Penn State Educational Partnership Program (PEPP)

Mission Statement

The Penn State Educational Partnership Program (PEPP) is an early intervention initiative and operational unit in the College of Education - Office of Multicultural Programs.  The overarching mission of the Partnership is to serve the College of Education and Office of Multicultural Programs in their collective goals to:

• offer Penn State pre-service teachers a variety of quality opportunities to engage in innovative and culturally diverse early field experiences;
• facilitate access to post-secondary education opportunities for PEPP participants;
• work toward the greater diversification of the education profession by promoting education as a viable and valuable career option, particularly for under-represented and urban student populations who tend to shy away from the teaching profession;
• provide access to a multicultural and socio-economically  diverse “education lab”, in the form of PEPP Academy or PEPP Institute extended school day programs which could be utilized for culturally diverse educational research and studies;
• collaborate and cooperate with Commonwealth College campus academic departments, education faculty and students, outreach units and other University and College of Education divisions to create or facilitate early intervention programming with a supportive climate for multiculturalism.  

The operational mission of PEPP is to:      

• enhance academic preparedness and motivational levels of minority, low income and under-represented student populations;
• provide participating students with personal and educational support to negotiate the academic curriculum and graduate from high school; 
• encourage individual self-confidence, increase self-esteem, social skill development and career awareness in order to enhance participant ability to enter and complete college
• improve the chances of being able to successfully function in society, thus providing for a more well-educated citizenry and workforce;
• improve and heighten family awareness relating to the value of education; 
• increase parental involvement in the educational decision-making process; 
• introduce pre-service teachers to innovative and creative teaching methods to better serve and educate the culturally diverse classroom of today. 

PEPP continually strives to be recognized, regionally by location and statewide, as a creative leader in the field of culturally diverse and creative educational intervention programming.