/Organization Mobilization for Adolescent Literacy (National Urban League, 2008)
Program: Education
