Dept. of Ed. Hands Out Grants in 'Cradle-to-College' Vow

By Kenneth Corbin

The Obama administration on Monday announced 20 new grant recipients who will receive federal funding through the Department of Education's Promise Neighborhood program, an initiative that aims to bring together community institutions to improve education and prepare at-risk youth for college.

"The Promise Neighborhood program is founded on the simple premise that you cannot divorce where children live from where they learn," Education Secretary Arne Duncan told reporters on a conference call announcing the grants.

With the new awards, five recipients will receive implementation grants. Additionally, 15 community institutions will receive planning grants. All told, the two years of grant awards will bring federal funding for community education revitalization to 18 states and the District of Columbia.

Improving education in low-income communities

The recipients include an array of higher education institutions, foundations and other community organizations, including one Indian tribe.

The Promise Neighborhood program is a centerpiece of the White House Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative, through which the administration is seeking to put federal resources at work to improve housing, education, health and justice programs in low-income communities.

"The bottom line here is teachers can't do it alone, parents can't do it alone. You need an integrated approach to help young people succeed in school," said Mark Zuckerman, deputy assistant director of the White House Domestic Policy Council.

"This is the most important part -- that they'll focus on one clear goal of helping every child in their community graduate from high school" and go on to college, Zuckerman added, noting the Promise Neighborhoods mantra of providing students with "cradle-to-college" service and support.

The grant awards will fund a wide mix of programs the applicants proposed, including efforts to improve health and public safety within the community and initiatives to boost parent involvement with the local school system. Other applicants won awards for their proposals to expand learning technology in the classroom or to improve broadband Internet connectivity in the community.

Help where it's needed most

Though administered by the Education Department, the Promise Neighborhoods program draws additional support from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Justice. Applicants that submitted proposals outlining programs in neighborhoods that participate in two of HUD's affordable housing transformation programs received a competitive edge in the evaluation process. And the five recipients of the implementation grants will be eligible to receive funding from Justice for their efforts to promote public safety.

"Students, families, teachers and principals need support to create safe environments in our nation's schools," Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. "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."

The Education Department received more than 200 applications from organizations in 45 states, as well as American Samoa and Puerto Rico, for 2011 Promise Neighborhood grants. The winners of the implementation grants will receive first-year awards of as much as $6 million, and as much as $30 million for the lifetime of the award. The 15 recipients of planning grants will each receive $500,000 to develop their programs.

The five 2011 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 15 planning grantees for 2011 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.)
About the Author

Kenneth Corbin is a freelance writer based in Washington, D.C. He has written on politics, technology and other subjects for more than four years, most recently as the Washington correspondent for InternetNews.com, covering Congress, the White House, the FCC and other regulatory affairs. He can be found on LinkedIn.