Project 180 (2017-2018, 2016-2017)
The Desert Center for Legal Education supports the California Desert Trial Academy College of Law by providing grants, scholarship, and loans to CDTA law students, as well as supporting La Reina Limited Means Legal Clinic, CDTA law library, public legal education, and continuing legal education. A demand-driven foundation, its focus is the creation of customized initiatives and programs which address the needs of today's Coachella Valley at-risk youth through public legal education.
The pathway program is called Project 180. The initiative of Project 180 is to intervene during the crucial age of at-risk youth from the dangers of violence, gangs, and drugs. It brings Desert Sands Unified School District approved academic enrichment aligned with the judicial system, evidence-based life skills training, Mock Trial, and community outreach services. The vision is to provide these students with a collaborative approach academy to promote concrete life skills and a valuable comprehensive overview of the judicial system to at-risk teens. Pathway programs like this one prepare students for post-secondary education and career, connect academics to real-world applications, lead to a full range of post-secondary opportunities, and improve student achievement.
