Practitioners Institute, Harlem Children's Zone

At HCZ®, we are committed to helping others benefit from our successes and the many lessons we have learned over the years. In 2003, we created the Practitioners Institute to share information about our work, teach best practices, and provide pivotal guidance to groups from across the U.S. and around the world invested in replicating our model. We strongly believe that our comprehensive, place-based approach to educating children and rebuilding an entire community will help transform neighborhoods struggling with issues like poverty, poor health, failing schools, and high crime rates. The key is strategically applying our core principles, not recreating our exact programs. Each community has unique needs to be addressed and resources on which to capitalize in building a pipeline to serve local children and families at scale. We tell visitors straight-out: this is tough work and you need to have long-term commitment to see kids all the way to adulthood. There is no quick fix or magic solution—but there is hope. We are proving, each and every day, that change is possible. For a nominal fee, community delegations, including public officials, educators, and nonprofit leaders, can attend either a three-hour or a three-day workshop. Since 2005, the Institute has hosted workshops for 477 U.S. communities, from Baltimore to the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, and 161 international delegations from countries such as Indonesia, Romania, and Singapore. To apply to attend the Practitioners Institute, please click on the link below.