The Community Resource Service (CRS) is an educational outreach program that focuses on the needs of K-12 teachers and other educators in the District of Columbia and its suburbs in Maryland and Virginia. The program aims to assist teachers in conveying a nuanced and realistic view of Arabs and Islam, beyond the stereotypical images reflected in the entertainment and news media, or the incomplete - and often biased - treatment of the history and politics of the region that are sometimes found in textbooks and other pedagogical materials.

Since the founding of the CRS in 1983, thousands of educators have attended workshops and seminars on campus about the Arab world and Islam, brought Georgetown students and faculty to their classrooms, borrowed resources from the lending library, and asked the Outreach Coordinator for assistance in curriculum planning and in tackling cultural issues in their schools. The program is supported by the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, private sector grants, and the US Department of Education, which is funding a National Resource Center on the Middle East at Georgetown University.

CCAS is proud that its educational outreach program has been recognized for excellence on many occasions. In 2005, the CRS was a semi-finalist for the Goldman Sachs Foundation Prizes for Excellence in International Education, Higher Education category. Each year the Foundation recognizes a higher education institution that shows exceptional commitment to promoting K-16 international knowledge and skills through its teacher preparation program or through ongoing partnerships with local schools to introduce international content. The CRS was among the top twelve applicants from a pool of approximately 100 colleges and universities from across the country.

Here is a sampling of recent responses from teachers about the Center's 2007 seminars and workshops

"I teach World History and the Contemporary Middle East. The variety of topics and the quality of speakers were a wonderful comprehensive study of the Middle East. I appreciate the variety of resources received from the workshop. They will be useful in my work."

"This workshop brings together all of the social studies... economics, politics, history, sociology, anthropology... even current events."

"'Approaches to Teaching the Middle East' provides participants the opportunity to develop or expand appreciation of the history and culture of the area."

"A fantastic, intensive seminar."

"This workshop is enlightening, accessible, useful and entertaining. It is well worth my trip down from New York!"

"This was one of the best run conferences I've attended. It was informative and highlighted relevant issues. The speakers were interesting and presented lots of materials that would be useful in the classroom."

"The workshop recharges my batteries. Even if the topics are not specific to my classes that I teach this year, the speakers add to my understanding of the culture and history of the Middle East and more knowledge is always a good thing."

"This is the best professional development I have ever taken and it is truly the intellectual highlight of my year! It was a great resource for both teaching classes and understanding how the world works! Thanks for a great seminar!"