Northside Achievement Zone

The Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ) is a bold and innovative collaborative effort to close the achievement gap in a geographic “Zone” of North Minneapolis. The purpose of our work is to end multigenerational poverty in our community, using education as a lever. We use a data-driven, evidence-based, achievement-focused model in which both children and their families move through a “cradle-to-career” ecosystem that provides comprehensive support. NAZ is a leading initiative in the national Promise Neighborhoods and cradle to college/career movement. As NAZ learns what works with families in North Minneapolis to address complex issues related to urban poverty, strategies are being set up for replication and informing the regional, state, and national field.