This month, the near eastside of Indianapolis was chosen to be a Promise Neighborhood by the U.S. Department of Education. With this designation comes $30 million worth of funding over the next 5 years funneled towards improving our neighborhood schools.
This level of resource will allow for the neighborhood to achieve the goals that have been developed by neighbors and community-based organizations over the past four years. In short, resources will be deployed for evidence-based programming that has demonstrated effectiveness in helping children achieve important developmental milestones, thus stabilizing families. Likewise, data is utilized with an equity framework to ensure equal access and treatment of participants and groups who have traditionally been underserved. Additionally, the Promise Neighborhood has a goal of hiring no less than 50% of staff from the neighborhood for the new jobs created as part of the grant.
Like the Promise Zone, the grant has a distinct geography that includes the following schools:
- Thomas Gregg Neighborhood School
- Brookside Elementary School #54
- James Russell Lowell Elementary School #51
- Paramount School of Excellence
- KIPP Indy College Prep Middle School
- Harshman Middle School
- Arsenal Technical High School
Receiving the Promise Neighborhood grant is a major win for this community, e
especially coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. This grant will enable community organizations to address learning loss and inequitable access to quality education head-on and prepare the next generation of community members to be active and productive citizens.