[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 67 (Monday, May 16, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2997-S2998]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HARKIN (for himself, Ms. Mikulski, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. 
        Kerry, Mr. Casey, and Mr. Franken):
  S. 1004. A bill to support Promise Neighborhoods; to the Committee on 
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, in many of our Nation's poorest 
communities, children and families do not have access to the 
educational opportunities that enable youth to start school ready to 
learn and graduate from secondary school ready to succeed in college 
and the workforce, achieve economic self-sufficiency, and support 
families of their own someday.
  As chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, 
it is my responsibility to lead the reauthorization of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act, which affords an exciting opportunity to 
improve the quality of elementary and secondary education for our 
children and youth. Our Nation's future economic strength and national 
security require well-educated workers who are not only academically 
prepared, but also healthy, understand the importance of community and 
civic participation, and possess the skills needed to successfully 
compete in the 21st century global economy. To accomplish these goals, 
children and youth must have access to a great education and safe and 
supportive community, beginning at birth.
  However, in too many communities the consequences of poverty limit 
the chances students have to obtain a solid academic foundation that 
leads to college and career success. That is why we need Promise 
Neighborhoods. Promise Neighborhood partnerships leverage community 
assets to significantly improve academic outcomes, including school 
readiness, high school graduation and college entry and completion. 
Promise Neighborhood partners use data-driven decisionmaking to guide 
investments in a community-based continuum of high-quality services and 
evidence-based practices that address the needs of children, from birth 
through college and career entry. The reauthorization of ESEA provides 
us with an opportunity to build upon the successes of Promise 
Neighborhoods, of which there are more than 40 across the country, to 
ensure that children and youth have access to good schools, integrated 
students supports and other wrap-around services needed to ensure 
academic, as well as social and emotional, growth and development.
  The lack of supports for families and children in distressed 
neighborhoods has a profound impact on student achievement and 
development. Children from poor families are less likely to have access 
to nutritious foods, high-quality early learning programs, adults who 
read to them every day, and basic health care. As a result, these 
children are more likely to experience sickness and developmental 
delays, chronic hunger and homelessness, and abuse and neglect--all of 
which contribute to slow brain development and low academic 
achievement. Children from low-income families enter kindergarten 
approximately three months behind the national average in reading and 
enter first grade with 900 hours less of one-on-one book-reading time 
than do their middle-class peers.
  The number of poor children facing these challenges and experiencing 
these devastating results is growing at an alarming rate. According to 
the National Center for Children and Poverty, the number of poor 
children under age 6 increased by 24 percent between 2000 and 2007. The 
center also found that in my home State of Iowa, 20 percent of children 
under age 6 live in poor families. Between 2007 and 2009, the number of 
children living in poverty nationwide grew by 2.2 million, to 15.5 
million. This means that more of our Nation's children are starting 
school ill-equipped to thrive and gain the skills needed for success in 
the 21st century. The best way to combat this trend is to ensure that 
all children, especially those in low-income and under-resourced 
communities, have access to high-quality early learning programs, 
effective schools, and family and student supports that prepare them 
for success.
  One low-income neighborhood where children and their families receive 
these essential programs and supports is in Harlem, through an 
organization called Harlem Children's Zone. Geoffrey Canada began 
Harlem Children's Zone as a single-block pilot in the 1990s, which has 
since expanded to 96 blocks. Today Harlem Children's Zone operates two 
charter schools and leverages a wide range of public, nonprofit, and 
philanthropic resources to provide wrap-around services to over 10,000 
youth and about the same number of adults each year. Harlem Children's 
Zone's programs have equipped children with the skills needed to be 
successful in elementary school and have provided families with the 
tools needed to effectively support their children's development and 
academic achievement. The New York Times has called it ``one of the 
most ambitious social-service experiments of our time''.
  The bill I am introducing today builds on this outstanding framework. 
This Promise Neighborhoods proposal would fund competitive grants to 
implement cradle-to-career ``continuums of care'' similar to Harlem 
Children's Zone for children in distressed neighborhoods. Promise 
Neighborhoods encourages communities and schools to leverage 
partnerships that provide children with access to evidence-based 
education reforms, community services, and family supports that improve 
academic, developmental, career, and life outcomes.
  This bill focuses on ensuring the provision of high-quality early 
learning programs, effective family and community engagement 
strategies, and better services for special populations, such as 
children with disabilities and English learners.
  It also allows for grants that are led by community-based 
organizations working in partnership with school districts, or led by 
schools in partnership with community-based organizations or 
institutions of higher education. Partners must collaborate to develop 
and implement a high-quality, evidence-based pipeline of services. This

[[Page S2998]]

pipeline, at a minimum, must support social and emotional development 
beginning at birth, enhance academic achievement, and prepare students 
for success in college and 21st century careers.
  Promise Neighborhoods is a new kind of Federal grant. It requires 
organizations, agencies, and caring adults to work together to 
revitalize a single neighborhood, focusing on access to the educational 
and other supports children need to be successful in school and in 
life. It also supports communities in working together to combat the 
devastating effects poverty has on children's development and academic 
achievement.
  One day I would hope that all children grow up in a neighborhood that 
provides support for their success from birth. This bill will help us 
take an important step towards this vision.
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