The AmeriCorps assisted, Education Alliance, seeks to increase the capacity and effectiveness of youth programming across Oswego County by unifying the vision of community-based organizations county-wide through an inclusive education consortium. Some of the service practitioners that have been brought to the table to solidify their efforts include Oswego County Opportunities, Mentor-Scholar Program, Oswego County BOCES, Youth Bureau and the Office of Community Service & Service Learning and Office of Business & Community Relations from SUNY-Oswego. For the past year these organizations are responsible for 1,084 volunteers who served 15,828 hours and impacted 6,419 youth throughout Oswego County.

Aside from the staggering numbers, the Education Alliance has worked to create a common ground for the sharing of information and best practices between service practitioners. Through committee meetings and discussions there has been the exchanging of information about events and other county-wide initiatives. The Committee Chairs have performed ongoing research and presented their findings at conferences which they then relate back to the committee. The Chairs presented at the 2013 Philadelphia Higher Education Network for Neighborhood Development Conference on K-16 Partnerships on the Education Alliance and potential strategies for increased effectiveness.

Throughout this year the consortium has met and re-categorized all of the programs offered in the County to help streamline the process for identifying youth with programs that will cater to their specific needs. The programs were divided based upon their area of focus from those identified within the United Way 2010 Higher Needs Community Assessment. The visionary group has begun talks of uploading their work to an accessible database that will allow for all individuals who work with youth from parents, to guidance counselors, to view the wide array of programming options. This process has also opened up new avenues of communication about gaps in services and where the committee needs to work in the future.

The Education Alliance has consistently envisioned a broader goal being the creation of a central location for community and academics to blend bringing together members of the campus and local community. Working towards that purpose the Education Alliance now sets its goals upon the creation of a Community Academic Center that will allow for a consolidated, accessible building for all. The geographically isolating nature of the County has routinely been a roadblock to inclusive programming; such a Center could rectify that issue and increase the accessibility for those in need of services.