One bite at a time. That was the advice the leaders of the Harlem Children’s Zone’s Practitioners Institute gave when asked how not to get overwhelmed by the enormity of the task of creating a coordinated, collaborative system that really can meet the needs of all children and youth in a neighborhood from cradle to career. In that spirit, the Leadership Team of the CLRPN recently held a one-day retreat to reflect and refocus as we approach the last few weeks of our planning process. One key task was just to define the size of our elephant by compiling a list of those issues that remain on our table and in need of attention. To see the list, click here . It is clear our plate is full but we all agreed we can and will tackle this…one bite at a time!

The CLRPN will conduct a Youth Forum on Friday, June 24 , from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. at the River Market Campus of the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service located on the 3rd floor of the Arkansas Studies Institute. The goal of the forum is to provide opportunities for young people to contribute to the planning work of the CLRPN. Young people attending will be given a background briefing about the CLRPN and its Harlem roots and then break into small group work to frame their ideas, hopes and dreams for the work of the CLRPN. Look for more on their vision boards on our website soon. This will be the first of several more opportunities for young people to contribute to the work of the CLRPN. For further information contact Mark Perry at mwperry@newfuturesforyouth.org.

The Data Team is hard at work mostly behind the scenes analyzing data and designing the data management system. Residents of the CLRPN, though, can expect to see something from them soon – watch your mailbox for a postcard about a survey of parents in the neighborhood we will be conducting in July!

The Solutions Team is in the process of identifying recommended “starting points” for each of the 8 sections of what will become the CLRPN pipeline: Healthy Start, Healthy Elementary Schools, Healthy Secondary Schools, Healthy Careers, Healthy Individuals, Healthy Childhoods, Healthy Community, Healthy Parenting.

The Sustainability Team is working hard to involve more youth in the CLRPN planning process. A youth voices panel was held in late May, school conversations in early June and the first youth forum as mentioned above. It is also in the process of planning a couple of broader community forums, the Promise Circles Forums, to be held in late July. We hope you will consider participating in one or more of these events!