Charleston Promise Neighborhood

In our last blog post, Dwayne talked about some of the elements of success that the Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ) has built into its seamless system of college-bound programs and services.  They include starting programs in early childhood, expanding learning opportunities through extended-day and extended-year services, and increasing parent involvement, just to name a few.

At the Charleston Promise Neighborhood, we’re taking that advice  (and evidence of success) to heart, and have committed to working hand-in-hand in partnership with the Charleston County School District to transform four Neighborhood elementary schools (Sanders-Clyde, James Simons, Mary Ford and Chicora).  Together, we have one shared goal:

By 2016, all four CPN elementary schools will be among the best in Charleston County, and will be models for other schools in the County who desire to dramatically and rapidly improve the educational achievements for the children they serve. Continue reading →

Geoffrey Canada and Dwayne Green

Like a good book that gets better with every reading, or a movie in which you notice something different every viewing, the words of Geoffrey Canada never cease to amaze.  I had the opportunity to hear Geoffrey Canada speak for the second time in three months when I attended the Annual Conference for the National Association for Independent Schools in National Harbor, Maryland last weekend.  (Interestingly, another keynote speaker at the conference was Dan Heath, author of the book Switch, about whom Laura wrote in our last blog entry.) What a double bonus! Continue reading →

Just a few months ago, Dwayne and I had an opportunity to attend the Liberty Fellowship Summit in Columbia where more than 700 progressive thinkers came together to discuss some of South Carolina’s most pressing issues in the areas of education, economic development, health and the environment, and public policy.

The keynote speaker was Dan Heath, who together with his brother and co-author, Chip Heath, authored a newly-published book called, “Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard.” The book is a must-read for anyone who is committed to catalyzing community change, but there’s one particular piece of advice that has had all of us at CPN thinking ever since we attended: “Find a bright spot and clone it.”

Continue reading →