Several agencies announced today that Sen. Joyce Elliott would lead the Central Little Rock Promise Neighborhood, a group effort to work with children from generally low-income neighborhoods from birth to employment. It’s a project similar to the Harlem Children’s Zone, which focuses not just on better schools but on improving lives away from school. This effort could include health care, recreation, family services, after-school programs and more.
The target neighborhood is south of Interstate 630, between King on the east and Boyle Park on the west, with the Fourche bottoms as the southern boundary. The initial partners included Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the Central Arkansas Library System, the city of Little Rock, Little Rock School District, New Futures for Youth, and UALR. It will cover all students in Bale, Franklin and Stephens elementary schools, Forest Heights Middle School, Hall High and Little Rock Preparatory Academy.