The mission of NCEA is to inspire, engage and empower our members as community leaders and advocates.
NCEA Core Values
We Believe:
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Community Education is vital to our nation’s success
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Learning is a lifelong process which improves the quality of life
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Communities are strengthened and sustained through leadership development
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In the power of community collaborationCommunity Educators deserve quality representation at the local, state and national levels
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In the expertise and the diversity of our members
Strategic Goals
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Generate awareness and understanding of Community Education as a process and a way of life.
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Build a diverse and sustained membership.
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Actively pursue new initiatives that support and enhance our mission and core values.
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Strengthen state capacity by building relationships between NCEA and state affiliates.
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Be identified as the leading source of guidance and information to support school and community collaboration strategies for local, state and federal policy7makers.
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To excel as the authority for quality training and professional development in Community Education.
Considerations for Change
We will:
Principles of Community Education
Community Involvement. Community Education promotes a sense of civic responsibility, provides leadership opportunities for community members, includes diverse populations in all aspects of community life, and encourages democratic procedures in local decision making.
Efficient Use of Resources. Schools and the community's physical, financial, and human resources are used to address the community's needs. A reduction in the duplication of services is accomplished by promoting collaborative effort.
Lifelong Learning. Education is viewed as a birth-to-death process and everyone in the community — individuals, businesses, public and private agencies — shares in the responsibility of educating all members of the community and providing lifelong learning opportunities for learners of all ages, backgrounds, and needs.
Self-Determination. Local people have a right and a responsibility to be involved in determining community needs and identifying community resources that can be used to address those needs.
Self-Help. People are best served when their capacity to help themselves is acknowledged and developed. When people assume responsibility for their own well-being, they build independence and become part of the solution.
Leadership Development. The training of local leaders in such skills as problem solving, decision making, and group process is an essential component of successful self-help and improvement efforts.
Institutional Responsiveness. Public institutions exist to serve the public and are obligated to develop programs and services that address continuously changing public needs and interests.
Integrated Delivery of Services. Organizations and agencies that operate for the public good can meet their own goals and better serve the public by collaborating with organizations and agencies with similar goals.
Decentralization. Services, programs, and other community involvement opportunities that are closest to people's homes have the greatest potential for high levels of public participation. Whenever possible, these activities should be available in locations with easy public access.
