Here & Now; 828

January 15, 2010

Here and Now, Harlem Children's Zone, Soundbite from Geoffrey Canada of Harlem Children's Zone - 'You give me kids at the cradle and they'll be competing with children across America to get into some of the best colleges in this country.', Haiti earthquake, Dr. Catherine Wolf is the founder of the Waukesha-based Friends for Health in Haiti. She has worked in a mission hospital in Haiti off and on for the past twenty years. She'll be talking with Frederica by telephone from Florida, where she's preparing to return to Haiti on Monday. B-roll of Haiti from Newshour, Race to the Top federal education funds, State School Superintendent Tony Evers lays out components of Wisconsin's Race to the Top application for federal education dollars. The money is a nation-wide carrot to motivate states to, in innovative ways, lift student achievement. Milwaukee Children's Zone, Proposed Milwaukee Children's Zone - based on Harlem Children's Zone - a unique "cradle to college" school program encompassing a roughly 100 block area in one of New York City's toughest and poorest areas and includes a Charter school, pre-school, after-school and even a 'baby college' for -parents- to learn how to parent successful kids. Children have free access to healthcare, mental healthcare and sports and arts programs. The new way of reaching and teaching low-income students is closing the so-called achievement gap for the nearly 10, 000 students with longer school days and longer school years and high standards and accountability for teachers and parents and the students themselves. Harlem project founder, Geoffrey Canada was in Wisconsin and Frederica recorded a field interview with him. Race to the Top federal education funds, WEAC Executive Director Mary Bell is in the studio to talk about programs attached to the application of the Race to the Top money. Troop return Broll, Red Arrow soldiers arrived home from Iraq this week. The Red Arrow Brigade has finished a year deployment. This was the third group of soldiers to return to Wisconsin.