community schools v. charters

TFA is implementing something called "Inspire Zones" in Chicago, which sound a lot to me like the Harlem Children's Zone. The HCZ is an area in NYC in which every child is given access to all kinds of wraparound services free of charge: parenting classes, healthcare (physical, dental, mental), daycare, pre-K, afterschool programs, etc. Every child in the Zone is considered by HCZ to be their responsibility. If you want to read more about the founder, Jeffrey Canada, and the organization check out the book Whatever it Takes.

My question for TFA was, why are we not implementing more of these "wraparound" services in the Inspire Zones? Josh Anderson's response was that a study found that students in the HCZ charter who also got services did the same as students who attend the charter but "live outside the zone" and therefore do not receive wraparound services. I was disheartened when I heard of this data and withdrew my argument.

Thank goodness not all of my colleagues are as faint of heart. Mr. S, presumably just as disheartened as me, found that study and the HCZ response to it. The study by Brookings Institute had a major flaw: it assumed that students who attend the HCZ charter, but live outside the zone, are not eligible for wraparound services. In fact, every student who attends the charter is immediately considered part of the Zone. In other words, every student at the highly successful charter receives wraparound services.

The main problem that I see is sustainability: the HCZ is privately funded and highly costly. Arguably every low-income neighborhood in the country needs their own version of the HCZ.