San Antonio project selected for major Promise Neighborhoods grant
-Grant expected to lift educational outcomes, spur Eastside revitalization-


San Antonio's Eastside was chosen as just one of 21 communities in the nation for a major Promise Neighborhoods grant to lift educational outcomes and spur neighborhood revitalization, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced today.

Promise Neighborhoods grants, designed to create strong urban schools in high poverty neighborhoods, were highly sought after, with the U.S. Department of Education receiving 339 applications from communities across the country. The $312,000 grant for the Eastside Promise Neighborhood Project was one of 21 applications selected to highlight the fact that school and neighborhood revitalization are inextricably connected. The national program, which is modeled after the pioneering Harlem Children's Zone, is intended to significantly improve the educational and developmental outcomes of children in distressed communities.

"We are building this road together, none of us could do this alone," said Jan Hill, board chairman of the United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County.

The local Promise Neighborhood collaboration is led by the United Way, and includes partners such as the City of San Antonio, the San Antonio Independent School District, the San Antonio Housing Authority, Trinity University and the Urban Land Institute, among others. It builds upon the city’s East Side summits, in which residents expressed a powerful interest in making the community a safe, healthy place for children to grow up and prosper.

"This unprecedented collaboration will get to the heart of solving the chicken and egg problem of failing schools and decaying neighborhoods by addressing both holistically," said Mayor Julián Castro.

The goal of Promise Neighborhoods is to ensure that all children have access to effective schools and strong support systems that will prepare them to attain an excellent education and successfully transition to college and career. "I am so excited by the opportunity to continue our important revitalization efforts on the Eastside. This grant will allow us to deepen and strengthen our collaborative efforts centered on our community schools. Our ultimate goal is better neighborhoods, stronger families and excellent schools," said District 2 Councilwoman Ivy Taylor.

The Promise Neighborhood planning grant is the first in a series of federal grants promoting integrated planning by local government agencies. While there is no guarantee of future funding, communities which were chosen for Promise Neighborhood planning grants are well positioned for Promise Neighborhood implementation grants and HUD's Choice Neighborhoods, which focuses more on housing. The planning grant is intended to improve outcomes for children, such as increased kindergarten readiness and higher high school and college graduation rates. It is intended to break down traditional government silos to use taxpayer dollars most efficiently. At the end of the one-year planning grant, the Eastside project should have a plan for a "continuum of solutions" to help youth achieve in school.

"This is an exciting opportunity for the Eastside and our Wheatley community." said Dr. Robert J. Duron, SAISD superintendent. "This type of collaboration can bring about true transformation, making not only our community but our city stronger."
 
The focus of this planning grant will be the Eastside neighborhoods that correspond with the Wheatley Middle School, including Bowden, Washington and Pershing Elementary schools and Tynan Early Childhood Center. The Promise Neighborhood planning process will be led by a steering committee that includes representatives from the various agencies as well as parent representatives from the schools and residents from the Wheatley Courts and Sutton Oaks housing projects.

"Now this is a promise kept to the Eastside," said Alberta Harris, a parent leader at Wheatley Middle School.