[Updated 6/22/10]

What is the Harlem Children’s Zone?

Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ) is an innovative community initiative, providing a network of social services to over 7,400 children and 4,100 adults in a 97-block region of New York City’s Harlem. Founded by the visionary Geoffrey Canada, it began as the Rheedlen truancy-prevention organization in 1970, and has since expanded into a myriad of programs. The HCZ aims to address issues that affect families living in poverty: inadequate education opportunities, chronic health issues, substandard housing, and other barriers to success.

HCZ is structured as a “conveyer belt” of services, where a holistic programming model ensures that youth receive necessary services from early childhood through high school graduation. Key components of the model include “Baby College” parenting classes, best-in-class preschool and elementary/secondary charter schools, asthma and obesity health initiatives, and foster care prevention services.

The agency has adopted a “whatever it takes” attitude to overcoming obstacles and helping families and children succeed. Their results demonstrate the effectiveness of this strategy: 100% of students in the Harlem Gems Pre-K program have been school-ready for the past six years, while nearly 100% of the third graders in the two HCZ Promise Academies scored at or above grade level in math. The model focuses on using evidence-based results to constantly refine and improve programming.

For more information, please visit the organization website at www.hcz.org.

What is the Promise Neighborhood initiative?

Based on the successes of Harlem Children’s Zone, President Obama and the Department of Education have created a federal initiative to replicate the model in up to 20 other cities across the country. $10 million in funding from the 2010 federal budget will provide $500,000 planning grants to create the necessary sustainable community infrastructure to replicate the successes of HCZ. In subsequent years, neighborhoods will be eligible for additional federal money to implement and sustain programming. Local funders will be required to match federal funding.

In late April, the federal Request For Proposals was released. The full RPF is available on the Department of Education website at www.ed.gov. Eligible neighborhoods will need to demonstrate a high level of both need and capacity. High levels of childhood poverty (30-40%) and low academic achievement will be essential criteria, as will the neighborhood’s ability to effect change through strong organizational collaboration, leadership, and evidence-based programming.

The Austin Achievement Zone, the local Promise Neighborhood effort in Austin, has submitted a Letter of Intent to the Department of Education, and will submit a full proposal by the June 25th deadline. Recipients of the grant will be announced by the federal government this fall.

Who are the leaders of this project?

The lead nonprofit agency and fiscal agent is the Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk at the University of Texas at Austin. Additionally, a Steering Committee has been formed to lead the grant application process. The committee consists of 21 people, of which 9 are St. John community residents, 6 represent elected officials and key staff of municipal organizations (City of Austin, Travis County, and Austin ISD), and 6 represent nonprofit organizations and the funding community.

Who is participating in this effort in Austin?

Many partners have stepped up to help start the Austin Achievement Zone, including the City of Austin, Austin ISD, University of Texas, Seton Family of Hospitals, Austin/ Travis County Health and Human Services, LifeWorks, Foundation Communities, Communities in Schools, St. John Community School Alliance, E3 Alliance, United Way of the Capital Area, Sooch Foundation, Webber Family Foundation, Capital Area Council on Governments, East Side Social Action Coalition, and many elected officials.

How was the target neighborhood chosen?

The St. John neighborhood, as well as the surrounding northeast Austin area, was chosen in January 2010 to be the focus of the Austin Achievement Zone. Initially, a Data Working Group assessed which neighborhoods would fit the federal criteria, balancing a high level of childhood poverty and educational need with the capacity and infrastructure to replicate the model. The Data Working Group included representatives of United Way Capital Area, E3 Alliance, CAPCOG, Seton Family of Hospitals, and the City of Austin. The team gathered input from the community (via community leaders and neighborhood meetings), collected information about community needs (especially child poverty rates, immigration data, and school performance data) and evaluated neighborhood assets (existing services and networks).

A separate effort is being led by Southwest Key Partners in the Govalle/Johnston Terrace neighborhoods.

What was the purpose of the November 9-10 conference in New York City and who attended from Austin?

A delegation of 10 people from Austin attended the Harlem Children’s Zone conference in New York City on November 9-10. The purpose of this trip was for a group of community leaders to hear directly from HCZ and Department of Education officials, and to begin to develop a shared vision about how the HCZ model can be adapted to Austin.

The conference organizers require that the delegation be no more than 10 people from at least four of these six categories: social service providers; local/state government; public school district; community leader; funder; youth leader. The delegation from Austin included: Cheryl Bradley, AISD Board of Trustees; Sarah Buel, UT School of Law; Dr. Meria Carstarphen, AISD; Julian Huerta, Foundation Communities; Bert Lumbreras, City of Austin; Pastor Sterling Lands, Greater Calvary Baptist Church; Annette LoVoi, AISD Board of Trustees; Susan McDowell, Lifeworks; Rep. Mark Strama, Texas House of Representatives; and Allen Weeks, St. John’s Community School Alliance. The delegation was selected by representatives of the Sooch Foundation and Webber Family Foundation, with guidance from social service providers and other community leaders. The foundations paid the expenses of the conference. All members of the delegation volunteered their time to attend.

How can I get more information and/or get involved?

To be added to the email list and/or volunteer to serve on a work group of the Steering Committee, please contact Karen Dulaney Smith at atxpni@gmail.com. Several documents related to this initiative are available on Sooch Foundation's website at www.soochfoundation.org; in the near future, a separate Austin Achievement Zone website will be up and running.