What is the Indianola Promise Community?
The Indianola Promise Community (IPC) is a community-based initiative to provide children with the opportunity to succeed in school, graduate, and attend college. While it is sponsored by Delta Health Alliance, its many local partners include: Indianola School District, City of Indianola, Delta State University, B.B. King Museum, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and many others. Our office is located at 135 Front Street in Indianola, though we have staff and volunteers working throughout the city. And while we sponsor many programs, we have one priority – making sure children in Indianola have the opportunities they need to excel, so they “never miss a beat” from birth to college graduation. IPC unites health care, education, government, community, and faith-based services to develop a “pipeline” of resources, from prenatal care through high school and college graduation, creating a path for students to gain meaningful careers and earn financial independence. We want to ensure Indianola children are ready for school, that students who need help get help quickly, and that young people stay in school through graduation and transition to postsecondary education. IPC offers a collective approach, with programs and services complementing and building on each other in a coordinated fashion. Each program will be rigorously assessed against objectives and goals, to ensure its success. Ultimately, this project can break the cycle of poverty.
Indianola Promise Community Goals
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Children enter kindergarten ready to learn.Students are proficient in core subjects.
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Students transition successfully from junior high to high school.
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Students graduate from high school.
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Students obtain a postsecondary degree.
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Students are healthy.
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Students feel safe at school and in their community.
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Students avoid risky behaviors.
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Families in the IPC are focused on child wellbeing and have access to information and resources that support healthy development and success.
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Indianola is a sustainable community, measured by safety, healthcare, economic, and educational indicators.
IPC Programs
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After-school classes geared toward helping students excel academically.
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Books provided free of charge on a monthly basis to children and their parents, for ages birth to five.
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Summer enrichment camps and a special summer school for children entering kindergarten.
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Special outreach initiatives, designed for different age groups, focused on reducing alcohol, tobacco, and drug abuse.
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In-home visitation programs by trained staff to help improve prenatal care and the health and development of infants.
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Classes for children age 3-5 who have communication deficiencies in speech and vocabulary as they prepare for kindergarten and first grade.
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Outreach courses directed at teenagers to reduce pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
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Programs that encourage parents to become more involved in the school system.
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Parenting and family support initiatives to prevent and treat behavioral and emotional problems in children and teenagers.
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3 Professional development initiatives for teachers.
IPC Partners
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AmeriCorps*VISTA
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B.B. King Museum
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Children’s Defense Fund
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City of Indianola
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Delta State University
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Excel by 5
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Indianola School District
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Mayor’s Health Council
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Mississippi Center for Education Innovation
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Mississippi Center for Justice
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Mississippi Low Income Childcare Initiative
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P-16 Council
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Parents as Teachers
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Parents for Public Schools/Jackson
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Sunflower County Childcare Association
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Sunflower County Ministerial Alliance
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Sunflower-Humphreys County Progress, Inc.
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Urban Child Institute
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W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Indianola superstar B.B. King never misses a beat with his performances. He’s an inspiration to all of us. No Indianola child, teenager or young adult should ever “miss a beat” as he or she grows academically and socially from early childhood to high school and college graduate.
The Indianola Promise Community is designed to create opportunities to realize that goal. Thanks to a special grant from the U.S. Department of Education, we now have the resources to give Indianola students access to a wide range of programs that will fill in the gaps and help each one pursue his or her promise.
Referenced information from deltahealthalliance.org.-Indianola-Project-Community.