East Lubbock Promise Neighborhood recently was recognized for its impact on the residents of Lubbock. As part of its “Pipeline Profiles” series, The Center for the Study of Social Policy highlights how ELPN, along with two other neighborhoods in Berea, Kentucky, and Chula Vista, California, is making progress in its community.

In 2012, the program was named as one of seven initiatives across the country to be awarded a Promise Neighborhood grant. With Texas Tech University serving as the anchor institution, ELPN aims to support the children and families in East Lubbock with programs and resources designed to ensure success.

“We are delighted the center chose to profile our work and our partnership with Lubbock Independent School District,” said Scott Ridley, dean of the Texas Tech College of Education. “It’s my hope that when people see what’s being done by Promise Neighborhoods nationwide, they will realize what an impact we can have on the future of our communities.”

In the video, Ridley speaks about efforts to combat factors that can contribute to a lack of performance in schools – absences, behavior problems and course grades. Administrators have focused on these factors using the Granger Turnaround Model, implementing programs like the Opportunity Room at Joan Y. Ervin Elementary, where students who are struggling behaviorally in class can be pulled out and redirected and then put back in class as soon as possible.

Other initiatives at the school include the Academic Enrichment program, where students get to work on homework, and an after-school program that gives students a chance to learn about music, cooking, theater and dance.

“This year, the data shows teachers at Joan Y. Ervin are in the top 25 percent of value added for Lubbock,” said Ervin principal Joshlyn Cotton. “Our reading scores jumped by double digits. We are no longer last. Our success has really given everyone the opportunity and the motivation to keep pushing.”

Changes also are evident at Estacado High School. After the implementation of ELPN, Texas Tech entered into an articulation agreement to create an early college high school. That means students have the potential to graduate from high school with enough college hours to classify them as juniors at the university.

“If you would have told me that kids would have an opportunity to have 60 hours of credit from Texas Tech by the time they graduated from high school, I wouldn’t have believed it,” Estacado principal Jimmy Moore said. “With Promise Neighborhood being able to bring us all to the table, it’s making all these dreams a reality.”

The students and those residents in the ELPN area have the same potential as anyone else, Ridley said, but they haven’t had the same kind of opportunity. ELPN is giving them those opportunities which will benefit not only them, but the entire community.

“We are building our tomorrow as we educate our students,” said Lubbock Independent School District deputy superintendent Theresa Williams. “If they’re not able to obtain their ultimate success, it’s our job, our calling, to clear a path and provide them the necessary support to achieve a prosperous future.”

To learn more about East Lubbock Promise Neighborhood, visit its website.

(Press release from Texas Tech University)