Senator Charles E. Schumer

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 1, 2011

SCHUMER: ROCHESTER’S NORTHERN CRESCENT YOUTH DESERVE EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO SUCCEED – CALLS ON FEDS TO PROVIDE “PROMISE NEIGHBORHOOD” GRANT TO BADEN ST. SETTLEMENT

Schumer Urges Dept. of Education to Designate Baden St. Settlement As Promise Neighborhood Grant Recipient; Investment Would Allow Baden St. To Coordinate & Expand Social and Educational Services For Rochester Students

Promise Neighborhood Initiative Would Enable Baden St. To Collaborate With City Schools & Recreation Centers To Boost Graduation Rates, College Attendance

Schumer: All of Rochester Stands To Benefit From Better Schools & Safer Streets

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer urged the Department of Education to select the Baden Street Settlement in Rochester as a recipient of a $440,500 Promise Neighborhood program grant. The Baden Street Settlement is a non-profit agency that works to improve the daily lives for families in Rochester by improving education and health programs and working to reduce crime and violence in their neighborhoods. The Promise Neighborhoods initiative would enable the Baden Street Settlement to collaborate with the City School District, with a focus on eight public schools in the Northern Crescent Zone, as well as the City’s recreational centers, to seamlessly provide more comprehensive support and services to the student population that need them the most to succeed, boosting graduation rates and sending more students to college. Schumer applauds the Department of Education in their mission to implement solutions that improve educational results for children in distressed communities, and asks that The Baden Street Settlement be selected to benefit from such an investment.

“Baden Street in Rochester is doing critical work in providing social and educational services to Rochester’s Northern Crescent community, and with the aid of the Promise Neighborhoods program they can take this work to the next level,” said Schumer. “When one neighborhood lags behind, the entire City suffers. The Promise Neighborhoods initiative would help Baden Street Settlement partner with the City’s public school system and community centers, so that it can provide collaborative service to the student population and help them better prepare for the future. I am urging the Department of Education to select Baden Street Settlement as a recipient of the Promise Neighborhoods program, so that it can take its already successful work of helping those hit hardest by the current economic climate, and expand it to boost the City’s graduation rate and send more kids to college.”

Baden Street Settlement of Rochester provides social service and wrap-around programs and support to the community from toddlers up to senior citizens. Founded in 1901, Baden Street has been in existence for over 100 years serving the “Northern Crescent” neighborhood in Rochester. This zone experiences many obstacles, including high dropout and low graduation rates leading to increased crime, less stable families, and high poverty rates. The Promise Neighborhood initiative would enable Baden Street Settlement to tie in with the City School District and the City’s recreation centers to seamlessly provide an added level of community support, as well as educational and social services to the student population in Rochester, in order to develop positive educational outcomes where it is greatly needed.

Baden Street has applied for a one year planning grant to create a Promise Neighborhood implementation plan. Schumer noted that the application demonstrates a great deal of coordination and collaboration with both the City School District, local government and community support partners, which the Department of Education considers crucial to a successful Promise Neighborhoods application. This application is supported by the City of Rochester, Monroe County Department of Health, Nazareth College, Anthony Jordan Health Center, SUNY Center for Workforce Development, Community Place of Rochester, United Way of Greater Rochester, and Charles Settlement House.

The vision of the Department of Education’s Promise Neighborhoods program is that all children and youth growing up in Promise Neighborhoods have access to great schools and strong systems of family and community support that will prepare them to attain an excellent education and successfully transition to college and a career. The purpose of Promise Neighborhoods is to significantly improve the educational and developmental outcomes of children and youth in our most distressed communities, and to transform those communities in several ways. This program aims to identify and increase the capacity of eligible entities that are focused on achieving results for children and youth throughout an entire neighborhood. The program then works to build a complete continuum of cradle-to-career solutions of both educational programs and family and community supports, with great schools at the center. Promise Neighborhoods works to integrate programs and break down agency barriers so that solutions are implemented effectively and efficiently across agencies. The program develops the local infrastructure of systems and resources needed to sustain and scale up proven, effective solutions across the broader region beyond the initial neighborhood

A copy of Senator Schumer’s letter to US Dept. of Education Secretary Duncan appears below:

The Honorable Arne Duncan

Secretary

US Department of Education

400 Maryland Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20202

Dear Secretary:

I am pleased to write in support of the application submitted by Baden Street for funding under the Promise Neighborhood Program.

Baden Street provides social service and wrap-around programs and support to the local community, from toddlers all the way to senior citizens. This organization serves some of the poorest neighborhoods in the nation, including the area known as the “Northern Crescent.” This zone experiences many problems, including high dropout/low graduation rates, high rates of violence, high rates of juvenile incarceration, high rates of teen pregnancy and single-parent families, and health problems associated with poverty including poor nutrition, low birth weights, high infant mortality, drug abuse, and untreated mental illness.

Under Planning Grant Priority 1, Baden Street proposes to transform the Northern Crescent zone of Rochester, New York into a Promise Neighborhood through a comprehensive and community of practice approach. This initiative will enable Baden Street and its partners to tie in with the Rochester City School District, notably the eight public schools in the Northern Crescent area, and the city’s recreation centers to seamlessly provide the support and services that students need in order to succeed. I applaud Baden Street for its foresight, and I sincerely hope its application meets with your approval.

Thank you for your consideration. For additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me or my Grants Director, Grant Kerr, in my Washington office at 202.224.6542.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Schumer

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