NIH All of Us
NewsOne Featured Video
CLOSE

Another round of funding opened for community organizations to partner with the federal government to improve schools in their neighborhood.

The U.S. Department of Education announced the 2016 Promise Neighborhoods grant competition. It awards $30 million for organizations to provide a range of services.

U.S. Education Secretary John B. King Jr. said in a statement that giving students positive support improves their academic success and enables them to contribute to their community.

“The kind of interdisciplinary support that this program generates can transform our most distressed communities,” King added.

In 2010, President Barack Obama launched Promise Neighborhoods, which makes schools the center of community revitalization by partnering with local organizations that provide comprehensive support for the needs of students and their families.

The department said the 2016 grant competition is the fourth and final round of funding. To this point, 48 communities nationwide have benefited from a federal investment of nearly $300 million. More than 1,000 organizations have partnered to assist over 700 schools.

Harlem Children’s Zone, founded by Geoffrey Canada, provided a model for Promise Neighborhoods.

When Canada stepped down in 2014, Harlem Children’s Zone, which includes a network of charter schools, offered social services (such as healthcare) to 12,000 children living in 97 street blocks in Harlem. His goal was not just to educate at-risk students, but also to end the cycle of poverty in their community.

Canada welcomed the expansion of Promise Neighborhoods.

“Finally we are offering a comprehensive, cradle-to-career strategy for disadvantaged youth in our most at-risk communities,” he said in a statement. “This is terrific news because it helps tens of thousands of children from poor families take a real shot at achieving the American Dream.”

The Education Department said potential applicants should read the full Notice Inviting Applications, which are due by Sep. 6, 2016.

PHOTO CREDIT: Getty, Twitter

SEE ALSO:

How The Community Model Saved A Failing School

Education Coalition Led By Al Sharpton Launches First Phase