With Congress slashing President Obama’s Promise Neighborhood Initiative, the author of a book about the program on which that initiative is based, the Harlem Children’s Zone, makes the case for funding efforts that are promising albeit not proven. “Children who live in the 300-plus low-income neighborhoods that are pursuing Promise Neighborhoods support are, on the whole, stuck,” writes Paul Tough in this op-ed. “Congress should find more room in the budget to support the Obama administration’s declared approach: to try new strategies and abandon failed ones; to expand and test programs with strong evidence of success, even if that evidence is inconclusive; and to learn from mistakes and make adjustments as we go.”
