Sticking with the story
The Springfield News-Sun has provided in-depth coverage on the Promise Neighborhood since the initiative began in 2010, tracking contributions from local groups, federal grants and the results and growth of the program.
The Promise Way
The Springfield Promise Neighborhood Initiative uses these principles in extended day and year programs to foster improvement in the academic and social success of participating students:
- Student growth is dependent upon a blended approach of remediation and enrichment activities.
- Student attendance and engagement is encouraged by providing healthy food, field trips and recreation.
- Increasing the duration, intensity and scope of extended day and year programs are key elements in helping students progress academically.
- Creating opportunities for co-learning between parents and students encourages positive learning experiences and supportive family relationships.
- Strong relationships precede strong strategies. Promise creates programs in which students have a choice in activities and an opportunity to develop strong relationships with caring adults.
Source: www.springfieldpromise.com
Executive Director Bob Welker shared the unique story that the Springfield Promise Neighborhood Initiative has become with an audience of 30 of the state’s top after-school program representatives last month in Columbus.
What he shared was the beginning of what he hopes will become a true success story, outlined by the organization’s initial three-year report released this month.
“We were able to tell how a center like Lincoln can be part of a strategy to change a neighborhood,” said Welker, referring to the new Lincoln Community Learning Center, housed in Lincoln Elementary School on Springfield’s south side. After growing Lincoln’s after-school program into a success, the reward was a $200,000 Century 21 Grant, announced in October and renewable for four years, that will keep the after-school program and the Learning Center viable for years to come.
Lincoln was the third Springfield City Schools elementary to earn the grant, joining Perrin Woods, which late last year became part of Springfield Promise, and Fulton.
“A lot of people have after-school programs, but not many had one that’s tied to the school, tied to the neighborhood and tied to parents,” he said of representatives at the state-level convention. “We were the last to be heard in an eight-hour day of presentations, but they applauded the presentation. They liked the holistic approach.”
Welker wants to establish the Springfield Promise multi-faceted model as a prototype for other Promise programs across the state and nation.
“Right now, I think we are under the radar on the state and national level,” said Welker. “What this report does is it allows us to tell the story of what can be done.”
The three-year report, available www.springfieldpromise.com, credits teamwork for Springfield Promise’s successful beginning.
“A lot of people think it is all about money, but a large part of this is people,” said Welker. “We have our own story of how this works. It’s not just the school, not just the neighborhood and not just the parents. In reality, this is about children needing good schools and communities to succeed. Caring adults is the core of anything like this that succeeds.
“We believe this is the way out of poverty.”
Lincoln’s neighborhood consists of 110 blocks and 4,800 residents, and it has the highest poverty rate of the city school district’s student population.
Welker said Springfield Promise has many “caring adults.” Lincoln administrators and teachers, community members and parents team up to support the program. Springfield Promise has trained more than 250 volunteers and in the last year, partnered with more than 60 organizations.
Just as integral is AmeriCorps Volunteers In Service To America (VISTA) program volunteers, supplied through a partnership with Think Tank Inc. VISTA has provided 10 full-time volunteers, who agree to serve while living a the local poverty level for at least a year and who focus their energies on making Springfield Promise a success.
“We wouldn’t be able to operate without VISTA volunteers,” said Welker.
Kali Lawrence, a Wittenberg University graduate from Elyria, has been with the program for two years and has signed up for a third.
“I’m not in it for the money,” said Lawrence. “I think of the kids first of all, and their families. You see a huge difference in the way the kids compose themselves and act with each other and with adults.
“I think it is important to feel needed in your field as a professional,” she continued. “I feel work needs me and I need the work. It can be hard. But every day is different.”
Volunteer effort equals community engagement and visibility.
“We are beginning to be seen by members of the community as a community center, and I think that’s great,” Welker said. “It is a huge investment by the community.”
Springfield Promise is part of a nationwide Promise Neighborhood initiative founded by Geoffrey Canada in Harlem, N.Y., in 1970 and profiled in the recent documentary, “Waiting For Superman.” At last count, there were 64 Promise Neighborhoods in the U.S., but not even Welker knows how many are currently operating, as they tend to live and die with their government funding.
“What happens a lot is once they don’t get their grants, they stop,” said Welker. “We were fortunate that we were able to keep going. Members of the community said it is too important not to continue.”
Welker was referring to being turned down for $500,000 in planning grants in 2011. But funding issues loom again. Thirty-three percent of Springfield Promise’s nearly $167,000 2013 budget came from Race To The Top Grant funding that will end this June.
“Yeah, you are concerned,” said Welker. “But we have already found some additional funding, and we have other sources we are working on.”
A major push will be kindergarten readiness.
“We want to put a lot of our energies into having kids ready to enter school,” said Welker.
An increased focused on peer mentoring is also in the offing.
“We want to provide avenues where kids who went through Promise can give back,” said Welker. These students can do so through tutoring and helping students with transitions to new buildings within the district.
He also plans to enhance extended year programming, which offers a learning program during the summer months,.
“Are we there yet?” asked Welker. “No, we’ve still got a ways to go. But we’re moving; we’re getting there.”
More than 50 kids come to school at Lincoln at 8 a.m. and stay three extra hours until 6 p.m. daily, many getting breakfast, lunch and dinner while they are there. The result has been steady increases in Ohio Achievement Assessment reading scores. For example, 58.5 percent of the current seventh graders at Hayward are considered above the proficient level, up from 39.2 percent when the current class was in third grade.
In August, Lincoln was one of two city schools that received straight A’s on its state progress report card. Perrin Woods was the other.
“When we can get kids to the level in reading and math that they belong, chances of them being successful are much greater,” said Welker. “We’ve got a fairly clean strategic vision — we’re working toward the success of children. And we’ve narrowed it down to four main area of focus.”
Those are responsive schools, preschool readiness, youth development and community engagement.
“Ours is a story that’s trying to tell the story of a community that wants to succeed,” said Welker. “We know we have a long way to go. It’s a culture shift.”
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