"Doing whatever it takes to educate children and strengthen the community"
Harlem Children's Zone
I chose to explore the Harlem children's zone website because one of our Head Start classrooms participated in this type of program last year. I do not have much information about what is currently going on with the project, because it was not my classroom that participated, however, this assignment has sparked my interest in finding out from our director what is currently happening within our program in relation to the Harlem Children's Zone project.
The focus of this organization is to develop a new method to end the cycle of generational poverty by addressing the needs of the entire community. There motto is "whatever it takes" when it comes to helping children to succeed. The organization began in 1970 with a truency-prevention program. In the 80s and 90s with the crack epidemic in Harlem, NY, a new approach was needed. In the 90s the organization turned a public school, at the end of the day, into a community center with services and activities during the nights, weekends, and summers. The also began a Peacemaker's Program that provided classrooms with assistants from the AmeriCorps to help teachers. In the early 90s a pilot project was implemented with a range of support services to an entire city block, addressing all problems poor families were facing. In 1997, this project extended to 24 blocks and became the Harlem Children's Zone Project). In 2007, the project stretched to 100 blocks.
Today, more than 10,000 children and 7,400 adults are served with a budget of around 75 million dollars. Geoffrey Canada, president and Chief Executive Officer, speaks about the cost. He mentions that it costs about $5,000/child for this program and that it costs around $100,000/juvenile put in jail. For $5,000 children bringing something to their community, where as 5 years in jail, they bring nothing.
The program is comprehensive, holistic, and integrates health services, social services, educational services, and culture. The goal is to work with children and families before they are behind. They begin working with children before birth by helping the mother prepare for the first months of the child's life. This program continues working with the child through graduation of college. The findings showed that even if a child did well through hish school, they seem not to do well after. That is why the program continues with children until they graduate college.
The current issue/trend has come about from President Obama. He has created the "Promise Neighborhoods" project based on the HCZ project that will reach across the country. He states in his speech that "if we can get someone to stand on the moon, we can get man to stand on his own two feet". I look forward to researching this website fully and sharing information with all of you.
Amanda, I am also looking forward to hearing about what you learn about this organization. It is amazing that they work with children before they are born and continue with them through college. The money it costs for each child is amazing and what a difference they can make with $5,000. I am also interested to hear how your Head Start program participated with this program. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThe Harlem Children's Zone project seems quite impressive in the scope of its efforts. I am interested to learn through your posts how they choose initiatives, find funding, and track progress of the children.
ReplyDeleteAmanda,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing with us about the Harlem's Children Zone project, I love their motto, "whatever it takes." I believe this type of thinking is crucial in order to break the cycle of poverty and violence. I am especially interested in the fact that they begin working with the mothers even before the children are born in order to help lay the groundwork for developmentally appropriate practices which help their children develop. It would be great if this program could be reproduced in different parts of the country where they have similar struggles.
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this post and the resources. I always look forward to reading everyone's posts and how their progress is coming along with their contacts and resources. This should be an exciting journey!