Highlights of Collective Impact Efforts

Covington Early Childhood*

Led by Success By 6®, key early childhood stakeholders are working together to identify gaps in services and strengthen others, to help children enter kindergarten prepared.

Shared Objectives: To use data to inform decision-making to improve kindergarten readiness in Covington.

Shared Goals:

• By September 2011, 70% of children will enter kindergarten prepared, as measured by the DIAL-3.

• By December 2011, each center’s total average score will increase by 3%, as measured by the DIAL-3.

• By December 2011, participating child care center will reach 2/5 indicator “fully met” for Standard 3.8 of Kentucky’s Quality Self-Study.

• By December 2011, increase the number of STAR-Rated centers from 1 to 3.

The Strive Partnership Shared Measure: Percent of children assessed ready for school.

Highlights: Kindergarten entry scores increased from 63% to 67%, exceeding the collaborative’s goal.

Members: Children, Inc., Covington Housing Authority, Covington Independent Schools, Every Child Succeeds, 4C for Children, Head Start, Northern Kentucky University, and Success By 6®.

Hamilton County Early Childhood

Led by United Way of Greater Cincinnati and Success By 6®, school districts, the business community, local non-profit agencies, parents, community leaders and public agencies are working together to raise awareness about the importance of the early years and to make early childhood a top priority for resources and funding.

Shared Objectives:

• Increase Bracken scores (on the School Readiness Component (SRC) for percentage) of all children 3–5 year old home visitation programs from program entry to exit.

• By August 2012, 18% of City of Cincinnati family child care providers in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) will receive in home training on basic language and literacy concepts to improve their child care environment and skills.

• By October 2011, 95% of City of Cincinnati family child care providers participating in the project to demonstrate increased language and literacy activities in their home child care business, to build their skills to help get children ready for kindergarten.

Shared Goals: By fall 2012, 58% of Cincinnati Public School kindergarten children will score 19 or above on the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment–Literacy (KRA-L).

The Strive Partnership Shared Measure: Percent of children assessed ready for school.

Highlights: Through Winning Beginnings funding, data collection and analysis has improved in the last eight months. Efforts are now underway to connect the Hamilton County Winning Beginnings database with the Learning Partner Dashboard.

Members: 4C for Children, Cincinnati Early Learning Centers, Cincinnati Public Schools, Cincinnati Hamilton County Community Action Agency, Every Child Succeeds, Innovations, Success By 6®, and United Way of Greater Cincinnati.

Newport Early Childhood*

Led by Success By 6®, key early childhood stakeholders are working together to identify gaps in services and strengthen others, to help children enter kindergarten prepared.

Shared Objectives: To use data to drive decisions to impact kindergarten readiness to Newport.

Shared Goals:

• By school year 2012/2013 75% of children will come to kindergarten ready to learn

• By 6/30/11 increase the % of children participating in high quality partner programs

• By 6/30/11, 66% of children in Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) and Full-Day Preschool will enter kindergarten ready

• By December 2011, the number of STAR Rated centers will increase from 0 to 2.

The Strive Partnership Shared Measure: Percent of children assessed ready for school.

Highlights: Kindergarten entry scores increased from 70% to 72%.

Members: Brighton Center, Children, Inc., Every Child Succeeds, 4C for Children, Head Start, Newport Independent Schools, Northern
Kentucky University, and Success By 6®.

Mentoring Works

“Mentoring Works” is not only a true statement; it is a network of mentoring organizations serving children in Cincinnati, Covington and Newport.

Shared Objectives:

• Create and implement strategies to recruit and train mentors based on identified areas of need.

• 100% of partners will begin data collection on common outcomes/measures.

• By May 31, 2011, 100% of partners will implement identified best practice standards.

Shared Goals:

• By May 31, 2013, increase the number of mentors to meet the needs of youth who need and/or want a mentor.

• By May 31, 2013, increase the number of positive outcomes for youth engaged in a mentoring relationship.

• By May 31, 2013, 100% of partners will implement best practice standards.

Strive Partnership Shared Measures:

• Percent of students with mentors who graduate from High School

• Percent of students who enroll in college

• Percent of students retained in college (1^st to 2nd year)

Highlights: After working together for four years, the team has developed and implemented an action plan and secured a grant of $300,000 over three years from the P&G Fund to improve student outcomes.

Members: Beech Acres Parenting Center, Big Brothers & Big Sisters, Boys Hope Girls Hope, Cincinnati Youth Collaborative, College Mentors & Kids, Covington Partners in Prevention, EndZone Youth Club, Friends of the Children, Higher Education Mentoring Initiative, Junior Achievement, Leadership Scholars, Mathis Foundation, Talbert House, and the YMCA.

SMART Tutoring Network

The SMART Tutoring Network provides awareness of and access to a network of trained, high quality, caring and supportive academic tutors for Cincinnati Public School (CPS) students.

Shared Objectives:

• By July 31, 2011, improve the quality of tutoring services and coordination efforts.

• By July 31, 2011, implement a system to collect and report on standardized data elements to measure student success.

Shared Goals:

• By December 31, 2015, increase student outcomes of partner tutoring services provided to CPS students.

• By July 31, 2011, determine if the Pyramid of Intervention can be implemented by all partners.

• By December 31, 2015, increase the academic success of students served by 8%.

Shared Measures:

• Percent of students who receive at least 30 hours of tutoring who demonstrate improvement on the OAT from one year to the next when compared to the district average.

• Percent of students who receive at least 30 hours of tutoring who score at the minimum state standard or higher on either reading or math on the OAT.

Highlights: A Quality Tutoring Seal of Approval has been developed and funded by the United Way. Partner programs are evaluated by an external party and earn the Seal of Approval based upon quality standards. Early results indicated that 59.8% of students who received 30 hours of tutoring from Seal Approved partners, scored at or above state minimums on either the Math or Reading Ohio Achievement Assessment.

Member Organizations: Academia.net, Academic Support Services, Breakthrough Cincinnati, Cincinnati Public Library, Cincinnati Public Schools, Cincinnati State, Cincinnati Youth Collaborative, Club Z, Families Forward, Science Tutoring Program at Hughes STEM High School, Imani, Literacy Network of Greater Cincinnati, Mayerson Academy, Nia Educational Services, SAC, Sylvan Learning, Tutoring in Your Home, UC CCE , UC-PASS, UC-SES, Urban League of Greater Cincinnati, Whiz Kids, and the YMCA.

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Arts Education*

Partners have joined together to work with arts and cultural organizations throughout the region, teachers, teaching artists, school districts, and colleges and universities to encourage excellence in arts-in-education practice, and to bring arts-based learning experiences to students who otherwise would have limited access to these opportunities.

Shared Objectives:

• Increase access to arts programming offered to students.

• Increase number of students participating in arts and education programming.

• 100% of programming offered by arts organizations involved in the Arts Education SSN will be aligned with academic content standards (national, state and local).

• 100% of CPS Arts Specialists will be trained in the use of academic content standards to increase student learning and development.

• Provide at least one professional development opportunity for out–of–school arts providers and pre-service arts specialists in Year One of the plan.

• Increase awareness through an advocacy campaign to educate the general public, educators and policymakers about the impact of learning in and through the arts on student academic achievement and social/emotional development.

Shared Goals: Enhance student academic achievement for youth in CPS, CIS, and NIS by increasing the number students learning in and through the arts.

The Strive Partnership Shared Measure: 4th grade reading.

Highlights: Partners have worked collaboratively to provide quality learning experiences through an Arts Integration Pilot. Over 400 Cincinnati Public School students participated in an arts infused experience once a week, for a ten week session, with three sessions per school year. The Arts Integration classrooms showed significant positive results when compared to non-AI classrooms even when controlling for economic disadvantage and expected performance on both the Math and Reading Ohio Achievement Assessment.

Members: Artlinks, Artswave, Bi-Okoto Cultural Institute, CET Learning Services, Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati Arts and Technology Center, Cincinnati Arts Association, Cincinnati Ballet, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Cincinnati Children’s Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cincinnati Public Schools, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Contemporary Arts Center, Covington Independent Schools, Drama kinetics, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati, Green Acres Foundation Art Center, Learning Through Art, Inc., Madcap Production Puppet Theatre, Newport Independent Schools, Renegade Garage Players, Taft Museum of Art, The Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center, UC College Conservatory of Music, and the YMCA.

Covington Partners

Covington Partners is a combination of dedicated individuals, organizations, and board members committed to the collaborative work of planning, funding, implementing, and evaluating initiatives that benefi t the youth and the future of Covington.

After School Programs

Shared Goals: By 2013, ensure that 75% of the after school program needs are secured.

Shared Objective: By 2012, secure prioritized and appropriate after school services.

Shared Measures: # of schools with needs identifi ed (8 possible); Total number of needs met; % of schools with after school program needs met (10–25% per year).

College Access

Shared Goals: By 2015, Holmes High School will increase by 10% the number of students enrolling in two to four year colleges; by 2015, Holmes High School students will increase the average ACT score by 2.5 points.

Shared Measures: Postsecondary enrollment and average score on the ACT.

Health and Wellness

Shared Goals: By 2013, implement instruction in healthy eating habits and nutrition in all schools.

Shared Objectives: By 2011/2012, ensure proper nutrition, growth and development of students.

Family Engagement

Shared Goal: Ensure that Covington families are provided the opportunities, services and support needed to be involved partners in their child’s education.

Shared Objective: Improve student achievement by further engaging families of students at Holmes High School and Holmes Middle School.

Mentoring

Shared Objectives: Create and implement strategies to recruit and train new mentors based on identifi ed areas of need; 100% of partners will collect data on common outcomes/measures; by May 31, 2011, 100% of partners will implement identifi ed best practice standards.

Shared Goals: By May 31, 2013, increase the number of mentors to meet the needsof youth who need and/or want a mentor; by, May 31, 2013, increase the number of positive outcomes for youth engaged in a mentoring relationship; by May 31, 2013, 100% of partners will implement best practice standards.

Shared Measures: Percent of students with mentors that graduate from High School; percent of students that enroll in college; percent of students retained in college (1st to 2nd year).

Highlights: This year partners embarked on a signifi cant action planning process in preparation for the 2011–2012 school year. Partners have identifi ed problems and solutions and are committed to gathering common data to track progress.

Members: Covington Independent Public Schools, Boys/Girls Club, N. KY Community Action Commission, Gateway Community & Technical College, Flaugher and Associates, City of Covington Recreation, N. KY Health Department, YMCA, Center For Great Neighborhoods, Kenton County Alliance, NKCAC, Covington Library, Homeward Bound, Cabinet for Health & Family Services, Housing Authority of Covington, National Committee on Youth, Girl Scouts, Brighton Center Welcome House, Catholic Charities, Thomas More College, YouthBuild of N. KY, Mentoring Plus, The Carnegie Visual & Performing Center, KCPL, North Key, TBNK, Children, Inc., United Way, and DUBS.

Youth Career Access Network

Youth CAN is a collaborative that ensures improved coordination of partner services and establishes standardized best practices in order to provide low income youth, ages 14–24, services that increase the likelihood of successful transition from school to career.

Shared Objectives:

• All partners will defi ne, adopt and implement key components of employer expectations in program design.

• All partners will develop and utilize a uniform assessment to determine participant understanding of employer expectations.

• Develop a system or tap into existing systems that would track participant’s retention in year round employment and youth who complete a summer employment program.

• All partners will collaborate with the SMART Tutoring Network.

• Partners will increase the percentage of dropouts they re-engage who attain a GED/Diploma.

• Connect eligible youth within 6 months (of exiting a partner program) to a support agency/person to assist them through the process of entering advanced training or employment.

Shared Goals:

• By 2015, 75% of youth served by partners will achieve competency in employer expectations and requirements.

• By 2013, increase the percentage of youth served by partners who receive a high school diploma or GED.

• By 2013, increase the percentage of youth who are served by partners who have a career plan and that enter an advanced training (vocational, apprenticeship, postsecondary, etc.) or become employed as indicated by their career plan.

The Strive Partnership Shared Measure: High school graduation rates.

Highlights: This team secured a grant of $584,350 from the City of Cincinnati to provide needed training, support and summer employment for nearly 400 young people. The team has created a standardize common assessment tool that measures a youth’s knowledge and skill level so that appropriate training can be provided to ensure successful employment and increase employer satisfaction. In addition, the automation of this assessment resulted in an effi ciency (cost/time) savings of over $12,000 annually.

Members: Children’s Home, Cincinnati Human Relations Commission, Cincinnati Public Schools, Cincinnati Recreation Commission, Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, Connect 2 Success, Easter Seals Work Resource Center, General Electric, Great Oaks, Jobs for Cincinnati Graduates, Lighthouse Youth Services, Literacy Center West, Project Nehemiah, Southwest Ohio Workforce Investment Board, University of Cincinnati, Urban Appalachian Council, Urban League of Greater Cincinnati, and the YWCA.

College Access Alliance*

The College Access Alliance is focusing on building a college-going culture within Cincinnati Public Schools and working towards improving the delivery of comprehensive and well coordinated college access services to high school students.

Shared Objectives:

• Implement a college awareness plan for all schools/students.

• Determine, analyze and prioritize customer needs (school staff, partner staff, students and parents/guardians).

Shared Goal: By 2015, increase postsecondary enrollment for CPS students by 10%.

The Strive Partnership Shared Measures: High school graduation and postsecondary enrollment.

Highlights: In 2010/2011 the team’s preliminary analysis of baseline data from school years 07–09 revealed there were key critical factors that signifi cantly impact a student enrolling into college. Specifi cally, students are over 80% more likely to enroll into college when they pass all portions of the Ohio Graduation Test, graduate from high school, apply for financial aid/scholarships, submit applications to colleges, and taking appropriate college entrance exams.

Members: Cincinnati Public Schools, Cincinnati State, Cincinnati Youth Collaborative, General Electric, Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Jobs for Cincinnati Graduates, Parents for Public Schools, Project Grad, University of Cincinnati, Upward Bound, Urban League of Greater Cincinnati, and the YMCA.

*While affiliated with The Strive Partnership, this collaborative is led, supported and/or funded by a community partner. Please note: The measures and highlights included in this report are not a comprehensive representation of the work of collaboratives in the region.