ºÚÁϸ£ÀûÍø

The Hayward Promise Neighborhoods (HPNs) is a collaborative partnership that ensures educational success and a safe, healthy, and thriving community for all Hayward residents. Part of the national Promise Neighborhood Initiative, HPNs’ goal since 2012 is to lift up two designated Promise Neighborhoods (Jackson Triangle and South Hayward) so that all children living or attending school in the area succeed in their education and are well prepared for college, career and life.

With over 150,000 residents, the City of Hayward is the sixth-largest in the Bay Area and a thriving regional center of commerce, manufacturing activity, and trade. Known as the “Heart of the Bay,” Hayward has capitalized on its unparalleled location to become a desirable destination for companies and for diverse, working-class and immigrant families looking for secure economic opportunities and inclusive communities. Yet, the allure of the Bay Area presents issues for residents who face housing insecurity and barriers to upward mobility.

HPNs targets three census tracts in South Hayward where 92% of residents are Latinx, AAPI, Black, and multiracial, and over 43% are foreign-born. Nearly half of South Hayward residents are extremely burdened by housing costs (paying more than 35% of their income), and 83% of families live in rental housing. Additionally, not all Hayward students have the same level of access to pursue postsecondary opportunities after high school. Only 36% of Hayward residents have a college degree, and less than 10% of Hayward students earn a postsecondary degree within six years of enrolling after high school, compared to 41% nationally according to the National Student Clearinghouse.

HPNs works collectively to improve economic mobility, capacity building and educational attainment for the entire City of Hayward through its targeted work in the Jackson Triangle and South Hayward neighborhoods. The HPNs partners support children and families through more than 50 cradle-to-career activities at each transition point in a child's life. The HPNs collaborative approach has supported: 

• 32% increase in Hayward Unified School District students enrolled at or transferred to Cal State East Bay since 2018
• 6% increase in the high school graduation rate since 2018
• 190 more spots available for pre-schoolers to become ready for kindergarten since 2012
• 600+ new enrollments in career technical classes to boost family incomes since 2012

Cal State East Bay spearheads the HPNs collaborative as the lead or “backbone” agency. HPNs’ partners include local schools, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and businesses.

How you can help

• Support scholarships for students from Hayward Unified School District high schools or transferring from Chabot Community College-  
• Explore a corporate volunteering or giving partnership.  /haywardpromise/ 
• Volunteer with HPNs partners (tutoring, food distribution, neighborhood clean-up, etc.) /haywardpromise/ 

California Promise Neighborhoods Network: The five California-based Promise Neighborhoods created by the U.S. Department of Education collaborates to spread the Promise model throughout California and share best practices to support every child from cradle to college to career. The five Promise Neighborhoods in California, spanning urban and rural centers, are San Diego, Chula Vista, Corning, Hayward, and San Francisco (Mission District). These neighborhoods have demonstrated increases in:

• Children being ready for kindergarten
• Children and youth succeeding in school
• Healthy children
• Students graduating from high school and obtaining a postsecondary degree
• Families supporting learning
• Economically resilient families

How We Work

College graduates earn twice as much as a high school graduate, and neighborhoods with educated populations also confer wide-ranging benefits to the economy, such as lower rates of unemployment and higher wages even for workers without a college degree. 

Early Learning

“There’s a chain reaction. You get involved in one thing and then you find out more.” April Vinson, HPNs Community Advisory Board member and Parent Advocate for children with special needs. 

It starts before children enter kindergarten. HPNs brings to the community outreach through community outreach workers (Promotoras), quality pre-school curriculum and instruction, early childhood programs, and a home visitation nurse, among many services.

Cal State East Bay’s Community Counseling Clinic, the only free counseling program in the area, serves toddlers and entire families while training Educational Psychology students to serve the community. 

Neighborhood Health and Empowerment

The community environment and parent achievement is the focus of this area. Multiple strategies are used to reduce family mobility, provide fresh food for low-income families and seniors, increase literacy, and promote adult career technical educational classes to foster family economic mobility. 

Cal State East Bay coordinates the Community Leadership Initiative to develop parent advocacy skills and engage parents in projects to improve and advance the community. 

Cradle to Career Education

Cal State East Bay coordinates college transition and career development programs through internships, scholarships, and coaching. The Promise Interns program trains and develops undergraduate students to work in schools and partnering agencies which support K-12 services. Student Success Coaches support Hayward students in partner high schools and in transitioning to Cal State East Bay. Scholarships are also available for Hayward Unified School District students pursuing STEM degrees at Cal State East Bay.