Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 2388 results  for your search.  View and Refine Your Search Terms

  • The equalizers

    Costa Rica’s Ministry of Public Education quickly pivoted when COVID-19 led to school closures by training teachers to teach online, providing email addresses, and giving families autonomous learning guides. The Ministry also digitized its enrollment data so that it could track and stay connected with students, while also ensuring that all families had the food and nutrition they needed while children were not able to attend school in person.

    Read More

  • Los que empatan

    El impacto negativo de la enorme pérdida de horas lectivas para los niños y jóvenes de Costa Rica ha sido reducido por las acciones proactivas de docentes, directores, y algunas autoridades a nivel nacional.

    Read More

  • The 'Army Of Environmental Super Voters' Is Growing, And Marching On City Hall

    The Environmental Voter Project has contacted nearly 6.2 million non-voters that care about the environment in 17 states since 2015, estimating that over 733,000 of them now vote regularly. They identify voters using demographic and behavioral data, verify the data using surveys, and apply algorithms to predict “super environmentalists,” focusing on people who don’t vote. They concentrate on local elections, such as mayoral races, and call, text, and knock-on voters’ doors. They also fundraise, increasing donations from about $475,000 in 2017 to nearly $2.7 million in 2020, mostly from small donors.

    Read More

  • Using satellite photos to help distribute cash

    Togo distributed money to people in need, including informal sector workers, by identifying them using machine learning. Algorithms search satellite photos for clues of poverty, using measures like building density, and individuals within those areas are found using mobile phone data as a proxy of their wealth. Media campaigns also encourage people to apply for assistance. Once eligibility is confirmed, the first of five monthly payments is instantly sent to their phone and can be collected at local pick-up points. People without mobile phones can use an inexpensive SIM card in a borrowed phone.

    Read More

  • The human right that benefits nature

    A court in Costa Rica decided that a local municipality was illegally polluting a stream and this ruling set the stage for the country to ensure that a clean and healthy environment is a human right. They ingrained this right in their constitution joining about 110 other countries that have constitutionally recognized it. Although the law is not perfect, it has allowed courts to rule that killing endangered green sea turtles is unconstitutional, for example. Costa Rica’s success with this legal pathway could be used in other countries seeking to adopt the right to a healthy environment.

    Read More

  • How Jersey City Middle Schoolers Stopped a Flood

    In a science class in a local New Jersey school, students came up with a green solution to a storm water management and flooding problem in their parking lot when it rained. With help from the Cooperative Extension Water Resources Program out of Rutgers University and funding from city agencies, they were able to build planters and install concrete to absorb the runoff. The project galvanized the community, encouraging the school to expand their STEM curriculum.

    Read More

  • 'Vaccine Altruists' Are Finding Appointments for Strangers

    Grassroots volunteer groups are helping people across the country make COVID-19 vaccine appointments. Get Out the Shot: Los Angeles has 100 vetted volunteers who have booked 300 appointments through the group’s system and thousands more on their own. Residents leave a message or fill out a Google form with their information and a volunteer picks up their case, books an appointment, and calls them to confirm. These volunteer organizations fill important assistance gaps in local government services that are stretched thin. Some groups focus on getting appointments for people from underserved communities.

    Read More

  • Don't call it summer school: Battling the COVID slide in math, science, reading with summer programs

    Summer Adventures in Learning (SAIL) provides funding for summer programs that mix academic learning and fun enrichment activities. The “COVID slide,” where students fell behind in math, science, and reading, had a greater impact on children of color and those in low-income families, who are the majority of students in SAIL-funded programs. High-quality academics, taught by certified teachers, are paired with fun activities and personal enrichment provided by community partners. Students in SAIL's virtual 2020 summer programs showed average learning gains of 2.3 months in reading and 1.6 months in math.

    Read More

  • Home Game

    A variety of approaches are helping ease housing instability in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Built for Zero program helps different entities coordinate homeless services through a comprehensive database that strives to capture everyone experiencing homelessness at any given time. An affordable-housing complex known as Siler Yard was also created through the Affordable Housing Trust Fund for artists to live and work in. Additionally, Public Land Trusts have also created a considerable amount of affordable housing in Santa Fe.

    Read More

  • The magic greenhouse

    A greenhouse that is cooled by seawater and the wind is allowing farmers in Somaliland to grow crops like tomatoes and vegetables despite extreme heat. By creating an environment that is higher in humidity and cooler in temperature, plants don’t need to drink as much water — almost 10 times less water because of the cooling system. There are challenges to scaling the response, but these greenhouses offer farmers the potential to increase their revenue in Africa.

    Read More