StriveTogether designates StrivePartnership in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky the first cradle-to-career partnership to demonstrably improve outcomes and change systems
Cincinnati, Ohio — Ten years of community-wide collaboration have paid off for students in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.
After a decade of bringing together cross-sector partners to improve academic outcomes from cradle to career, nearly 80 percent of key indicators of student success are improving and there is clear evidence that the community is aligning resources around solutions that work.
These local trends have earned StrivePartnership the “Proof Point” designation from StriveTogether, the organization announced today at its national convening.
“StrivePartnership continues to strengthen its unique and pioneering partnership to identify and build on what works for children in order to achieve better and more equitable outcomes for children,” StriveTogether Managing Director Jeff Edmondson said. “StrivePartnership’s new Proof Point status is a significant achievement, but it represents a milestone rather than the culmination of the journey as they continue to identify ways to spread the most impactful practices and narrow educational disparities. We congratulate StrivePartnership for their success thus far, and look forward to seeing the impact they will continue to make in the future.”
StrivePartnership started in 2006 when a group of leaders from various sectors throughout the Cincinnati area came together with a common goal: to improve academic success in the urban core. More than 300 cross-sector representatives joined the partnership, including school district superintendents, early-childhood educators, nonprofit practitioners, business leaders, community and corporate funders, city officials and university presidents.
Today, organizations, institutions and community members continue to align their work to a shared cradle-to-career vision. For example:
- The Cincinnati Preschool Promise (CPP) mobilized community members, Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) and the business community around the share goal for two years of quality preschool for all children in the city. Now, CPS, in partnership with CPP, is pursuing a November 2016 levy to both significantly expand access to preschool and strengthen the entire public school system so every child has a strong start and future.
- Public and private funders are investing in Every Child Capital, a first-in-the-nation venture philanthropy fund focused on scaling proven early literacy interventions. To date, ECC has attracted more than $4 million in funding.
- Partners are aligning their work with the overall goals of the partnership. For example, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital adopted third-grade reading as a measure of overall child health in its most recent board-approved strategic plan, and the United Way of Greater Cincinnati aligned its Bold Goals in Education to the partnership’s shared outcomes and its Bold Plays are in sync with the partnership’s priorities.
“We’ve seen tremendous progress throughout the past 10 years, and while our work is far from over, we are honored to be recognized as the first Proof Point community,” said Geoff Zimmerman, StrivePartnership acting executive director. “Thank you to the incredible support and hard work of our partners. We look forward to continuing to work to help every student in our region succeed from cradle to career.”
The StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network, which represents 68 communities across 32 states, is working toward the common result of the success of every child from cradle to career. StriveTogether has developed a method to assess the effectiveness of collective impact partnerships, helping communities stay focused on results and sustain impact over time. A community in the Cradle to Career Network will be designated as a Proof Point community when 60 percent of indicators across six cradle-to-career outcomes are maintained or improved year after year. Additionally, community leaders across sectors must demonstrate evidence of changing how systems work in four key areas: shared community vision, evidence-based decision-making, collaborative action and investment and sustainability.
This week, over 60 communities are represented at the StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network Convening in Memphis, Tenn. StrivePartnership will present during two sessions, “The Answer to Sustainability” to explore Every Child Capital, and “The Missing Ingredient to Tutoring: Measuring ‘Time’ to Get Impact.”
About StriveTogether
StriveTogether works with communities nationwide to help them create a civic infrastructure that unites stakeholders around shared goals, measures and results in education, supporting the success of every child, cradle to career. Communities implementing the StriveTogether framework have seen dramatic improvements in kindergarten readiness, standardized test results and college retention.