OKR: Increase access to digital skilling for residents in the ecosystem.
Expanding access to digital skilling is not just about offering more classes—it’s about aligning curriculum with community priorities, empowering trusted facilitators, and building shared capacity across the entire ecosystem. This year, the CDE focused on strengthening both the content and the people delivering it, ensuring that skilling efforts are not only widely available but deeply relevant and rooted in community voice.
Supported Skilling Efforts of 25 Community Organizations
In 2024, the CDE supported approximately 25 community organizations by either pairing them with a Digital Navigator or training staff on the Northstar learning management system. When combined with device distribution, this support created a more holistic access model—one where residents received not only tools but also the skills to use them meaningfully.
This work helped us identify nearly 30 curriculum resources already available to Charlotte residents. However, it also revealed a key gap: cybersecurity education, particularly for residents who navigate digital tools in languages other than English.
Building New Curriculum Through Collaboration
In response, we partnered with Ernst & Young (EY), Universal Institute for Successful Aging of Carolinas (UISAC), and community leaders to develop a cybersecurity curriculum grounded in both cultural relevance and linguistic accessibility. What began as a shared concern from local refugee communities quickly turned into a model for community-led curriculum development. Together, we:
- Co-developed a cybersecurity curriculum with EY
- Translated it into five languages (Khmer, Sudanese Arabic, Hindi, Spanish, and Vietnamese)
- Trained five UISAC volunteers to lead peer-to-peer sessions on digital safety
This collaboration not only filled a content gap—it also created a replicable, community-driven model for responsive curriculum development. In the coming year, this curriculum will become part of our train-the-trainer partner skilling model, increasing its reach and impact.
Strengthening the Role of the Facilitator
In tandem with content development, we began designing the next iteration of our skilling model: a clear set of facilitator guidelines that reflect the CDE’s approach to teaching digital skills, especially in workforce development and healthcare. These guidelines will help standardize training across the ecosystem while honoring the local expertise of partner organizations.
At the same time, we continued investing in our internal capacity. Our team partnered with Community Council member and digital trainer Margot Scurry to upskill our Digital Navigators. With Ms. Scurry’s support, the team built new confidence in providing basic skills coaching and connecting residents to more advanced learning opportunities. The partnership demonstrated what’s possible when curriculum design is deeply informed by those closest to the work.
Scaling Skilling Hours Through Shared Capacity
Thanks to our growing network of partners and the expanded use of the train-the-trainer model, we saw a significant increase in skilling delivery this year.
Together, partner organizations offered more than 46,000 hours of digital skills training to Charlotte residents—more than doubling our original target.
This surge reflects not only increased demand but also the ecosystem’s growing ability to respond through shared tools, shared knowledge, and shared commitment.
If your organization contributed digital skilling hours and isn’t listed, please reach out to Amy Crippen at crippena@queens.edu so we can make sure your impact is recognized.
| Organization | Skilling Hours |
|---|---|
| Per Scholas | 34,376 |
| Novant Health - Bridges to Healthcare | 2,280 |
| CDE Northstar Network | 1,865 |
| Renaissance West Community Initiative | 1,584 |
| Camino | 1,524 |
| Charlotte Mecklenburg Library | 1,478 |
| Latin American Coalition | 594 |
| Accelerated Training Program (T-ATP) | 448 |
| Harris YMCA | 432 |
| Charlotte Rescue Mission | 324 |
| JCSU Laptop Request: Be Prepared America | 291 |
| Handy Tech Solutions | 180 |
| UISAC | 135 |
| Asociación Colombiana Charlotte | 120 |
| Renacer Atrium Health | 120 |
| Erika's Closet | 110 |
| Charlotte Bilingual Preschool | 105 |
| Prepare2Prosper | 104 |
| Fill My Cup | 100.5 |
| Venezuelan Alliance | 60 |
| CDE | 55 |
| First Mt. Calvary Baptist Church | 40 |
| Black Coalition of Peer Support Specialists | 24 |
| Kika's House | 22 |
| Hickory Grove Elementary School | 4 |
| Total | 46,376 |