Conversations about equity, diversity and inclusion are popular in the organizations and systems where StriveTogether interacts, and I’ve been thinking a lot about this question: What will it take to make racial and economic equity the work itself instead of part of the work? On April 13, I’ll have the honor of speaking at PolicyLink’s…
“Early morning, April four Shot rings out in the Memphis sky Free at last, they took your life They could not take your pride” “Pride (In the Name of Love)” U2 This April 4, 2018, marks 50 years to the day the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Leaders across the country will…
Current and future college students, can you picture your art here? Or here? StriveTogether is offering a scholarship opportunity, Art Inspires, for current high school seniors and students enrolled in a postsecondary institution (such as a university, college or community college) located in a community served by a partnership in the Cradle to Career Network.…
At the end of this month, StriveTogether will celebrate its first year of independence — and what a year it has been! StriveTogether experienced not one but two major transitions over the past year. First the organizational transition: spinning out from our parent organization to become independent. Second was the leadership transition: the departure of…
The StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network has committed to measuring and improving six academic outcomes to support student success, from kindergarten readiness to postsecondary completion. Underlying each of these concrete outcomes is an equally important but more elusive concept: social-emotional learning. Social-emotional learning has been a challenging area for the Network for a variety of…
For the community of Austin, Minnesota, collaboration is everything. Sustainable change means putting aside competition to work together. When the First United Methodist Church in Austin approached Austin Public Schools (APS) with a donation to support young children, the school district didn’t simply keep the opportunity in-house. Instead, APS gathered community partners to hear their…
While working in under-resourced schools on Chicago’s south side, I saw firsthand the role that the internet played in a child’s life. Regardless of how old textbooks were or the limited resources available in individual school libraries, the internet became a valuable tool providing students with equal access to knowledge and lessons to develop new…
What would it look like to truly put students at the center? This is a question that leaders from more than 100 communities gathered to answer at the February Students at the Center convening in Houston, Texas. This unprecedented event — hosted by Coalition for Community Schools, Communities in Schools and StriveTogether — answered a…
Design and artwork by Tabitha Jordan-Nichols, StriveTogether’s graphic design co-op. Tabitha is a second-year student at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP), where she is majoring in communication design. View more of Tabitha’s work at www.tabithajordannichols.com.
StriveTogether is proud to announce the designation of Graduate Tacoma in Tacoma, Washington, as our fifth proof point community. Reaching proof point recognizes that outcomes in the community are improving because of transformed systems and is a major milestone on the path to better and more equitable opportunities and results for every child, cradle to career. In…
Five years ago, StriveTogether embarked on a journey to measurably improve education for every child by bringing rigor and alignment to how people in different sectors work together. At a time when many were claiming to drive collective action and collective impact, we engaged the most advanced community partnerships in the Cradle to Career Network…
Ever wonder why housing in most major metropolitan communities is segregated by race? Take Chicago — my hometown — where there is a clear north/south and east/west racial divide. Gaps in wealth, income and access to education, especially between whites and African-Americans, become increasingly apparent as you cross the invisible dividing line between the city’s affluent and economically deprived areas.…