At StriveTogether, we’re building civic infrastructure to support every child from cradle to career. That sounds great, but what does it really mean? Infrastructure holds communities together: roads, bridges, an electricity grid. But there are some connections we can’t see. Relationships, collaboration, goal setting and data sharing are part of infrastructure, too. These pieces are…
This guest blog was written by Rebecca Parshall, Ph.D., director of strategy at Learn4Life. In it, Parshall shares research she did during her dissertation, focused on how collective impact can improve education outcomes. Hard questions As we are inundated with study after study describing the pandemic’s devastating impact on learning, it is important to ground…
I was recently reminded of a poem by Wendell Berry that resonated strongly because it describes the very nature of our work. Berry is one of my literary heroes, we’re both Kentucky natives and University of Kentucky graduates. As an English major, I read much of his poetry and fiction. And I find myself returning…
In the past year and a half, we experienced a global pandemic and racial injustice that reached a tipping point in our nation. As we rebuild, it’s more critical than ever to elevate and listen to the voices of communities and shift power to those who are most impacted by systemic inequities. The Together For…
To change the systems that serve youth and families, we can’t rely on one organization. True systems transformation requires collaboration from all aspects of the community — health, education, housing, public safety and more. When these sectors build partnerships around shared goals and accountability, powerful local change is possible. The three stories below show how…
John F. Kennedy once said that “the time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.” We’ve known our roof has leaks — our systems have been designed to produce wicked disparities in American communities for hundreds of years. But now here we are, in the middle of a storm, with no other…
With his keynote at the Cradle to Career Network Convening’s final plenary session, New York Times columnist David Brooks initiated a conversation about the power of relationships. Last summer, Brooks toured the country, visiting communities enriched by what he calls “weavers” — individuals and organizations creating trusting relationships to repair the frayed social fabric seen…
Guest blog post co-contributed by April Black, deputy executive director at Tacoma Housing Authority, and Elvin Bucu, director of systems alignment at Graduate Tacoma I always find it helpful to get out of my “Tacoma tunnel vision” and see how other communities think differently. I recently had the chance to learn with eight other communities…
What we learned from Equal Measure’s evaluation of the theory of action More than 4,000 people from the Cradle to Career Network participated in a three-year evaluation of the StriveTogether Theory of Action™, and findings confirm our framework is helping communities change systems and improve outcomes for kids and families. I am so grateful to…
Guest post by Jon McGoh, co-founder and a trustee at Reach Academy in Feltham, England. For three weeks this spring, I was fortunate enough to tour the U.S. visiting a variety of cradle-to-career initiatives on a Winston Churchill Fellowship. The Fellowship enables UK citizens to travel the world looking at innovative solutions to the world’s…
What happens when you bring together people from across the country who want the best for every child in their communities? If you’re familiar with StriveTogether, you’re probably familiar with this question: What does StriveTogether really do? I get this question all the time, every week, and have for six years. It never gets…
