Good Idea: A Denver Children’s Zone
If you watch any online video today, watch the one above (stick with it in spite of ads at the beginning).
Last night, 60 Minutes featured the inspiring story of Geoffrey Canada and the Harlem Children’s Zone, an incredibly ambitious project taking aim at what many consider to be the civil rights issue of our time: the educational achievement gap between low-income and minority students and their more affluent and/or white peers. We, as a city, have a lot to learn from the work Geoffrey Canada is doing.
The Harlem Children’s Zone addresses poverty and the achievement gap utilizing a comprehensive “pipeline” approach–supporting children and families starting at birth with programs such as the nine-week “Baby College” parenting class; continuing throughout elementary school, middle school, and high school by providing excellent schools with high standards, long school days, a short summer, in-school medical services, and great after-school programming; and extending through the completion of college, supporting the Harlem Children’s Zone students with internships, volunteer opportunities, and more leading up to their graduation. Best of all, every service that the Harlem Children’s Zone provides is 100% free.
The Harlem Children’s Zone doesn’t just try to get kids to believe in themselves; it is proving through its results that students from Harlem can achieve just as much as any other students. In Denver, we also have children who possess an incredible potential for achievement but are currently being underserved. We think that all children, regardless of skin color, ethnicity, zip code, and family income, should have access to an excellent education. President Obama seems to agree–he is planning to replicate the Harlem Children’s Zone in a public/private venture for 20 “Promise Neighborhoods“ marked by high poverty and low student achievement starting next year. Communities will apply for federal grants to support the implementation of such programs, and Denver should jump at the opportunity.
I hope to see Denver’s business leaders, nonprofits, schools, universities, health care and community service providers, community members, and elected officials come together to develop a comprehensive, effective, and sustainable plan to implement a Denver Children’s Zone whether or not we ultimately get access to federal funds for it. Not only is it time that we, as a city, come together to provide all of our children with an excellent education, excellent after-school options, an excellent community, and the chance they need to truly succeed in life, it is also time that we start understanding that by investing in education, we will begin reaping rewards in all aspects of urban life by through lower poverty, less crime, lower unemployment, increased public health, and much, much more.
The children of Denver are our children. Their future is our future. We must give every child the chance for a successful and productive life. Until we do so, we cannot be satisfied.
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this site is not only a great resource, but now also inspiring. thanks for really embodying the good life… good ideas may be the most important thing!