During the past few months, a variety of media outlet ranging from the New York Times to Time magazine to the Public Broadcasting System have presented stories about the crisis of the Digital Divide.  The growing technology gap between rich and poor is nowhere more evident than in the greater East St. Louis, Illinois area.  Nationally 60% of the households now have Internet access either at home or at work.  In greater East St. Louis, less than 2% have access.  Over half of the homes in the United States have computers.  In the areas designated for this Campus Compact program in East St. Louis, 1% of the homes have computers.  In a nation which already left East St. Louis behind economically, this technological gap will only widen the gulf between this community and the rest of the country.  The goal of this "Making a Civic Investment" program is to begin to bridge the digital divide in greater East St. Louis through enhancements of existing partnerships between Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and a number of community organizations and housing project councils in the community representing the residents of greater East St. Louis, Illinois.  The program Campus Compact/East St. Louis, will match some of the human and technological resources of the university with the overwhelming technological needs of the citizens of this impoverished area.

The objectives of the Campus Compact/East St. Louis are to establish eight community computer center which will:

• Increase the computer expertise of 750 children, ages 5-13 as measured by a checklist of computer knowledge and skills;
  
• Improve the academic achievement of 750 children by 25% as measured by student grades during the children's involvement in this Campus Compact program;
  
• Have each child complete an Internet based project which will include a community improvement component;
  
• Have a minimum of 100 of the children by the end of the first year of the program have an on-line mentoring relationship with a successful adult or college student;
  
• Enable a minimum of 50 children in the first year of the project to have a computer installed in their home through corporate university, and community partners;
  
• Have a minimum of 250 parents/caregivers complete an introductory computer course including basic Internet use;
  
• Increase the knowledge and appreciation of the cultural heritage of the children as measured by a pre-post instrument.
  

Collaborators for this project:

• Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville
  
• East St. Louis Americorps
  
• Landsdowne Improvement Association
  
• Griffin Center; East St. Louis
  
• Holy Rosary Catholic School; Fairmont City