In today’s educational environment, the Gateway Institutes strives to be an active regional partner among several organizations whose mission is to develop, implement, and support innovative approaches that are used to improve the community learning system. A coalition of university and community-led initiatives is essential to studying the current educational system, but also to developing a progressive framework that is education. Ultimately the realization of the power of school partnering, community, business, and parent involvement is the key to the realization on how to best serve current and future learners.

• School-Wide Advisory Program in Newark Middle Schools. The Institute is supporting the School of Education in teaching a group of Newark Middle School teachers the techniques used in successful advisories, and helping to establish these school-wide advisory groups in the Newark Middle Schools. Advisory groups are proven strategies to improve student success, increase the attendance rate and encourage peaceful conflict resolution in middle schools.
• The Gateway Institute has been a supporter of the Newark Literacy Campaign in its goal to combat illiteracy. The purpose of this group is to provide ongoing reading tutorials, using college work-study students and other volunteers, to ensure that all children are reading well and independently by the end of the 3rd grade.
• The Institute continues to be an advocate of the Elizabeth Board of Education Online Homework Help Program among its Family Day Care Network Providers and community partners. The purpose of this program is to insure that kids have homework help beyond formal classroom time.

As part of an on-going series geared at addressing issues that promote improvement of the current educational system, the Gateway Institute has and will continue to host educational conferences that spur discussion between different groups.