School Receives $100,000 Grant from Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation

Posted: October 23, 2002

The School of Social Work and School of Government have received a $100,000 grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation in Winston-Salem to fund a project that will assist twelve North Carolina communities in closing the academic achievement gap.

“We are very grateful for the Foundation’s support for this important project,” said Dean Jack Richman. “The academic achievement gap is a troubling, widespread problem with long-term implications for all students, and we need to be aggressive in finding solutions.”

The Foundation’s grant will enable faculty and staff at the School of Social Work and School of Government to assist the twelve communities across North Carolina where families, community leaders, agencies and other organizations have formed partnerships to develop local strategies that strengthen families and close the achievement gap. “This grant will help us build the capacity of the communities so they can continue to expand the partnerships and will also enable us to help the communities assess their progress toward closing the achievement gap,” said Dean Duncan, a clinical professor at the School of Social Work and the project’s director.

The project began when the North Carolina General Assembly, in its 2000 session, authorized the Division of Social Services to establish a set of pilot projects designed to assist families of children performing below grade level. The goals of the initiative, as outlined by the General Assembly, were to strengthen family cohesiveness and functioning, improve the economic status of families and improve children’s academic performance.

Both nationally and in North Carolina, there are a growing number of efforts aimed at closing the achievement gap that concentrate on the classroom; the pilot projects in this initiative, however, focused on the family, the community and the schools in order to develop ways for each to support the others. “One of the underlying assumptions is that the job of educating children can be better achieved if a support system exists for and within families and communities,” said Duncan. “To begin the process of building partnerships within the community, we developed community collaboration workshops.” Fifteen communities from across the state were selected to host the workshops, based on geographical, economic, social and cultural diversity.

The Department of Social Services and the NC Association of County Commissioners promoted and hosted the workshops, which were facilitated by staff from the Jordan Institute for Families at the School of Social Work and the School of Government. Communities pooled local resources to provide space, and local committees worked to ensure wide participation. During the two-day workshops, participants tackled a range of issues, such as enhancing parenting skills, increasing literacy, and creating economic self sufficiency, as well as closing the achievement gap. They also identified action steps to address each issue.

Due to state budget constraints, the pilot projects authorized by the 2000 legislation were not funded. Faculty and staff from the School of Social Work and School of Government have continued to work with the communities to pursue funding options.

“A key strength of this initiative is that it brought communities together to address issues related to strengthening families and closing the achievement gap. As a result, communities have been able to find solutions and develop strategies based on a broad local vision that capitalizes on local resources, addresses local obstacles, and empowers individuals,” said Duncan. “The grant for the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation will enable us to build on the momentum already present in the communities and help us measure our progress toward the ultimate goal—closing the achievement gap.”

The communities involved with this initiative include Bladen, Buncombe Caldwell, Carteret, Cherokee, Cleveland, Durham, Greene, New Hanover, and Scotland counties plus the South Statesville neighborhood in Iredell County. In addition, a coalition of four counties—Bertie, Gates, Hertford, and Northampton—is also involved.

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