Dowd Education Center

For years now, the Dowd Education Center has been centered around Project-Based Learning pedagogy. At the Dowd, think is best for youth development. That is, offering real-world challenges and problems to our youth to acquire a deeper knowledge through active exploration. Doing prevention education for our youth, especially in their cultural context, aids in building safe and strength in West Columbus. The students forming our group come from within the Dowd Education Center enrollment, both present and past students. Students grade K-8 are enrolled with the Dowd coming from Columbus City, Southwestern City, and Charter Schools. For this project, the Dowd Education Center invited several high school students who have aged out of Dowd programming to join this youth-led prevention group.

The aim for this project is to focus on youth living on the West Side of Columbus, specifically looking at job/internship opportunities and creative outlets/programming that can introduce and/or teach youth various skills that might lead to future careers/trades. We wanted to do this project by addressing the challenges youth face looking for safe, teachable spaces that will prepare them for adulthood.

The 2019 We Amplify Voices Project

We Amplify Voices uses music as a catalyst to inspire students to find their point of view, share their perspective, and make a difference in their city

· 10-DAY WORKSHOP Song + video + album artwork

· 15 students, music production and song creation