United Way of Central Massachusetts, in partnership with Clark University, the Worcester Educational Collaborative, Main South Community Development Corporation, Worcester Public Schools and the Office of City of Worcester Mayor Joseph O’Brien, is the recipient of a Promise Neighborhoods Planning Grant recently awarded by the U.S. Department of Education.

“This is so much more than politics, partners or dollars, this is about improving the lives of thousands of children and families in Worcester.”

~Tim Garvin, President and CEO, United Way of Central Massachusetts.

The $456,000, one-year planning grant will allow for the development and support of a diverse partnership of organizations and Main South community residents, especially youth and parents to create a neighborhood-based strategic plan with a unified vision for the Main South community that will: advance neighborhood engagement and investment; support efforts to improve outcomes that are communicated and analyzed continually; identify and increase capacity for programming focused on results from cradle to career; build a continuum of solutions that include academic programs and family and community supports with effective schools at the center; integrate programs and break down silos between agencies; work with local government to sustain and “scale up” solutions and; leverage additional funding and resources to support the plan.

The planning grant holds the possibility of future federal investment—as much as $10 million to $20 million—for the Main South neighborhood and its schools.

In coverage by the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Thomas A. Del Prete, director of Clark’s Hiatt Center for Urban Education, told a reporter: “We’ve long recognized how important it is for the kids to have healthy lives from the beginning of their lives in the community, and that goes hand in hand with having great schools to go to.”

Main South is one of 21 communities nationwide that has received Promise Neighborhoods planning grants out of more than 300 applicants. According to the United Way of Central Massachusetts, the action plan for Main South is based on the successful “Harlem Children’s Zone” model that “combines education and wrap-around human services so all children can succeed, in turn creating a new vibrancy for the neighborhood.”

“This is so much more than politics, partners or dollars, this is about improving the lives of thousands of children and families in Worcester,” Tim Garvin, President and CEO, United Way of Central Massachusetts, said.

Read more:
US Department of Education Awards Promise Neighborhoods Planning Grants – 21 Communities Win Funding to Build Effective Schools with Strong Support Systems |Telegram & Gazette | Boston Globe

An archive of News & Media Relations posts can be found at https://news.clarku.edu/news.