I know this is old news, but perhaps my framing will provide some new light on just how awesome the Harlem Children Zone is, and why cities all over should be working to replicate it.
Quality teaching is hardly the only/most important obstacle that stands in the way of student achievement. Harlem Children Zone acknowledges the deficits in parenting and in the "culture of poverty" (we can call it), then addresses those things head on. It isn't a side bar, or checking a teacher's parent log. They have created a series of parent training programs to help create the educational partners teachers really need for success. It is not condemning. It is not condescending. It is spot on and we need more of it.
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I agree with your post and think that we need a lot more overhauling reform similar to the Harlem Children Zone as opposed to a bunch of "quick fix" solutions. My favorite aspect of the Harlem Children Zone is the Baby College. I think starting the intervention before the students are born is momumental in mazimizing the impact and evoking real change in the community. The reserach shows that interventions need to come BEFORE students' brains have fully developed which is age 3-4. As a high school teacher that can be depressing because it makes you feel like it's impossible to make a difference this late in their lives. Programs like Baby College provide the early interventions necessary so that by the time those kids get to high school, teachers can have mazimum impact. I would love to see more systems copy programs like the ones within the Harlem Children Zone.
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