Zeroed in on zone for success

In the Harlem Children's Zone, kids excel in school no matter how poor their homes.

In his book "Whatever it Takes," Paul Tough writes about the zone and its creator, Geoffrey Canada, who created a formula that promises to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty and transform education.

Tough spoke at a United Way of King County breakfast in Seattle last week.

He said Canada grew up in deep poverty in the South Bronx, and got into drugs and drinking as an adolescent, but pulled himself out of it, went on to get a graduate degree from Harvard and came back to do something about the conditions that trapped so many young black and Latino people.

For years, he ran a program that kept kids in school and away from drugs, jail and early death.

It did good work, but Canada felt like a failure. He could save one child, or 50 or 500, but thousands in the same neighborhood would still be lost.

Like a liberal, Canada addresses the social and economic problems that hold poor people back, and like a conservative, he holds teachers and parents accountable.

He decided the whole neighborhood needed to change so that the social environment wouldn't drag people down.

So, in 1997 Canada picked a 24-block area of intense poverty and sent people door to door to recruit families into his programs, bribing parents with gifts if necessary. The zone encompasses 100 blocks now.

Within that area, kids in the program get whatever they need to succeed — health care, dental care, food — paid for by foundations, government, individual and corporate donations.

He got help from child-development pioneer T. Berry Brazelton.

Canada started Baby College, to teach pregnant women and young parents how to nurture their children.

He created the Harlem Gem's preschool program.

He connected with a wealthy Republican businessman who became his chief backer and guided him toward a more businesslike approach, suits and ties, accountability, strict measurement of successes and failures. Meetings started on time, and excuses weren't allowed.

Canada tried working with the school system, sometimes successfully, but often he ran into resistance from teachers and officials.

Eventually, though he had qualms about charter schools, in 2004 he created The Promise Academy, because it was the only way to get the freedom he needed to try new approaches. The K-12 program has longer days and a longer school year than most schools.

Tough quotes Canada telling parents, "There will be no excuses. We're not going to say, 'The child failed because they came from a home with only one parent.' We're not going to say, 'The child failed because they're new immigrants into the country.' If your child gets into our school, that child is going to succeed."

Academy students score higher than the New York City average in reading. Ninety-seven percent of third-graders at Canada's first academy score at or above their grade level. At his second academy, 100 percent score at or above that level.

And each year the scores get better as more kids who started with the program from the beginning move up through the grades.

President Obama has said he plans to fund the creation of up to 20 "Promise Neighborhoods," like the Harlem Children's Zone, around the country.

Canada told Tough he was surprised how easy it was if you follow a simple formula: Start early and help parents help their children.

There's a bit more to it than that, but Canada's work removes any excuses we've used for not getting it right. It gives us reason to put away despair and take up hope.

Jerry Large's column appears Monday and Thursday. Reach him at 206-464-3346 or jlarge@seattletimes.com.