Sharing Web Resources

This week I explored an outside link that lead me to learn more about Harlem Children’s Zone.  Harlem Children’s Zone is doing some amazing things for children and families.  Their main goal is to give children the individual support they need to get to and through college and become productive, self-sustaining adults.  They do this by supporting the children and the families.  They have a pipeline of education that children go through.  “Our pipeline begins at birth and helps kids every step of the way until college graduation through exceptional education, social services, family support, health, and community-building programs” (Harlem Children’s Zone, 2014).

The first program they have is called Baby College and it is available so that from the time of birth babies can be immersed in a healthy and supportive environment.  “The Baby College gives expectant parents and parents of children ages 0-3 a strong understanding of child development and the skills to raise happy, healthy babies” (Harlem Children’s Zone, 2014).  To continue the parenting skills training from Baby College the Harlem Children’s Zone created the Three-Year-Old Journey Program.  “This 18-week program meets on Saturday mornings at a local public school. Parents participate in workshops, where they discuss discipline, developmental milestones, and age-appropriate activities to foster early literacy. Meanwhile, their three-year-olds play together in small and large groups under the guidance of trained staff, learning socialization skills and having fun singing, doing arts and crafts, and listening to stories” (Harlem Children’s Zone, 2014).  

Their pre-kindergarten program is called the Harlem Gems.  “Harlem Gems is the final step in our early childhood pipeline.  A top-notch, year-round, full-day pre-kindergarten program, Gems works with 240 children across four sites to ensure that each and every one enters kindergarten school-ready.  With five staff in each classroom, classes have a 4:1 child-to-adult ratio, allowing for more one-on-one work and ensuring that students receive the individualized attention they need.  Gems staff also encourage strong family involvement, engaging parents and caregivers in classroom activities and creating consistency between home and school” (Harlem Children’s Zone, 2014).  They continue to have programs all the way through college.  

It was amazing to read about and watch video on all the wonderful things this organization is doing for children, families and the Harlem community.  There is no way I could write in here all that they are doing.  You definitely should check out their website http://hcz.org/.

Reference

Harlem Children’s Zone (2014).  Retrieved from http://hcz.org/.