Geoffrey Canada, the founder of the Harlem Children’s Zone and a nationally renowned expert on education reform, will join the North Hartford Ascend Pipeline’s Community Conversation Series on Thursday, June 23, 2022 from 6:00 to 7:30 pm.
During his virtual presentation, Canada will share best practices and lessons learned from his more than 30-year journey with the Harlem Children’s Zone, which is an initiative dedicated to ending intergenerational poverty in Central Harlem. The initiative’s approach is similar to the one that Ascend is undertaking, as it offers programming through a coordinated system to build opportunities for children and families to thrive in school, work and life.
The Ascend Community Conversation Series is open to the public. Registration is required.
The North Hartford Ascend Pipeline (Ascend) is funded by a $30 million grant that Connecticut Children’s received from the U.S. Department of Education’s Promise Neighborhoods Program. During the initial stage of the grant, Ascend leaders have met with Geoffrey Canada and his team to learn from their experiences in building and maintaining the Harlem Children’s Zone.
“We are so grateful to have access to the wise and timely counsel of Geoffrey Canada and the leadership of the Harlem Children’s Zone,” said Paul H. Dworkin, MD, Connecticut Children’s Executive Vice President for Community Child Health. “The compelling success of the Harlem Children’s Zone inspires and informs our efforts to partner with the community in this challenging and critically important work.”
Ascend is a cradle to career effort to ensure children living in the North Hartford Promise Zone – which includes the Clay Arsenal, Northeast, and Upper Albany neighborhoods – have the supports they need to reach their full potential.
Equity is a driving force behind Ascend. Community partners are working together to build a comprehensive system of programs and services for children and families with the goal of eliminating disparities in outcomes based on race, ethnicity, disabilities and other factors. The project will address academic, social, economic and health inequities that have long existed and were further compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic.