Last week I attended the Center for American Progress’ event showcasing Paul Tough’s book, Whatever it Takes about Geoffrey Canada’s Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ). In attendance were Canada, Tough, and Roland Fryer, economist and professor at Harvard University (who is a big Canada fan, but referred himself “grumpy economist” when he discussed program results).

Canada began work in Harlem about 25 years ago, operating after-school programs and anti-violence training for urban youth.  He soon realized that these programs weren’t making enough of a difference for youth. Canada believed something radically different needed to be done, and from that belief, the Harlem Children’s Zone was born. At its inception, the Zone was targeted to a single block; ten years later, it serves more than 8,000 kids.  According to the HCZ website:

The HCZ pipeline begins with The Baby College, a series of workshops for parents of children ages 0-3. The pipeline goes on to include best-practice programs for children of every age through college. The network includes in-school, after-school, social-service, health and community-building programs.

Canada measures program success with the number of children that graduate from college. But, to appease funders and other stakeholders, there are regular evaluations of academic success. The most significant results reported are those in elementary school math, with children in the 3^rd grade and attending Promise Academy Charter School on par with other 3^rd graders in New York State, effectively closing the achievement gap in math for children in Harlem. Canada is confident that if participation begins with parents and their children from the time of birth, they can start school on grade level and stay on grade level.  To do this, the program and teaching staff must do whatever it takes to address student needs - both academic and those arising from external factors - so that HCZ students will graduate from high school and enroll in college. It will be interesting to follow HCZ as children progress through the pipeline toward success.

HCZ is an intensive program that intertwines education, social services, community rebuilding, and attitude shifts about success. Many community leaders have been to visit the Harlem Children’s Zone to see how it could be replicated. When thinking about replication, there is a lot to consider. In his remarks, Roland Fryer Jr. discussed two types of replication by either focusing on supply or on demand. The former refers to what HCZ has done, creating its own network of programs that accomplish the goals set forth. The latter refers to leveraging existing community services and resources.

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