The Promise Neighborhoods (PN) program is authorized under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA). The purpose of the PN program is to significantly improve the academic and developmental outcomes of children and youth living in the most distressed communities of the United States, including ensuring school readiness, high school graduation, and access to a community-based continuum of high-quality services.
The program serves neighborhoods with high concentrations of individuals with low incomes; multiple signs of distress, which may include high rates of poverty, childhood obesity, academic challenges, and juvenile delinquency, adjudication, or incarceration; and adverse childhood experiences; and also serves schools implementing comprehensive support and improvement activities or targeted support and improvement activities under section 1111(d) of the ESEA. All strategies in the continuum of solutions must be accessible to children with disabilities and English learners.