20 underserved communities to benefit from Promise Neighborhoods program

Several neighborhood schools will now see more localized efforts to raise student achievement in some of the nation’s most underserved districts. A total of 20 communities will be positively impacted by the Department of Education’s first round of the Promise Neighborhoods grant initiative. Five organizations will receive the first round of program implementation funds, while 15 others will receive grants to do a second round of planning.

“I commend all communities that are putting education at the center of efforts to fight poverty in urban and rural areas,” said Melody Barnes, domestic policy advisor to President Obama. “The goal of Promise Neighborhoods is to provide the resources and support young people need to succeed while transforming distressed neighborhoods into communities of opportunity.”

More than 200 community organizations from across the country applied for the Promise Neighborhoods grant, which is focused on creating effective cradle-to-career programs for children in underserved communities. The five grant winners will receive up to $6 million in the first year and up to $30 million over the life of the grant. The 15 planning grant winners will receive $500,000 to further devise ways to turn their communities into Promise Neighborhoods, explains a Department of Education press release.

“Promise Neighborhoods recognizes that children need to be surrounded by systems of support inside and outside of the classroom to help them be successful in school and beyond,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “The 20 grantees announced today are spread out across the country, reflecting a broader nationwide movement to revitalize struggling communities by providing better access to health care, social and safety services partnered by great schools.”

The five grant winners will also be eligible for funds from the Department of Justice in order to help subsidize public safety plans.

“Students, families, teachers and principals need support to create safe environments in our nation’s schools,” Attorney General Eric Holder said. “The Department of Justice is committed to working with these grantees and their public safety partners to coordinate investments and initiatives that prevent and reduce crime throughout Promise Neighborhoods.”

According to a Department of Education press release, the five Promise Neighborhoods implementation grantees are:

• Westminster Foundation (Buffalo, N.Y.)
• Northside Achievement Zone (Minneapolis, Minn.)
• Berea College (Clay, Jackson, and Owsley Counties, Ky.)
• United Way of San Antonio & Bexar County, Inc. (San Antonio, Texas)
• California State University – East Bay (Hayward, Calif.)

The Promise Neighborhoods planning grant winners are:

• Mission Economic Development Agency (San Francisco)
• Reading and Beyond (Fresno, Calif.)
• Mercer University (Macon, Ga.)
• Community Action Project of Tulsa (Tulsa, Okla.)
• Elmezzi Foundation (New York)
• South Bay Community Services (Chula Vista, Calif.)
• Black Family Development (Detroit, Mich.)
• Children Youth and Family Services (Charlottesville, Va.)
• CAMBA (New York)
• SGA Youth and Family Services (Chicago)
• Ohio University (Glouster, Ohio)
• Meriden Children’s First (Meriden, Conn.)
• Martha O’Bryan Center (Nashville, Tenn.)
• Catholic Charities of Albany (Hudson, N.Y.)
• Campo Band of Mission Indians (Campo, Calif.)