The Harlem Children’s Zone goes beyond the classroom to help poor kids succeed in school and in life. Geoffrey Canada founded this. He said it's about focusing on a community that for fifty years "has had some of the worst outcomes for children in America. And we’re trying to make sure that all of the children in that community really get a chance to live up to their full potential."
It's meant organizing block associations and tenant associations and trying to clean up the streets. "But at the same time, we’re creating a series of best-practice programs, starting at birth and going straight through until children graduate from college” said Canada.
In Denver, the focus will be on neighborhoods surrounding Manual High School. It's called the Northeast Denver Children’s Collaborative. Rob Stein is the former principal of Manual High School. Lisa Calderon directs the Community Reentry Project, which assists Denver residents who’ve been in jail. Stein said he thinks Denver is letting many of its children down.
Story reported and produced by David Hill.
