Community-Based Research in Urban Settings

Introduction and Background to the Course In November 1999, the DU/Northwestside Schools Partnership received funding to collaborate with the Piton Foundation in a research and evaluation component of the DeWitt-Wallace/Beacon Project Evaluation. Beacons are extended-service schools—schools that open before the start of the traditional academic day and offer a range of enriching activities in the afternoon through evening hours, as well as on weekends and over the summer. Their purpose is to answer the pressing need for productive and meaningful activities for children and youth during the non-school hours. There are three Beacon sites in Denver: Cole Beacon Neighborhood Center,…