UE receives $30 million grant to create Promise Neighborhood

Houston Harwood, Evansville Courier & Press
·3 min read

EVANSVILLE — The University of Evansville announced last week it had secured a $30 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to provide resources to youth and families who reside within the bounds of the city's first Promise Neighborhood.

The grant follows Evansville's federal designation as a Promise Zone in 2016, which directed additional resources to multiple neighborhoods and schools located in the city's urban core.

UE spokesman Noah Alatza said the new Promise Neighborhood, one of only three approved nationwide this year, will encompass six schools:

  • Evans Elementary

  • Delaware Elementary

  • Lincoln School

  • Bosse High School

  • Lodge Community School

  • Glenwood Leadership Academy.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, promise neighborhoods are designed to improve local schools and provide "strong systems of family and community support" for youth with the ultimate goal of improving their transition into higher education and the workforce.

In addition to the $30 million grant, 23 partnering agencies matched more than $32 million in funding to provide "wraparound care services" to the six designated schools and surrounding neighborhoods, Alatza wrote in a news release.

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"This Evansville's Promise Neighborhood investment is unmatched and will be critical to ensuring our community has the resources they need," Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke said Thursday. "This is a major success for our city and will be beneficial in the months and years ahead."

Three of the key agencies partnering with UE are the Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation, the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership and the Evansville Promise Zone, Alatza said.

The existing Promise Zone, which is spearheaded by ECHO Housing Corporation, encompases Jacobsville, the downtown area, Glenwood and other predominantly South Side neighborhoods.

At the time of its creation in 2016, the poverty rate within the Promise Zone stood at more than 39%, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

UE will take a leading role in creating the new Promise Neighborhood through its Center for Innovation and Change.

"The significance of this investment by our university for numerous families who require assistance is critical and extraordinarily impactful for the well-being of our entire Evansville community," UE President Christopher Pietruszkiewicz said. "This is what being a changemaker campus is all about and it emphasizes the strong partnership we have with our community."

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Securing the $30 million in funding has been a long time coming: Evansville applied to have a designated Promise Neighborhood four times, including in 2021. Evansville's selection as a Promise Zone in 2016 was a critical precursor to securing the new grant, according to Alatza.

EVSC Superintendent Dr. David Smith said the creation of Evansville's Promise Neighborhood is "another exciting example of the collaborative efforts of our Evansville community."

"We are excited and grateful for the opportunity to leverage this funding for the betterment of our students and the families we serve," he said.

Houston Harwood can be contacted at houston.harwood@courierpress.com

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: UE receives $30 million grant to create Promise Neighborhood