The U.S. Department of Education announced today the six winners of the 2016 Promise Neighborhoods competition, which will award $33 million to help communities launch, scale, and sustain educational supports and community-based services to meet the complex needs of children and families.

“These grants will provide cradle-to-career support for at-risk children in communities across the country, offering meaningful resources that will help them achieve their potential,” said U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. “Promise Neighborhoods draw on the best of communities, bringing together non-profits, schools, and local institutions to meet the needs of their local communities.”

The Promise Neighborhoods program launched in 2010 to support innovative strategies that bring together public and private partners to help break the cycle of intergenerational poverty. Promise Neighborhoods grantees provide comprehensive education, health, safety, and family support services to children and families in high-poverty neighborhoods. To date, the Promise Neighborhoods program has awarded over $286 million, spanning nearly 700 schools and 1,000 community partners.

In communities like San Antonio, for example, the Eastside Promise Neighborhood has implemented a series of supports to address the lack of opportunity for young men of color as part of their Promise Neighborhood grant. They have provided access to 21st century learning opportunities, such as providing science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education for all students in grades pre-K-8 to improve problem-solving abilities, and created a partnership between young men and police to play basketball together to build trust and improve community safety. Partnerships like this have helped increase student perceptions of safety from 71 percent to 76 percent in one year.

An existing Promise Neighborhood grantee, the Northside Achievement Zone in Minneapolis, Minnesota, brought together more than 30 partner organizations to build a supportive ecosystem for families in their neighborhood. Their Family Academy, which provides family and academic support, has been linked to significant increases in kindergarten readiness, and community-wide investments in strategies such as afterschool learning opportunities have led to increases in students’ reading proficiency.

This year’s grantees include organizations that will implement Promise Neighborhoods in urban and rural areas. For the first time, one grantee will serve an Indian tribe. The Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians will reorganize their community’s elementary and high school programs to ensure all students are prepared to master grade-level content.

“The Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians received a smaller grant in 2012 that helped them lay the groundwork for improved outcomes for children and families,” said Nadya Chinoy Dabby, the Department's assistant deputy secretary for innovation and improvement. “We are excited about their continued progress toward establishing high-quality educational, mental health, and housing services for tribal youth.”

A complete list of 2016 grantees follows. The award amounts reflect the first year of funding, with additional years subject to future Congressional appropriations. Among the winners are three grantees who will build on their prior Promise Neighborhood-funded efforts by partnering with new communities: Berea College in Kentucky (2011 grantee); Delta Health Alliance in Mississippi (2012 grantee); and Youth Policy Institute in California (2012 grantee).

Additional information on the Promise Neighborhoods program is available here.

2016 Implementation Grant Winners

KENTUCKY Berea College, $6,000,000

NEW JERSEY Center for Family Services, Inc., $6,000,000

MISSISSIPPI Delta Health Alliance, Inc., $6,000,000

PENNSYLVANIA Drexel University, $5,999,814

CALIFORNIA Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians, $2,705,168

CALIFORNIA Youth Policy Institute, $6,000,000