For the past two years, the Spokane Regional Youth Department has worked in concert with Whitworth University and the West Central Neighborhood Council to develop a group of stakeholders and planning process to improve academic, health, and social/emotional outcomes for youth 0-21 living in the West Central Neighborhood. Using a model developed by the US Department of Education called the Promise Neighborhood, the goal is to replicate the collaborative support model developed and implimented in New York called, The Harlem Children’s Zone. This model provides a framework of support that will keep young people from birth to career on a path to success. It requires a strong team approach, incorporating agencies, goverment systems, parents, students, and businesses with a common understanding of the challenges these youth face and the strategies that will best meet their needs. The West Central Promise Neighborhood is currently targeting Holmes Elementary School and the surrounding area. As planning expands, it will incorporate the path these students most likely will follow, which leads to Glover Middle School and North Central High School.

Last year, students from the Chase Youth Commission and Teen Advisory Council acted as community researchers, administering surveys at the three schools to get student perspectives about their circumstances and supports available. This information was used by the neighborhood stakeholders to further develop a funding proposal that was recently submitted to the US Department of Education. Regardless of the outcome, the group will continue to work together to impact outcomes for youth as well as incorporate their voices into the process of improvment.

Future direction is still under discussion, and details will be posted here as they emerge. Stay tuned!

To learn more about the Harlem Children’s Zone, click here.