A History Lesson

This week we’d like to give you some history about the center. Many of you, our friends, are new to the center and we would love for you to know a little more about where we came from.

In 1996, representatives of the CWA Plaza Apartments, the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency (MDHA), the Nashville office of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Martha O’Bryan Center formed what is now known as the CWA-Cayce Learning Center. The Learning Center is part of a national collaboration called Neighborhood Networks. Neighborhood Networks is an initiative of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that was originally established to provide technology in areas where technology was historically limited (i.e. HUD-assisted, and insured properties). To date there are more than 1,200 centers across the country, however, no two centers are alike. Neighborhood Network centers are about getting out into the community, speaking with residents, and providing programs that meet their stated needs. Never do we assume to know what our community needs. Our residents are the experts in this neighborhood.

In 2005, Neighborhood Networks unveiled a program to classify it's centers. While no two Neighborhood Networks centers are alike, more than 10 years of successfully delivering technology access and other resources to America’s communities have revealed a number of factors that lead to center sustainability and success. The standards used for Designated, Certified and Model status are based on review and analysis of those factors. By following the classification guidelines, centers will be more likely to experience success in both aiding residents and increasing market value of their property. Shortly after the classification process began, our learning center became the first in the nation to earn Model Status, the highest level of achievement.

You can read about our success in NetworkNews on pages 4 & 5.