Wineka column: Holistic commitment needed

George Khaldun, left, chief administrator for the Harlem Children's Zone, speaks with Deputy Chief Steve Whitley of the Salisbury Police Department. Photo by Mark Wineka, Salisbury Post

Plain talk from Salisbury Mayor Susan Kluttz:

Too many kids are carrying guns, and too many kids are dropping out of school.

In recent years, Salisbury City Council has tried to address those trends with "gang summits" and last summer's much-publicized reading events across the county.

Council members also heard sobering information last year about poverty's negative influence on learning and how poor educational achievement by the third grade often translates to dropping out of school and gang participation later.

Kluttz, for one, wants to do more for at-risk youth without devaluing the good things public schools, the court system and nonprofits might be doing already.

"But we as a city must enhance that," Kluttz said at council's annual retreat Wednesday.

After hearing him speak in Charlotte last December at a summit on disadvantaged youth, Kluttz invited George Khaldun to give council an overview of the Harlem Children's Zone.

The holistic program has gained national attention for providing educational, social and medical services to thousands of children in a 100-block area of New York.

Chief Executive Officer Geoff Canada has become the recognized face of the program. Khaldun, his one-time college roommate, is its chief administrative officer.

The New York Times has called the Harlem Children's Zone one of the most ambitious social experiments of our time.

Its elements include Promise Academy charter schools, which demand achievement; after-school programs focused on academics; a "Baby College" parenting school; the Harlem Gems pre-school; the Asthma Initiative; an anti-obesity program; and block-by-block community building.

At the Salisbury retreat, huge posters hang above the room that quote a passage from Proverbs: "Where there is no vision, the people will perish."

Khaldun liked the message, but he said what's behind the vision matters most.

Harlem Children's Zone Inc. developed a business plan to bring about the change it wanted.

It created programs for each crucial step in a child's development.

It organized the community. Khaldun said it has meant going building by building, block by block.

It demanded evaluation and accountability of every aspect of its program.

"We measure," Khaldun said.

It raised money by using its business plan and going to businesses and foundations, not the government.

It paid attention to staff development.

With a goal of reaching 10,000 kids in a 100-block area by 2011, Harlem Children's Zone is touching 8,500 kids at present.

About 7,500 are in after-school programs. About 1,000 have gained acceptance (through lottery) to Promise Academy charter schools, which cover all grade levels.

The Baby College requires participating mothers of children up to 3 years old to attend workshops on nine consecutive Saturdays. Khaldun said Baby College tells mothers why they should not scream, yell and hit; why they should play with their child; why books in the house are important; and why timely immunizations are crucial.

So far, more than 99 percent of the participants have made sure their infants have the proper immunizations.

After-school programs emphasize strong academic activities and offer other things such as movie and music studios, dance classes, sports and clubs.

Khaldun said the kids also are given a strong dose of who they are and what their vision should be, because a lot of forces are pushing them away from school and self-development.

"The gangs want the same kids we want," he said.

The "Harlem Gems" pre-school program for 4-year-olds has had 100 percent of its participants school-ready for six consecutive years, Khaldun reported. The children can count in three languages and know their colors, shapes and names for important things.

Students in the Promise Academy charter schools are outperforming their counterparts in public schools.

Harlem has one of the highest asthma rates in the country and it was being blamed for high absenteeism in schools. Since the Asthma Initiative started, absenteeism due to asthma has declined 69 percent, along with a 77 percent reduction in emergency room visits.

A healthy living initiative tries to fight obesity. Khaldun said what's the point of putting all this work into the program if these same kids are going to be dead by the time they're 35 or 40 because they're overweight.

The program has contests in which the winners are awarded trips to Disney World.

An underlying emphasis with every approach is to create a culture of success, Khaldun said.

"That's a real, real big deal for us," he said.

Harlem Children's Zone also is trying to reach thousands of adults in its target area.

It provides them with free tax assistance, for example, as a way of bringing wealth back into the community. Tax refunds last year amounted to $6.2 million, Khaldun said.

The program also has taken parents on retreats to upstate New York to hear from them about what's working and what's not.

What might result from Khaldun's visit?

It seems clear that any real change in cutting the dropout rate and getting guns out of kids' hands requires a holistic commitment to at-risk kids, from the cradle to college.

That's a long time. That's an expensive undertaking that really never goes away.

Who's willing to step up to the plate?