Sen. Al Franken joined nationally-renowned children's education advocate Geoffrey Canada on a visit to the Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ) in North Minneapolis. The NAZ was modeled on Mr. Canada's revolutionary "Harlem Children's Zone" which uses a community-wide approach to ensure that young children stay on track through high school, college and into the job market.

Mr. Canada serves as president and CEO of the Harlem Children's Zone (HCZ), an organization he founded in the 1990's. His groundbreaking work to overcome seemingly-intractable problems to increase children's academic achievement has been profiled on the TV show 60 Minutes and in the documentary "Waiting for Superman."

In December, NAZ in Minneapolis was selected as one of only five sites in the country to receive federal "Promise Neighborhood" funding - $28 million over five years - to improve children's educational outcomes in North Minneapolis. The money will be used to partner with schools, organizations, and families to significantly improve educational opportunities by supporting children from pre-birth to college. Sen. Franken supported efforts in Congress to bring the funding to NAZ.

You can see photos from Sen. Franken's visit here.