History of Community Education

Starting in Flint, Michigan, during the depression, community education is now in all 50 states in the United States and many countries around the world. Every school district in Minnesota offers this program through special legislation providing financial support and public school supervision and accountability promoting these three goals:

1. To provide life-long learning opportunities to all members of the community.
2. To promote and develop support for the K-12 program.
3. To build strong communities that allow citizens to achieve their greatest potential

Community Education is an opportunity for local citizens, businesses and schools, to become active partners in addressing education and community concerns. It brings community members together to identify and link community needs and resources in a manner that helps people to improve the quality of life in their communities.
Community Education is a unique education concept that embraces these beliefs:

• Education is a lifelong process;
• Everyone in the community - individuals, businesses, public and private agencies - share responsibility for the mission of educating all members of the community; and
• Citizens have a right and responsibility to be involved in determining community needs, identifying community resources, and linking those needs and resources to improve their community

The bottom line is that Community Education is about people, people who are striving to better their community, people who are seeking to better themselves, and people who are serving all of us to make these things happen.

"The Mission of the Community Education Partnership is to use the strengths and resources of its partners
to create dynamic opportunities for a healthier community."

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