Bridging the Gaps

Abstract

The following case study chronicles the activities of a community-university partnership that supports the University of California, San Diego’s threefold mission of teaching, research, and service while directing educational resources to underrepresented communities. This partnership, instantiated in a research project widely known as La Clase Mágica, involves a broad spectrum of institutional units seeking to bridge the digital, cognitive, and employment gaps that exist between middle-class mainstream communities and those at the margins. The case study examines the project’s history and philosophy, theoretical framework, commitment to collaboration, assessment, and impact over the past two decades.