The Harlem Children's Zone (HCZ) is a
nonprofit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
for poverty-stricken children and families living in
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...
, providing free support in the form of parenting workshops, a
preschool
A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary sch ...
program, three
charter school
A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...
s, and child-oriented health programs for thousands of children and families. The HCZ is "aimed at doing nothing less than breaking the cycle of
generational poverty
In economics, a cycle of poverty or poverty trap is caused by self-reinforcing mechanisms that cause poverty, once it exists, to persist unless there is outside intervention. It can persist across generations, and when applied to developing coun ...
for the thousands of children and families it serves."
The Harlem Children's Zone Project has expanded the HCZ's comprehensive system of programs to nearly 100 blocks of Central Harlem and aims to keep children on track through college and into the job market.
"We’re not interested in saving a hundred kids," founder
Geoffrey Canada
Geoffrey Canada (born January 13, 1952) is an American educator, social activist and author. Since 1990, Canada has been president of the Harlem Children's Zone in Harlem, New York, an organization that states its goal is to increase high scho ...
says. "Even three hundred kids. Even a thousand kids to me is not going to do it. We want to be able to talk about how you save kids by the tens of thousands, because that’s how we’re losing them."
The
Obama administration announced a
Promise Neighborhoods program, which hopes to replicate the success of the HCZ in poverty-stricken areas of other U.S. cities.
In the summer of 2010, the U.S. Department of Education's Promise Neighborhoods program accepted applications from over 300 communities for $10 million in federal grants for developing HCZ implementation plans.
Critics say that it's mostly private money that makes HCZ a success, not a better approach to teaching.
Principles and programs
The HCZ designs, funds, and operates a holistic system of education, social-services and community-building programs in
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...
to counter the negative influences of crime, drugs and poverty and help children complete college and go on to the job market.
Providing this "full network of services... to an entire neighborhood from birth to college" is a key element of the Obama administration's Promise Neighborhoods program modeled after the HCZ.
The two fundamental principles of The Zone Project are to help kids as early in their lives as possible and to create a critical mass of adults around them who understand what it takes to help children succeed.
Components of the HCZ programs include the following:
* The Baby College, a series of workshops for parents of children ages 0–3
* All-day
pre-kindergarten
* Extended-day charter schools (Promise Academy)
* Health clinics and community centers for children and adults during after-school, weekend and summer hours
* Youth violence prevention efforts
* Social services such as a foster-care prevention service
* After-school programs equipped with academic resources and extracurricular activities
* College admissions and retention support
* Post-high school programs aimed to help students during their college years and beyond
Through its "pipeline program design", the Harlem's Children Zone ensures that a child is never neglected; having a range of programs that are geared and targeted to both the parents, and children for every stage in life.
In addition to early childhood programs, such as Baby College, mentioned above, The Harlem's Children Zone has programs for school aged children through its Promise Academy K-12 Charter Schools.
The comprehensive and wholesome programs that are available to not only the students, but the parents of students, in the Promise Academy include counseling and benefits assistance. Not all students are able to be granted admission to the Promise Academy K-12 Charter Schools, students are accepted based on a lottery system. Children within the Harlem's Children Zone who are not chosen through the lottery system can participate in programs such as Peacemakers, which provides academic support to thousands of students in the various public schools in the zone. Physical, mental, and emotional well-being of children are ensured through other programs such as the Case Management program for middle-school aged children; this program assigns an HCZ staff member to monitor a child's progress. Past the K-12 system, students receive help from the Harlem Children's Zone College Success Office, which helps students become not only high school graduates, but college graduates.
Replication in other cities
A number of large U.S. cities have initiated their own programs styled after the HCZ, in advance of any federally funded efforts stemming from the Obama administration's HCZ-inspired anti-poverty initiatives.
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
,
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
,
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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,
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, and cities in
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
are planning or considering HCZ replication.
Author
Paul Tough
Paul Tough (born 1967) is a Canadian-American writer and broadcaster. He is perhaps best known for authoring the works ''Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America'' and ''How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and th ...
has discussed the HCZ replication proposal.
The HCZ, in partnership with
PolicyLink PolicyLink is a national research and action institute dedicated to advancing economic and social equity. It focuses on policies affecting low-income communities and communities of color. It is a nonprofit organization based in Oakland, California, ...
, organized a two-day conference on November 9–10, 2009 in New York City with the aim of providing guidance to community leaders from around the U.S. in their efforts to launch similar, large-scale projects like the HCZ in their areas.
In 2008 President Obama, inspired by the Harlem Children's Zone immense progress toward breaking the generational cycle of poverty, proposed the creation of
Promise Neighborhoods. Obama's commitment to alleviating poverty is put into place with this initiative which uses HCZ's "cradle to college" approach. "The initiative seeks to help selected local communities dramatically improve outcomes and opportunities for children and families in defined neighborhoods. The initiative will be diverse in its application, reflecting local needs and context." The initiative's goal follows the HCZ's paradigm to improve every aspect of life in impoverished communities, its purpose states: "all children growing up in Promise Neighborhoods have access to effective schools and strong systems of family and community support that will prepare them to attain an excellent education and successfully transition from college to career." This purpose statement directly reflects the mission of HCZ. HCZ, in collaboration with the national action institute PolicyLink, assists in providing ongoing guidance for the Obama administration in this initiative.
In 2010, the Obama administration allocated $75 million in the federal budget for the program. More than 330 communities across the nation applied for Promise Neighborhood planning grants. Twenty-one communities were awarded one-year grants between $400,000 and $500,000. Planning grantees are given a year to produce a strategic paradigm which will address the issues specific to their community in pursuit of an implementation grant. The grantees submitted their plans that summer, with the implementation phase for Promise Neighborhoods expected to begin in September 2011.
Media coverage
The ''
60 Minutes'' television program profiled the HCZ, including an interview with founder
Geoffrey Canada
Geoffrey Canada (born January 13, 1952) is an American educator, social activist and author. Since 1990, Canada has been president of the Harlem Children's Zone in Harlem, New York, an organization that states its goal is to increase high scho ...
, on 14 May 2006 and a follow up program on December 6, 2009. Canada has also appeared twice in televised interviews with
Charlie Rose on 2 January 2008 and 22 June 2004, and with
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program '' The Colbert Report'' from 2005 ...
on 8 December 2008, 20 July 2009, and 4 January 2011.
''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' ran an article on October 12, 2010, "Lauded Harlem Schools Have Their Own Problems",
in which they exposed the "low student performance in most of the neighborhood's public schools" and the dismissal, by the board of trustees, of an entire class of 8th graders when their performance was deemed "too weak to found a high school on." They also report that "because it lost more ground than comparable schools, it got a C from the city on its annual A-to-F report card, and an F in the student progress category," while giving credit for the increased math scores of many students in the school.
The U.S. radio show ''
This American Life
''This American Life'' (''TAL'') is an American monthly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internatio ...
'' produced an episode about the HCZ which aired on 26 September 2008, 11 October 2008, and 14 August 2009.
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
announced his plan in a
2008 presidential campaign speech in
Washington, D.C.
)
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, to replicate the HCZ in 20 cities across the United States. Federal government would provide half of the funding with the rest coming from philanthropy and businesses at a cost of a few billion per year. Senator Obama also noted the HCZ in a 2007 campaign speech.
The ''
Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' featured the HCZ in an article about the financial troubles experienced by this and other charitable organizations in the wake of the
recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...
. The HCZ initiated a 100-day public service campaign started on January 23, 2009 to help counteract the effects of the economic downturn.
An article in the January/February 2009 issue of ''
Mother Jones
Mary G. Harris Jones (1837 (baptized) – November 30, 1930), known as Mother Jones from 1897 onwards, was an Irish-born American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent union organizer, community organizer, and activist. She h ...
'' showcases Geoffrey Canada, the HCZ, and its recognition by the Obama 2008 presidential campaign and administration. The author of this article,
Paul Tough
Paul Tough (born 1967) is a Canadian-American writer and broadcaster. He is perhaps best known for authoring the works ''Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America'' and ''How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and th ...
, published a book in August 2008 about the HCZ titled, ''Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America.''
National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
produced a 30-minute story on the HCZ on 28 July 2009 titled "Harlem Children's Zone Breaks Poverty Pattern."
The ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...
'' published a story about the HCZ on 2 August 2009, noting that the Obama administration has set aside $10 million in the
2010 budget for planning its
Promise Neighborhoods program, which seeks to replicate the HCZ.
18 March 2010, the HCZ was covered in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.
The HCZ and its promotion as a model of education to aspire to, especially in the recent documentary ''
,'' have been criticized as an example of the privatization of education in the U.S.
University of San Francisco Adjunct Professor in Education Rick Ayers writes that ''Waiting for "Superman"'' "never mentions the tens of millions of dollars of private money that has poured into the Harlem Children's Zone, the model and superman we are relentlessly instructed to aspire to."
One year after this film was made, the Grassroots Education Movement made a film titled ''
'', which accused the original film of exaggerating the success of the HCZ.
In part because not enough time has passed, there is not evidence available to know whether the HCZ achieves its central goal of ending intergenerational poverty.
HCZ has had many impacts, on its students, community, and federal programs. President Obama created a grant program to copy HCZ's block-by-block approach to ending poverty. Obama requested $210 million for the program.