In 1997, General Colin Powell founded America’s Promise Alliance as a cross-sector partnership of corporations, nonprofits, faith-based organizations and advocacy groups that are passionate about improving the lives and education of children.
It is the goal of the America’s Promise Alliance to build a networked support system for children, to give them the safety net they need to push beyond the boundaries of their economic and societal boundaries and achieve the best education they can.
Children need the support of their families, their teachers and school administrators, of their entire communities to have a real chance at breaking the binds of the education limitations they face. America’s Promise identified key supports that all children need. These key supports became the Five Promises.
CARING ADULTS
Every child and youth needs and deserves support and guidance from caring adults in their families, schools, and communities, including ongoing, secure relationships with parents and other family adults, as well as multiple and consistent formal and informal positive relationships with teachers, mentors, coaches, youth volunteers, and neighbors.
SAFE PLACES AND CONSTRUCTIVE USE OF TIME
Every child and youth needs and deserves to be physically and emotionally safe everywhere they are — at their homes, schools, neighborhoods and communities, to the virtual places of media — and to have an appropriate balance of structured, supervised activities and unstructured, unscheduled time.
A HEALTHY START AND HEALTHY DEVELOPMENT
Every child and youth needs and deserves the healthy bodies, healthy minds, and healthful habits and choices resulting from regular well-child/youth health care and needed treatment, good nutrition and exercise, comprehensive health knowledge and skills, and role models of physical and psychological health.
EFFECTIVE EDUCATION FOR MARKETABLE SKILLS AND LIFELONG LEARNING
Every child and youth needs and deserves the intellectual development, motivation, and personal, social, emotional, and cultural skills needed for successful work and lifelong learning in a diverse nation, as a result of having quality learning environments, challenging expectations, and consistent formal and informal guidance and mentoring.
OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE THROUGH HELPING OTHERS
Every child and youth needs and deserves the chance to make a difference — in their families, schools, communities, nation and world – through having models of caring behavior, awareness of the needs of others, a sense of personal responsibility to contribute to larger society, and opportunities for volunteering, leadership and service.
We should all work to deliver these promises to children.
Learn more at
www.americaspromise.org.
Posted By: Paul Adams
Tuesday, August 3rd 2010 at 11:51PM
You can also
click
here to view all posts by this author...
