I’ve written a lot about Promise Zones & Neighborhoods (see My Best Posts On The Harlem Children’s Zone & Other “Promise Zones”) – both critical and supportive.

The Associated Press just published a feature on them in three separate parts:

What to know about Promised Neighborhoods

AP Photos: A new approach to save a neighborhood

Tackling poverty: DC community tries new approach

Here’s an excerpt from the last link:

the DC Promise Neighborhood Initiative put down a stake with a new promise: to tackle generational poverty with a fresh approach.

Backed by a multiyear, $28 million Education Department Promised Neighborhood grant and support from people such as former Secretary of State Colin Powell and his wife, Alma, the initiative tries to offer services to two generations — parents and children. It stems from research that shows that as a parent’s level of education improves, so does a child’s prospects.

Modeled after the Harlem Children’s Zone in New York, “promised neighborhoods” are being planned or underway in at least 20 states.

In the Kenilworth-Parkside neighborhood, helping the children get a good education is a primary focus, but it’s the adults who must be engaged first. Many are skeptical.