Brandon Sydnor and Housainatou Balde, Harlem Children’s Zone scholars attending the University at Albany, have big dreams. Brandon wants to be a leader in the sports management field; Housainatou wants to own a successful business. But dreams don’t come easy: they take hard work, resilience, and often, college and career support.  Now in college, Brandon and Housainatou are getting that support from programs in our comprehensive, cradle-to-career pathway of services for college-age scholars: College Success Office (CSO) and Wealth Builds. As we always say at HCZ, you may leave the Zo ..read more

In her third year at Harlem Children’s Zone Promise Academy, Janel Strother went from teaching kindergarten to teaching third grade math. The transition wasn’t easy. Third graders are a little bit more of a handful than kindergarteners. And, rather than teach a range of subjects, Ms. Strother had to develop and deliver specialized lesson plans for one subject. Thankfully, as a teaching fellow, Ms. Strother was assigned to co-teach her class with a lead teacher, Latasha Bryan. Through this unique mentorship opportunity, Ms. Bryan helped Ms. Strother gain the skills and confidence to succeed ..read more

Harlem Children’s Zone CEO Kwame-Owusu Kesse and Founder and President Geoffrey Canada will share the work and impact of Harlem Children’s Zone, and host a screening of “Harlem Rising”, a documentary about the history of HCZ, at SXSWEDU in Austin, Texas in April 2024. We are excited for Mr. Owusu-Kesse and Mr. Canada to join SXSWEDU, an annual conference that “brings together the brightest minds in education to share ideas, network, and create the future of teaching and learning,” according to the conference website. You can catch Mr. Owusu-Kesse and Mr. Canada at the following SXSW EDU sessi ..read more

At Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ), we believe college is the catalyst for our young people’s success. It empowers them to earn a degree and build bright careers. It helps them achieve their dreams — however they define them. That’s why everything we do at HCZ is geared toward getting our scholars (as we call our students) to and through college. This effort starts when they are born and continues all the way to when they get their first jobs. Our results speak for themselves:  Nearly 100% of our scholars are accepted into college each year. 1,000+ our scholars are enrolled at univer ..read more

Four decades ago, Geoffrey Canada came to Rheedlen Centers for Children and Families with nothing but a dream — a dream to transform a neighborhood and change the odds for young people residing there.  What a difference 40 years makes. Through the work of Mr. Canada and Harlem Children’s Zone (formerly Rheedlen Centers), the organization he founded, thousands of children in Harlem — and now, across the country — are building bright futures for themselves and their families. Mr. Canada had made his dream a reality. We were thrilled to honor Mr. Canada for his 40 years at HCZ with a ce ..read more

Harlem Children’s Zone CEO Kwame Owusu-Kesse is featured on City & State New York’s 2023 Nonprofit Power 100, a list recognizing the New York nonprofit sector’s “most notable nonprofit leaders.” City & State New York praised Mr. Owusu-Kesse, appointed CEO of HCZ in 2020, for a myriad of achievements, including “working with schools to reduce their COVID-19 risks during their September 2020 reopenings.” Mr. Owusu-Kesse was also featured on the list in 2021 and 2022. “Nonprofit organizations by definition aren’t in the business of making money, but many of them deliver an ..read more

At Harlem Children’s Zone, we prepare our scholars for successful careers — empowering them with the tools and training to start their very own businesses. Our budding entrepreneurs showed off what they learned, pitching their venture concepts for social impact at our first-ever Pitch Competition. The event was co-hosted by our Wealth Builds program and Run the Future, a partnership between Formation Ventures and Cambiar Education. The Pitch Competition was the culmination of a four-week program that brought our high school scholars together from across HCZ programs to explore entrepreneurshi ..read more

After a busy summer, Back to School and Programs 2023 is upon us — and we can’t wait to see our scholars’ smiling faces in our buildings! This month, we’re excited to open our doors for the first day of school at HCZ Promise Academy (September 6) and the first day of Zone Programs (September 18).  As we head into the 2023-2024 academic year, we want all our scholars and families to be ready to start school and programs on a positive and productive note. From safety tips to important dates, here’s everything you need to know about Back to School 2023! Step 1: Know your Back to School ..read more

At Harlem Children’s Zone, we know our scholars have unlimited potential.  They only need the tools and resources to fully realize it. That includes a high-quality education and after-school programs; a safe space to learn and play; and holistic supports that pave the path to and through college.  We’re committed to providing those services at absolutely no charge to our scholars or their families. There’s no catch! Through generous donations and government funding we’ve raised, Harlem Children’s Zone is free of charge.   What happens when you remove the financial burden to hig ..read more

Aisha Norris and her father, William Norris, were at very different stages in their lives. In his 30s, William was looking to rebuild his career and support his family after an extended period of unemployment. A teen, Aisha was hoping to nurture her passion for media production and, after coming out, find a community of love and support. Though in very different places in their lives, William and Aisha both benefited from opportunities at Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ) — ones that were as unexpected as they were life-changing. The story of William and Aisha is a testament to the impact of ..read more