Excerpt: Harlem Children's Zone

December 4, 2009 10:28 AM

Geoffrey Canada explains what he's trying to achieve with his educational project in New York City. CNN's Anderson Cooper reports, Sunday, Dec. 6, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

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by milo55 December 9, 2009 2:24 PM EST: keeping these kids from back sliding turns out to be the bigger challenge than just getting them started. Far too many students don't complete programs started with the best intentions. It won't matter what the initial cost is if the student never completes the program. Getting students all the way to college and then having them fail after a few semesters negates many years of effort and expense. Unfortunately its glossed over and rarely reported.; Reply to this comment


by sfutado December 7, 2009 5:41 PM EST: this is a great alternative that the country needs. i worked with a struggling school but there was no contract agreement with the parents to follow through with their kids at home. these kids need to know the rules up front and the consequences of their actions.
i'm working with a home-based business team now and one day hope to have lots of teens and young adults either creating income from home online or creating their own small business. economics is another area we all can gain more knowledge on.; Reply to this comment


by jodyacox December 7, 2009 3:32 PM EST: Where can we download the entire segment? I'd like to forward it to friends and local business and education professionals.

This was a great segment - very inspiring. Thought Canada's point about the sheer cost of it all was brilliant. That we end up spending tens of thousands more on these kids when we "fail them" - i.e. jail and juvenile detention centers.; Reply to this comment


by organicfreak354 December 6, 2009 8:05 PM EST: I can't believe that they still have "only black" or "only white" schools in America. That's not right! Martin Luther King Jr. fought hard so that it wouldn't happen anymore. But I guess "wouldn't" is actually a "shouldn't". It's just not right. One the bright side at least kids have new hopes to be able to graduate high school and college to pursue their dreams toward a great job! I believe that Geoffrey Canada can make their dreams come true.; Reply to this comment


by worldisonitsway December 6, 2009 7:57 PM EST: VERY POSITIVE STORY WITH VERY GOOD IMPACT!

With the energy it takes to post a negative comment regarding this great story please redirect your thoughts and energy to creating something positive in the city you live in for ALL children!

Perhaps more school district personnel should try and duplicate some of these efforts in lieu of visiting foreign countries and try what works in USA!

Redirecting business funds, private donations to support programs such as this within your own district is what needs to be supported.

I look forward to hearing more successful educational stories!

Walter; Reply to this comment


by bverne December 6, 2009 7:53 PM EST: My name is Brian Verne. I am a 2009 graduate of Oberlin College. I have read about the Harlem Children's Zone and just watched the piece on 60 Minutes. For the last 6 months, I have been working on an initiative in Cleveland, Ohio to promote inner-city education and athletics, in effect lowering the dropout rate and increasing the number of students who go to college. My best friend and I (Michael Eppich, Rollins College '09) are starting a sports apparel social entrepreneurship called CnXn, short for "Connection." (http://cnxnathletics.blogspot.com/)

For each city, we will make an area code logo, thus in Cleveland we have the "216 Connection." The goal is to connect individuals from all socioeconomic backgrounds. We believe everyone in Cleveland can identify with the "216," just like people in New York can identify with the "212" and so on. We plan on taking a percentage of our proceeds and giving it to Cleveland Public Schools and their athletic departments. In addition, we are creating a separate CnXn non-profit where we hope to take an abandoned warehouse in Cleveland and turn it into the CnXn Indoor Baseball/Athletics Facility and Academic Enrichment Center. Both Michael and I played college baseball for four years.

I currently teach at a charter school in inner-city Cleveland and see exactly what Mr. Canada was talking about on a daily basis. My students come to me in the morning and tell me of murders in the family and problems at home or in the community. These boys and girls are very bright but just need to be pointed in the right direction and told over and over again that they CAN succeed. Our program that we are putting in place hopes to do many of the things that Mr. Canada's program has accomplished in Harlem. We plan on using athletics as a positive extra-curricular activity to give students a chance to pursue their dreams.

CnXn hopes to accomplish the same things in Cleveland and eventually move the program to many cities across the country. Please check us out here http://cnxnathletics.blogspot.com/

Brian Verne
Oberlin College '09
bmverne@gmail.com; Reply to this comment


by mdmichaels December 6, 2009 7:48 PM EST: The costs for the program do not add up as they were presented. And this is important because every politician in my state will say that we're spending too much (at about $6000/student). The article claimed that the total budget was $76,000,000. They said that ther are 10,000 kids in the Harlem Children's Zone. That would mean $7,600/child in the zone.

However, it must be that those in the school receive more per pupil than those just in the zone. So the amount per pupil probably runs much more, even 10-12,000/pupil, which does match the per pupil amount in our suburbs in Illinois.

This is critical because checking the math shows that the real issue remains that we can fix the problem with enough money so that we have quality buildings (did you see the beautiful building that they chose?), quality support services, a safe environment, involved parents (that certainly showed up in the story), as well as good teachers.

It's not that this is a charter that makes it work, it is that the money is there to do all of the above. We need politicians to be willing to pay the bill so our kids will have the opportunity and resources to learn.; Reply to this comment


by dtchme December 6, 2009 7:47 PM EST: I am a teacher in North Carolina and this story was very moving. I have some questions though: where are the children with learning disabilities? Are they included in the statistics? In public education, all children are accepted. Are these students not admitted to the school?
On a side note, I would love to see a program like this in the county I teach in. I have worked in some of the toughest elementary schools in my county and I have pushed the students in my classes to be their best and do their best with the resources I had. I appauld Mr. Canada for taking the initiative to help close the achievement gap because if we can do that in education then we are making progress and moving forward. In order for this to take effect and be successful in other areas, it will take time, committment, money and the drive to help all children succeed!! Wonderful job Mr. Canada!; Reply to this comment


by moeb1 December 6, 2009 7:46 PM EST: Allow me to begin by saying this man is a credit to our society...the hope and inspiration he has brought to this neighborhood is to be commended. However, I was deeply disturbed by the woman in green whose child did not win the lottery. Time and time again I see people reacting in a manner that says "I am owed this opportunity!" Where are the parents of the children enrolled in this school? Is it mandatory that they volunteer their time and get involved? Instead of just laying off teachers replace them with parents! I am a middle class white American. I no longer work due to a disability. Although my daughter has ranked amongst the highest scores on FCAT/ACT/SAT and has been enrolled in the gifted program since third grade I have NO GUARANTEE that she will go to college.
I CANNOT AFFORD THE EXTRA FEES INVOLVED WITH THE MARCHING BAND AND THE JROTC CLUBS SHE IS INVOLVED IN; NOR CAN I AFFORD TO PAY A DECENT TITHE TO MY CHURCH SO I VOLUNTEER MY TIME FUNDRAISING AND TEACHING A PRE-K BIBLE CLASS. To me, this is a lesson better taught to my children than standing up in a crowd, yelling at a most generous man, and conveying the life long lesson that life owes me something!; Reply to this comment


by kevinboston December 6, 2009 7:44 PM EST: I liked the "story" but did you say 76,000,000.00 and there are 1200 students and that comes to 5,000.00. I didn't go to college but that seems to a little over 63K per enrolled student!! He ought to guarantee a college degree for first thru tenth grade plus pre k and kindergarden that comes to 760,000.00 per enrolled student. Nice feel good "story" but when you run the numbers they don't add up. What is really scary 99% people who watched didn't give it any thought.; Reply to this comment