BMCC started a Cisco Networking Academy in the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone in New York City to serve the residents of Harlem and Washington Heights. They serve groups of 20 to 25 unemployed or underemployed residents in a six-month program that has employment as its objective. Carlos Fraga went from a baggage handler making $8.50 an hour to a network specialist making $57,000 a year.  >> More

Philadelphia School District
The School District of Philadelphia has over 30 Networking Academies. Nineteen of them are located in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania/Camden Empowerment Zone. Fourteen of their instructors have earned their CCNA certification. The instructors are as diverse as the community they serve. Of the fourteen, nine are women and five are men; the average age is 49; five are African American and one Nigerian instructor periodically goes to Africa to prepare French-speaking teachers who are sitting for the CCNA exam.  >> More