In an unusually blunt answer, the founder of Harlem Children’s Zone recently described how he defines success at the anti-poverty program he started in Harlem in 2004.
“The only benchmark of success is college graduation,” Geoffrey Canada told Helen Zelon of City Limits magazine, where Zelon’s excellent series appears this month. “That’s the only one: How many kids you got in college, how many kids you got out. Everything else is interim.”
Canada’s remarks were particularly instructive because the “cradle to college,” program he began in Harlem in 2004 has been cited as a model for President Barack Obama’s “Promise Neighborhoods.” Obama wants to see 20 poverty reduction campaigns in areas around the country that, like the Harlem Children’s Zone, offer services to new parents even before the child sets foot in a school. The best programs support children all the way to college.
There’s a great deal of interest in how Canada’s program works, and the best source for truly understanding both the ideas behind Harlem Children’s Zone and the difficulty of succeeding are described in “Whatever it Takes,” by Paul Tough, a former New York Times writer.
Journalists throughout the U.S. should be learning more about Canada’s programs as the communities they cover contemplate similar models, and Zelon’s pieces are another great jumping off point. Hope or hype? Zelon asks.
Zelon perfectly captured the lockstep approach to Canada’s pro-college philosophy in an interview with Patrice Ward, who teaches ninth-grade English language arts, African-American film, and college prep.
“Everyone is here for the same greater purpose,” Ward said. “Everyone exudes it and will support you in it. So the students, from every person they encounter, are going to get the same message: That they can succeed, that they can go to college, and here’s what you need to do. No, you’re not going to fall apart—no, we’re not going to let you have a bad day—we want you to succeed, we’re going to push you in that direction.”
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at 10:49 am
I have the utmost respect for Mr. Canada and the HCZ. I’m just not convinced that college is the answer. I have been teaching in colleges for many years and I can tell you that college really is not for everyone. There are many ways to achieve a greater purpose without college. On the other hand – if we want to look at college as a benchmark of achievement for everyone, then the colleges will have to change the way they do things. We can’t just keep offering the same old college courses and schedules, and expect them to be useful to a whole new kind of student. Maybe it’s time to take another look.