State Schools Chief Jack O'Connell Commends Selection
of Three California Organizations to Receive
Federal "Promise Neighborhoods" Planning Grant
SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today applauded the selection by the U.S. Department of Education of three California organizations that will each receive grants of up to $500,000 to transform distressed communities into neighborhoods of hope and empowerment for families, children, and students.
Among the 21 Promise Neighborhoods planning grants recipients announced Tuesday by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, were California State University, East Bay; Proyecto Pastoral at Dolores Mission in Los Angeles; and Youth Policy Institute, also in Los Angeles.
"This is an extraordinary day for each of these entities that assist families in their communities to overcome barriers that have been set in place by poverty and circumstance," O'Connell said. "These cradle-to-career services aimed at improving the education and health of children certainly will go a very long way to erode the link between poverty and the achievement gap.
"With help and support from entire neighborhoods, children will be able to go to school ready to learn without feeling the chronic pangs of hunger, fatigue, or fear."
Promise Neighborhoods are modeled after the Harlem Children's Zone, a successful program that closed the black/white achievement gap in one of New York's poorest communities.
The U.S. Department of Education announced that a total of $10 million in awards would go to the 21 Promise Neighborhood communities. Promise Neighborhoods is the cornerstone of a broader White House Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative that focuses and coordinates federal resources in order to build communities that promote cradle to career success.
For more information on Promise Neighborhoods, please visit the U.S. Department of Education's Web site at:U.S. Department of Education Awards Promise Neighborhoods Planning Grants | U.S. Department of Education (Outside Source).
For more information on California State University, East Bay, please visit California State University, East Bay - Where all your possibilities come into view (Outside Source).
For more information on Proyecto Pastoral at Dolores Mission, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization working in the economically and politically disenfranchised community of Boyle Heights, please visit:Proyecto Pastoral (Outside Source).
And for more information on the Youth Policy Institute, also a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization that provides education, training and technology services to lift low-income families out of poverty at 95 program sites throughout Los Angeles, please visit:Youth Policy Institute (Outside Source).
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Jack O'Connell — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100