Road Trip

The bus trip to see the Harlem Children's Zone (http://www.hcz.org/) was amazing! I got to ride with 40 other folks from Rochester, most of them residents of the Rochester Children's Zone (http://www.rcsdk12.org/rcz/). We laughed, talked about everything, and generally had a wonderful time. As one of "the ethnographers" as they call us, I rode along, interviewing, observing - I'm like a kid in a candy store. It's been a long time since I've been able to do real ethnography and this project is a real gift.

We drove 6 hours down, visited the HCZ, met Geoffrey Canada, ate at Sylvia's, then drove 6 hours back. It was a long day but well worth it. I am continually impressed with the commitment of the Rochester people to transforming the lives of children in the northeast sector. They no longer accept the poverty, crime, poor schools, and dismal life opportunities in their community. I feel privileged to be able to tag along and feel a tremendous responsibiity to get this right.

Canada's project is amazing. They've done some truly phenomenal work. I'm concerned though about the overwhelming emphasis on testing and packaged curricula. He basically gave up on public schools (although he says he hasn't) and started a charter school. They do still send folks into the public schools in Harlem, but as "providers". He uses the term "conveyor belt" of services to describe what they offer; basically this means they start with new parents and go up to senior citizens. They really have done some amazing transformations of people's lives.

There are some significant differences between Harlem and Rochester though. Chief among them is money. Canada has $100,000,000 and a $35,000,000 annual budget. It's mostly private money he has raised with a huge amount from a friend from college. Plus he built his own building on 119th street for $42,000,000. No way Rochester has this kind of money. The other main difference is Canada himself. He is a strong, charismatic leader that is holding the whole thing together. Rochester doesn't have that either. What we do have though is a strong team. In the end, this may be the greatest strength.

So, last blog of 2006. Happy New Year!