By delving into the critical first three years of life, schools such as Bowling Park are expanding far beyond traditional academics. But to many educators it is a logical evolution. Bowling Park was chosen in 1992 as the site of the first CoZi school, a model that combines the education programs of two Yale professors, James P. Comer and Edward Zigler. Other CoZi schools are operating in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and in Mehlville, Missouri. Often the child is one whose parent has died or gone to prison, or whose siblings are dealing drugs, or whose single mother neglects him.
School has to be about more than reading, writing and arithmetic.
When I get home at night, I pile up feelings. Rashid lives with an aunt who, Clark says, takes little interest in him. He hit my momma. He went for breaking and entering and a hundred other charges. But you're going in a different direction.