Two Indianapolis neighborhoods won a $30 million federal grant to help improve educational outcomes by addressing issues such as poverty, unemployment and crime.
The five-year grant, administered by the U.S. Department of Education, will go to the near east side and Martindale-Brightwood communities. The two are collectively referred to as the IndyEast Promise Neighborhood. Indianapolis is one of seven cities to be awarded a grant in 2021.
John Boner Neighborhood Centers led the application process.
“How a child grows has everything to do with the neighborhoods they live in and the schools they attend,” the organization’s CEO, James Taylor, said during a press conference Dec. 14 at James Russell Lowell School 51.
School 51 is one of seven participating schools in the area. Other schools: Thomas Gregg Neighborhood School, Brookside School 54, Paramount School of Excellence, KIPP Indy College Prep Middle School, Harshman Middle School and Arsenal Technical High School.
Other partner organizations include Edna Martin Christian Center, EmployIndy and IUPUI. The organizations will meet over the next six months to work out details of the plan.
Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent Aleesia Johnson said the funding will allow participating schools to both expand programs that have already started and begin new initiatives. Johnson said the district has had priorities that weren’t possible without the kind of funding that will come through the grant.
One example she gave is what educators call a two-generation approach, where goals related to a child’s education are tied to other household needs such as workforce development programs.
“If we have strong children that are attending strong schools, that makes for a strong neighborhood,” Johnson said. “It’s a symbiotic relationship.”
Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853 or tylerf@indyrecorder.com. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick.
