Welcome

All children deserve to grow up in communities that are healthy, vibrant, and filled with opportunity. Our purpose, and our promise, is to make this a reality for every child who lives within the Charleston Promise Neighborhood.

 

Watch our video and learn more about the Charleston Promise Neighborhood.

Disproportionate numbers of young people in the area of Charleston, South Carolina grow up in an environment marked by poor education, extreme poverty, and high crime. Despite Charleston’s reputation as a center of beauty, history, culture, and wealth, a darker reality stunts the futures of thousands of children coming of age in communities tourists never see. Determined to end these inequities, the cities of Charleston and North Charleston, the County of Charleston, and the Local Educational Agency (LEA)—the Charleston County School District (CCSD)—have banded together and partnered with local organizations and residents to create the Charleston Promise Neighborhood (CPN).

Learn more about the need.

Where the Neighborhood is Located

Home to just over 17,000 residents – 4,300 of whom are children under the age of 18 – the CPN is a 5.6 mile area of Charleston County, South Carolina that straddles portions of the cities of Charleston and North Charleston (sometimes referred to as “The Neck”).  CPN boundaries coincide with the areas served by four elementary schools:

View a map of our entire service area.

The Opportunity

Through collaboration and partnerships with local government, businesses, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations, we have the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty within the Neighborhood.  We are a committed, diverse and growing team of experienced grassroots organizers, entrepreneurial leaders, community-based partners and skilled volunteers who are determined to reach one goal: Provide every child in our Neighborhood with a clear path to college.

Learn more about us.
Learn more about our partners.

The Results

Creating a community where every child graduates from high school and goes to college will take us a generation of work (that’s about 20 years, if we start with children who are about to be born).  That doesn’t mean that we have to wait that long to see results, though.  Below are just a few indicators that we’ll be tracking for children in the neighborhood:

  • Increased school readiness for 3-to-5 year olds
  • Increasing numbers of students reading at or above grade level in elementary and middle school
  • Increasing high school graduation rates

Learn more about our commitment to evidence-based outcomes and real-time evaluation.