The Eastside Promise Neighborhood example below works in the areas of education, employment, the physical and social environments, and public safety.
A community stakeholder group in the Eastside neighborhood in San Antonio, TX, identified problems in the local school system that included inadequate access to quality early education, low-performing schools, low graduation rates, and more. A proposal to address these issues was submitted, and in 2011, a nearly $24 million grant was awarded to launch the Eastside Promise Neighborhood (EPN), an implementation site of the U.S. Department of Education’s Promise Neighborhood grant program.
EPN focuses on improving educational outcomes through many programs that provide educational and growth opportunities for children and youth—from early childhood through postsecondary education and career support. EPN coordinates with organizations from many different sectors to fund and support programs such as early childhood education centers, initiatives to promote secondary and postsecondary success, internship programs developing leadership capacity, and engagement with parents and caregivers, as well as many other initiatives in education and the physical environment.
EPN fosters a shared community vision for better educational and health outcomes, focusing on early childhood learning, health and wellness, education, and school and neighborhood safety.
Key outcome measures include nearly 76 percent of students saying they felt safe in school or traveling to school, and 82 percent of students graduating from high school.*
*2015 data reported by EPN.