City Limits devotes its entire March issue toHarlem Children's Zone, featuring a comprehensive report by Helen Zelon, long-time contributor to Insideschools.org. The lead article, "Is the Promise Real," chronicles the history and status of the initiative, developed by charismatic leader Geoffrey Canada, to envelop whole neighborhoods with social services from cradle to college.

The HCZ now includes the Baby College, starting with pre-natal services, pre-school (Harlem Gems), three Promise Academy charter schools covering elementary through high school, and more than a dozen family and employment support organizations. It has caught attention and praise from philanthropists and politicians, including President Obama, who see it as a template for the nation's troubled school children. A substantial sum of federal funds will go to 20 school districts to replicate the initiative.

The report offers an analysis of the schools' practices and early results and describes the difficulty of measuring social service impact. It also examines the potential for replication in cities less saturated with social services and patrons than New York.

Check out the Q&A with founder Geoffrey Canada, and avideo of interviews with Harlem residents online at City Limits. To read the full report, you'll have to buy the journal at a newstand or subscribe..