A promising future

A delegation of Queensland educators will travel to New York City this December in an effort to improve education prospects for students in Logan.

The group, in partnership with The University of Queensland, will visit the Harlem Children’s Zone, a world-leading social and education support model for underprivileged children and their families, as part of a mission called the Promise Project.  

The Promise Project team hope to emulate the Harlem Children’s Zone ‘cradle to college’ program in Logan to provide students with educational opportunities to allow them to develop and succeed.  

UQ’s Director of Domestic Student Recruitment Steve Forster will visit students in the Harlem Children’s Zone program who have gone on to college to examine strategies and pathways for students transitioning from high school to university.

Mr Forster said the initiative will allow the group to discover how schools in Harlem recruit and retain their students, and lead them to a path of success.

“The initiative will allow us to see how important communities and community support is in shaping the learning journey,” Mr Forster said.

“The project will allow us to learn from the best schools in Harlem, and hopefully implement strategies and initiatives to enhance both student and community success in the Logan area.

“UQ is proud to partner with Logan together on this important initiative.”

Shailer Park State High School’s Deputy Principal Sharyn Angel and founder of the Promise Project said the aim of the project is to create a sustainable and scalable plan to increase the number of Logan students progressing to further education.

“The Harlem Children’s Zone transformed the community of Harlem into a community that values university education,” Ms Angel said.

“Prior to this project, more students went to jail than to college.

“In 2016, 96 per cent of the students in the program went to college.

“We hope to find a best practice for how to get students in Logan involved in the program.”   

Media: Steve Forster, s.forster@uq.edu.au, +61 423 828 227.