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2021 | Fall

IN THIS ISSUE
TTA Talk
In the News
Funding Opportunitites
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A quarterly greeting and update from your U.S. Department of Education Promise Neighborhoods Team:


Welcome to the Fall 2021 Neighborhood Compass! We hope your return to school has been smooth and your communities are enjoying the fall weather. We are excited to announce seven new Promise Neighborhoods grantees and welcome them to the program. We look forward to all grantees gathering for the Promise Neighborhoods National Network Conference, which will be held virtually on December 6–10, 2021.
Pictured: U.S. Department of Education Promise Neighborhoods program team, including (left to right) Richard Kress, Elson Nash, and Rich Wilson.
Earlier this year, the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) offered a mini-course titled “Promise Neighborhoods as a Platform for Advancing Racial Equity” in partnership with the Urban Institute as part of the federal training and technical assistance offered to grantees. The mini-course, which took place from March through June, drew teams from six Promise Neighborhoods and included a mix of lead agency staff and partners. In this edition of the newsletter, Anand Sharma and Fatoumata Kane from CSSP discuss the motivation behind the mini-course, highlight some of the content that was offered, and share some reflections on the experience.
Promise Neighborhoods as a Platform for Advancing Racial Equity: Reflections on the Recent Mini-Course
Anand Sharma, Senior Associate, Center for the Study of Social Policy
Fatoumata Kane, Program & Research Assistant, Center for the Study of Social Policy
Why should Promise Neighborhoods focus on racial equity?
CSSP defines racial equity as the condition where race is no longer a predictor of outcomes, leading to more just outcomes in policies, practices, attitudes, and cultural messages. Advancing racial equity is crucial to the work of Promise Neighborhoods because to achieve the population-level results grantees seek, they and their partners must identify, understand, and address racial disparities observed in many education, health, and social indicators. Racism contributes to barriers that Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, and other communities of color encounter. Promise Neighborhoods need to partner with the communities they serve to uncover and unpack the history of racism in America and how it affects and continues to affect those communities. With a deeper and shared understanding of that history and how barriers developed over time, Promise Neighborhoods can work to address the root causes of inequitable outcomes, which is essential for efforts like Promise Neighborhoods, which are designed to achieve population-level results.
What is meant by “platform for advancing racial equity”?
The mini-course’s title, “Promise Neighborhoods as a Platform for Advancing Racial Equity,” alludes to CSSP’s belief that Promise Neighborhoods are uniquely positioned to help advance racial equity in their communities. This is due to several factors: grantees are focused on achieving population-level results, which requires paying attention to root causes; grantees have convening power and help influence and set the agenda for partners; grantees must think beyond programs and services to address policies and systems; and grantees have relatively flexible funding that can be used to pilot and adjust strategies to match community context and meet pressing community needs.
Which topics did the mini-course cover?
During the mini-course, teams of Promise Neighborhoods leaders from six communities—Southeast Alaska; Camden, NJ; Hayward, CA; Knox County, TN; Portland, OR; and West Philadelphia, PA—were introduced to key concepts and frameworks and reflected on the challenges and opportunities for advancing racial equity and achieving more equitable results for children and families. Over the course of four two-hour sessions, participating lead agency and partner staff focused on 1) creating shared language and understanding how key concepts might be contributing to racial disparities, 2) understanding implicit racial bias, 3) identifying policies to advance racial equity, and 4) exploring the role of parents and community leadership.
What are some of the insights that participants gained from the mini-course?
Mini-course participants seemed to find the implicit racial bias and policy sessions to be the most useful content. In a postevaluation survey of the mini-course, one participant wrote, “Although I've done a lot of my own work to learn more about racial equity, some of the key concepts/ideas were new and helpful. I immediately used the ‘ground water’ analogy, and the exercise of thinking through root causes and who/how to partner was helpful.” Participants also realized the importance of thinking beyond programs and services and addressing policies and systems that create barriers to equitable results. In addition, participants found it helpful to learn how data can be a pathway to advance racial equity; when we disaggregate data on race, we can examine racial disparities, identify root causes, and be more intentional in supporting populations who are facing the most barriers. A participant mentioned how they were taking steps to improve their data collection and wrote, “We have several action commitments thinking forward, one big one was trying to capture data we found currently is missing/is a gap.”

Some participants stated barriers they face as Promise Neighborhood leaders trying to advance racial equity include staff capacity, lack of funding for racial equity work, and challenges with influencing large, inequitable systems. Staff turnover also negatively impacts efforts to advance racial equity. A participant said in an interview, “We’re losing key people that were helping us push this forward. And…there was no documentation, you know it's just like it was that person kind of carried the knowledge and the passion and the plan.” Despite the barriers to advance racial equity, some participants see opportunities by providing racial equity training to community partners and collaborating more with families and school districts to advance racial equity.
How can I learn more about how Promise Neighborhoods can help advance racial equity?
The CSSP is currently developing a technical assistance brief to support Promise Neighborhoods in their efforts to advance racial equity in their communities. That resource will be available through the Urban Institute website in late 2021. Promise Neighborhoods National Network Conference attendees can also check out breakout sessions under the theme “Advancing Racial Justice at the Individual-and Organizational-level,” including a workshop on understanding and addressing implicit bias.

Updates on the latest activities of your Promise Training and Technical Assistance team and selected resources for grantees...


Understanding and addressing housing insecurity in your community. Promise Neighborhoods grantees are invited to participate in the final mini-course being offered in 2021 as part of the Promise Neighborhoods Training and Technical Assistance team’s support. This mini-course is designed for grantees who are interested in learning more about local housing conditions and exploring collaborations with housing partners. It will cover key topics like housing needs, eviction, homelessness, and housing quality. It will also introduce strategies for Promise Neighborhoods grantees and their partners to identify and address local housing challenges. Please contact Megan Gallagher (mgallagher@urban.org) or Anna Morgan (amorgan@urban.org) for more information.

 

Highlighting Promise Neighborhoods making the news


Buffalo Promise Neighborhood (FY 2011 grantee) Promise Neighborhood donates supplies for the new school year. In anticipation of students returning to the classroom following a year of remote learning due to the pandemic, Buffalo Promise Neighborhood partnered with several local companies to donate nearly 200 backpacks to community youth. Kenya Peoples, the Buffalo Promise Neighborhood financial coach, said, “I think it’s just a great thing. You bring the community out. Everybody gets to have some fun…really just to soak up some sun after being on quarantine for the last year.” The distributed backpacks were filled with school supplies such as paper, pencils, and hand sanitizer and were distributed to low-income families.

South Ward Promise Neighborhood (FY 2017 grantee) Promise Neighborhood distributes donated school supplies to community youth. South Ward Promise Neighborhood (SWPN), in collaboration with the BRICK education network, hosted a donation drive and helped distribute nearly 500 backpacks and school supplies to 300 community members. Earlier in the pandemic, SWPN distributed Chromebooks to students and recent high school graduates within the community, which served beneficial for students with precarious technology situations. Nichelle Holder, chief program officer of SWPN, says that because the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted so many of Newark’s South Ward families, they want to use this time to spread joy and create a safe environment for community youth. She continues, “that is why South Ward Promise Neighborhood is dedicated to giving students and their families the tools they need to succeed both inside and outside of the classroom.” SWPN and the BRICK education network are committed to ensuring students and families have all the resources they need for a successful start to the new school year.

Berea College Perry Promise Neighborhood (FY 2017 grantee). Promise Neighborhood assists with local school supply distribution event. Members of the Berea College Perry Promise Neighborhood brought interactive games and engaged with community youth at the local “back-to-school bash.” Students were given the opportunity to meet with teachers, fill out paperwork, and even register for school. “It means so much for me to be from Hazard, it’s such a small town, to get the opportunity to go out of my way, get with these community partners and give back to a community that gave back to me so many years ago,” said Raegan Francis, one of the organizers for the event. Recent data suggests that Kentucky youth often do not readily have access to school supplies, and the back-to-school bash helped support many underresourced students.

 

Opportunities for funding that may support or continue the impact Promise Neighborhoods are making in their communities


The American Association of University Women provides funding to nonprofit organizations that promote educational equity through projects that encourage girls to select, before college, the physical sciences or engineering as a career. Funding ranges in size from $3,000 to $10,000. The deadline to apply is December 1, 2021.

The Walmart Foundation is accepting applications for nonprofit organizations that engage in local community support. Grants range in size from $250 to $5,000. The deadline to apply is December 31, 2021.

 

Promise Neighborhoods National Network Conference (December 6–10). The Promise Neighborhoods National Network Conference will be held virtually on December 6–10, 2021. Please register for the conference via Eventbrite.

National Policy Seminar 2022  (March 21–23). At this conference, career and technical education professionals will engage in key policy topics. The 2021 event topics have not yet been released, but the 2020 event discussed education policy priorities and best practices for influencing federal policy related to career and technical education.

 

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This newsletter contains information about and from public and private entities and organizations for the reader’s information. Inclusion does not constitute an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education of any entity or organization or the products or services offered or views expressed. This publication also contains hyperlinks and URLs created and maintained by outside organizations. They are provided for the reader’s convenience.