To these core services, HCZ has added initiatives at Countee Cullen that focus on technology, academics, parent involvement and family support.

• Technology

  Since opening its doors in 1991, HCZ's Countee Cullen Beacon has utilized computer technology as a key component of its strategy to create the partnerships that will unite the Central Harlem community to provide for the education of its children.

  • HCZ placed additional computers in the school library, linking them to the Internet. Subsequently, HCZ and P.S. 194 have combined computer resources to create a computer lab that is open to young people during school hours and to both youth and adults during the hours when Countee Cullen is open. At the computer lab, young people and adults receive computer literacy training, access the Internet to research and write reports and participate in academic remediation and enrichment activities. HCZ recently provided resources for two additional computer labs at P.S. 194.
  • Countee Cullen's Parent Support Coordinator established Friday Morning Cafe, a parent involvement activity, at P.S. 194. It began as a place where parents met in the school each Friday to socialize and participate in parent forums and workshops on issues related to parenting and their role in the education of their children. It has now expanded to include a parent computer literacy training component.
  • Each day at lunchtime, children at P.S. 194 have the opportunity to communicate with other children across the country and around the world via the Internet through Countee Cullen's CyberKids program.
  
  
• School Success

  In 1995, HCZ developed its School Success program at P.S. 194 with support from AmeriCorps. The program places college-age youth (HCZ's Harlem Peacemakers) in the classrooms, lunchrooms and schoolyards of Central Harlem public schools where they work side-by-side with classroom teachers to make schools and the surrounding communities safe places where learning can take place.

• Family Development Program

  In 1996, HCZ leased a storefront across the street from P.S. 194 and created a walk-in facility where families in crisis can access professional social services directly across the street from the Countee Cullen Beacon site.

• FUTURES Academy

  HCZ also developed FUTURES Academy, which provides Harlem youth with the educational enrichment, SAT preparation and other supports to enable them to graduate high school and attend college. The program will work with hundres of youth over the next ten years. FUTURES Academy is working with Harlem churches and other faith institutions to identify youth for the program and to develop the supports that will make attending college a reality for Harlem youth. This program also encourages participants to engage in community service.

• Leadership Group

  In collaboration with The Valley, Countee Cullen helps teens develop social acquisition skills through community service projects and various workshops conducted by The Valley such as teen pregnancy prevention and academic counseling.

• Teen Youth Council

  Youth plan and organize special events for evening programs, represent the youth in the program, and conduct leadership workshops around drug prevention and crime. The teens on the council range in age from 15 to 20 years and must maintain a strong academic record to remain on the council.