My Best Posts On The Harlem Children’s Zone & Other “Promise Zones”

, President Obama announced grants to five communities designated at “Promise Zones” that are planned to replicate — more or less — the Harlem Children’s Zone. I’ve published many posts about the Harlem Children’s Zone — both positive and less than positive — including concerns about parent engagement and how they relate to local institutions. […]

Great Discussion on Harlem Children’s Zone

I’ve written a lot about the Harlem Children’s Zone, including applause for its great work and some concerns, too. The release this week of a Brookings Institute report on the HCZ has prompted some interesting discussion in the the educational blogosphere. Check-out: The Washington Post’s Jay Mathews’ Rare attack on Harlem Children’s Zone. Alexander Russo’s […]

Replicating The Harlem Children’s Zone

I recently posted about the Request for Proposals published by the Department of Education for replicating the Harlem Children’s Zone. GOOD Magazine just published a very good overview, including potential issues (and even an infographic) on this topic. There is a possibility of Sacramento pursuing this possibility and, if that happens, I’m hopeful that the […]

Rahm Emanuel’s “Transactional” Perspective On Parent Involvement/Engagement

As most readers know, Rahm Emanuel is favored to become the next Mayor of Chicago, where there is mayoral control of public schools. In his response to the question “Please explain how you would encourage more parental involvement in the public schools. Do you support tying parental involvement to school funding or what schools should […]

Obama’s Blueprint For Reform Is Very Weak On Parent Engagement/Involvement

The Washington Post just ran a column about a new book several education researchers have written severely criticizing the research base of President Obama’s “Blueprint For Reform,” his successor to No Child Left Behind. Here’s a quote from that column: For example, it says, “Family involvement is crucial to education, but the evidence for a […]

Promise Neighborhood Award Winners Announced

Yesterday, the Department of Education announced that 21 nonprofit organizations and universities will receive Promise Neighborhoods planning grants. These are designed to replicate the Harlem Children’s Zone. You can read more about them in these places: The Hechinger Ed blog has a good summary and analysis. Here’s the Department of Ed’s official announcement And here’s […]

One More Post On HCZ

The House of Representatives is now considering a bill to reduce spending for the Promise Neighborhoods Initiative by seventy percent, according to the Hechinger Report. Promise Neighborhoods is the name given to the effort to replicate the Harlem Children’s Zone. Boy, it’s sure been in the news over the past 36 hours.