Northside Initiatives

NAZ and the PEACE Foundation reaching kids to be COLLEGE READY

Do you know the disturbing fact that MN has one of the largest gaps in the nation between African-American and white children?  In fact, the gap on 4th grade reading scores is the second largest in the nation (Education Trust’s Education Watch Minnesota Fall 2006).  Working to change this in North Minneapolis, the PEACE Foundation is the lead organization collaborating with The Northside Achievement Zone or NAZ.  The “Zone” is a 255-block area on the Northside.  CTK and many parishioners have been proudly supporting the work of the PEACE Foundation for several years.

Sondra Samuels, President of the PEACE Foundation, explained in a wonderful Star Tribune editorial page article on July 13, 2010, how it works.  ”Our NAZ approach is three-pronged – engaging families, having excellent schools, and building a community that supports education.  The 60 organizations involved have agreed on common goals.  We weren’t making progress working on this alone – but together we’re aligning our service to be more effective.  It’s the village going viral.”  The article stated that by the end of the summer, NAZ expects to sign up 200 families in the Zone to work with ”NAZ Connectors” to help them get services in areas such as housing, health care, employment counseling, and prenatal care.  The idea is that successful families and communities will produce healthy, successful students. 

This effort is modeled after the acclaimed successful Harlem Children’s Zone in New York City.  Founder Geoffrey Canada dramatically improved student achievement in a 97-block area of Harlem by supporting kids and families from before birth to college.  Our Minneapolis local Northside Achievement Zone states in their February 2010 news brochure that after two years of collaborative visioning and structuring, they are operational and poised to significantly alter the educational outcomes on the Northside.  The three action areas – Opportunity Alignment, Education (early childhood through college), and Family Engagement – work together in the Zone toward the outcome of ALL KIDS COLLEGE READY!

Please visit the PEACE Foundation website www.citypeace.org for more information, and to stay in touch with all their continual work, get on their “E-lert” email list.