Macon Promise Neighborhood Newsletter

Macon Promise Neighborhood Newsletter Issue 1| December 14, 2012

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The primary mission of Macon Promise Neighborhood (MPN) is to mobilize the Macon community to support families and schools in the Promise Neighborhood area by creating new opportunities for children to learn, grow, and succeed. Our vision is that these children will successfully graduate from Southwest High School ready for college and work in the global economy. Since coming on board in late February, we have covered a lot of ground and made significant progress on the seven initiatives that we set out to

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accomplish in the planning grant. We are poised for implementation of a longitudinal database system to track progress as we pilot a coordinated family-services pipeline for MPN students and families. We will continue to assist the efforts of the school district and build community resources in Unionville and Tindall Heights to ensure maximum outcomes for our children. I hope you are ready to get on board!

-Ebony Harris, Project Director

A Message from our Project Director… Macon Promise Neighborhood

478-216-8033

[email protected]

maconpromise.org

Twitter: @maconpromise

Facebook.com/maconpromise

In this issue:

MPN Holds Back-to-School Kick-Off Event (page 2) Summer Internship Program Extremely Successful in First Year (page 2) Macon Promise Neighborhood Applies for $28.5 million Implementation Grant (page 3-4) Advisory Board Retreat: Looking Forward Toward Implementation (page 4) Meet our Neighborhood Advocates! (page 5) Breaking Ground on the Promise Center at Historic Ballard-Hudson (page 6) Upcoming Partners’ Council Meeting (page 6)

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Macon Promise Neighborhood Newsletter Issue 1|December 14, 2012

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Macon Promise Neighborhood placed and supervised 21 rising juniors from Southwest High School this summer to participate in a four-week summer internship program. Students had to complete an interview and job training program before beginning their internship. Students were placed with several different local employers, including the Macon Housing Authority, First

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Choice Primary Care, Mercer University, Centenary Church, Boys and Girls Club of Central Georgia, and Big Brothers Big Sisters Heart of Georgia. Students gained valuable experience in the workplace as they did everything from helping to host summer camps to serving as an office assistant. Macon Promise Neighborhood hopes to expand this program during

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the summer of 2013 to include two cohorts of interns. Rising juniors will participate in a similar 4-week internship, while rising seniors (our current interns) will participate in an 8-week internship, more tailored toward their career goals and with a college-prep component. We are excited about where this program is going and cannot wait to get a new set of interns on board!

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MPN Kick-Off: Dreary Day, High Spirits!

The sky was cloudy but our spirits were high as we officially kicked off the Macon Promise Neighborhood initiative on August 11, 2012. Thank you to all the residents, partners, staff, and supporters

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who came out to celebrate with us. We had plenty of food, games, entertainment, and fun for everyone. A special thanks to Mr. Lanier for letting us use your school, KAOS dance group for your excellent performance, Mr. Mills for manning the grill, and the Office of Workforce Development.

Macon Promise Neighborhood Internship Program Extremely Successful

Macon Promise Neighborhood Summer Interns celebrate successful completion of the program with their supervisors from Roving Listeners.

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MPN Applies for Promise Neighborhood Implementation Grant

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Last December, Macon received a one-year federal planning grant to develop a community partnership focused on the children who attend Ingram-Pye and Hartley Elementary Schools, Ballard-Hudson Middle School, and Southwest High School. Sixty-one percent of these children fail to graduate from high school. We know that our children can do better than that!

Macon Promise Neighborhood (MPN) is dedicated to a stronger future for these children. MPN is a broad partnership with the Bibb County School District and more than 20 local nonprofit organizations that provide services to children and families.

Over the past year, MPN has surveyed residents and students in Unionville and Tindall Heights and met with parents and teachers to

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analyze the barriers to school success in these schools. The resulting needs analysis sets several priorities for action. We need to focus on early learning and healthy development of infants and toddlers. Our children need to enter school ready to learn. Greater emphasis on math and science is needed in elementary school. Students in middle school need to begin preparing early for careers and college. High school students need to connect to job training and college-ready skills. More than that, the parents of these children need to develop their own job skills and educational plans. They need to be role models. We also discovered that childcare and transportation are issues for many parents in finding and keeping jobs.

That’s what we found. The next question was

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awarded this year. Sixty other cities are competing with us, so it’s a long shot. But we now have our plan, and we know where we need to focus. We are already working on it as Central Georgia Tech, Economic Opportunity Council, Communities in Schools, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Mercer University, Central Georgia Partnership for Individual and Community Development, and the Bibb County School District step up their impact.

We hope we win the long-term grant. But if not, we’re going ahead anyway. We know what needs to happen. Let’s do it.

- sodales.

Promise Neighborhood Advisory Board Retreat

Brings Partners Together During the end of October, our Advisory Board came together for two days to discuss where Macon Promise Neighborhood has been and where it is going. We had many productive conversations over the two days. During our morning session, on day one of the retreat, partner agencies reported on the work they’ve been doing in the neighborhood. Even during our planning year, our partners are already out there doing the work. Thank you! After lunch, we came back together for a session led by Micah Perlin of Susterra, Inc. Micah has been retained as our database consultant. After walking us through the MPN approach to data and the Salesforce platform on which the database will be built, Micah took questions from the group. We were pleasantly surprised at the great questions that came out of this session, even from those who

Members of the MPN Advisory Board stand together at the retreat in October holding a chain that signifies their collective strengths.

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what to do about it.

In July, MPN submitted an application to the Promise Neighborhood program for a five-year $28.5 million Implementation Grant to focus on these areas of improvement. Each partner organization developed the steps necessary to eliminate social barriers and increase educational opportunities for children and youth from birth to 23 years old in the target neighborhoods.

The key to this ambitious plan is steadily to increase services, while carefully measuring their success, until we impact enough students and families to change the educational culture of the neighborhood. We want our students and parents to expect success, to support success, and to strive for success. If we can achieve this, we won’t need a grant to keep it going. Success breeds success.

We will hear sometime in the next month if we are to receive one of the seven Implementation Grants to be

“We want our students and parents to expect success, to support success, and to strive for success. If we can achieve this, we won’t need a grant to keep it going. Success breeds success.”

claimed they weren’t “data people.” On day two, our technical assistants from the Center for the Study of Social Policy in Washington, DC led us through a session on results based accountability and funding. Once again, a topic that’s not usually met with great enthusiasm, and yet we had a very productive and lively discussion. Finally, we ended the retreat by hearing from some other Promise Neighborhoods throughout the state of Georgia and how they have approached this work. It was very enlightening and we are thankful to have such a strong community of practice here in Georgia! Thank you to all of our board members and other partners who attended. We are so lucky to have a committed and energized group who are committed to the MPN promise.

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Meet Our Neighborhood Advocates!

What We’ve Been Up To… • Door to door survey of over 300 residents during the summer of 2012 helped to develop

the MPN Needs Assessment.

• Back to School Kickoff held at Ballard-Hudson Middle School. Over 300 residents were in attendance. See page 2 for more details.

• Hosted Mercer students for an “Alternative Weekend,” which brought together Mercer students with neighborhood residents to discuss challenges and opportunities in the neighborhood.

• MPN Service Day was a chance for Mercer students and residents to come back together a month later and turn their thoughts into action.

• Community Chats have been held across the neighborhood with residents, pastors, youth, and other key groups. We’ve had over 10 chats, and will continue to host at least one a month in 2013.

Marna Cooper: Tindall Heights resident and mother to teenage twin boys. A Bibb County substitute teacher, Marna loves meeting new people and sharing ideas.

Joel Chambliss: Neighborhood resident and father to three young boys. Joel’s also a Reverend and member of Ebenezer Church. Joel always has a big smile.

Megan Whitby: Recent college graduate and Southwest High School alum. Megan has a passion for the issues facing her generation and a fun-loving personality.

Mike Flanders: Grew up in the

neighborhood and is a former Southwest High School teacher. Has a

3-year-old daughter at home and is back in school for his second degree

– this time in computer science.

Teresa Howard: Grew up in Unionville and still has strong connections in the community. Teresa enjoys volunteer work and she just welcomed her newest grandbaby this month!

Evette Jackson: Para-pro at one of the

Promise Schools and parent to an MPN middle-schooler.

Evette is very involved in her

church and with multiple community

initiatives.

Rose Lowe: Neighborhood resident and Grandma to five MPN students. Affectionately known as Ms. Rose, she knows everyone in the neighborhood and can often be found helping out at Ingram-Pye.

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The Promise of the Promise Center

October 15 was a great day in the neighborhood! The Central Georgia Partnership for Individual and Community Development (CGPICD) broke ground on the $4.5 million renovation of the former Ballard-Hudson Middle School on Anthony Road.

The Promise Center at Historic Ballard-Hudson will become a community hub, with tutoring services, a dental clinic, job coaching, family counseling, and offices for Macon Promise Neighborhood. Beginning June1, it will also be the home court for the Central Georgia Cougars Division 1 NJCAA men’s and women’s basketball. The Bibb County School District, Mercer University, and the Urban Development Authority are also key partners in this ambitious project.

The Promise Center continues the social and educational legacy of two pioneering schools. Ballard Normal School was established in 1888 as a private school for black children by the American Missionary Society and endowed by Stephen Ballard, a New England manufacturer, and his sister. Hudson High School was founded in 1922 as a public industrial high school for African-Americans in Macon. The two schools merged as Ballard-Hudson High School in 1949, the only public high school for blacks in Macon. Integrated in 1970 by order of Judge William Augustus Bootle, Willingham School for Boys and McEvoy School for Girls merged with Ballard-Hudson High School to become Southwest High School.

The Promise Center at Historic Ballard-Hudson

What’s Happening at Macon Promise Neighborhood? We’re moving full steam ahead at Macon Promise Neighborhood! Check our website soon for

upcoming neighborhood chats and other community events.

If you would like to become more involved in Macon Promise Neighborhood, please call us at 478-216-8033 or email us at [email protected].

PLEASE JOIN US! Partners’ Council Meeting

Monday, January 28, 2013 at 5pm Centenary Church (1290 College Street)

Macon Promise Neighborhood Newsletter

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