Guest post by Amy Ahrens Terpstra, Senior Director of Network Partnerships at United Way of Salt Lake. Across districts in the Promise Partnership of Salt Lake, chronic absence rates range from 7 to 18 percent, with persistently higher rates for low-income and Latino students. United Way of Salt Lake (UWSL) recognized that chronic absence is a…
Every January, around 3,000 global leaders gather at an Alpine ski town in Switzerland to align efforts to improve the state of the world. This year, I had the privilege of being one of them. I was selected as one of 50 young leaders from the Global Shapers Community to participate last month in the World…
After moving into their new office last summer, StriveTogether team members have been thinking of ways to add some creative inspiration to their space. The work of local artist and Cincinnati teacher Matt Eckerle captured their imagination right away. Matt was commissioned to create an original piece incorporating our core values: community, courage, progress and…
I just returned from Salt Lake City after a few days at the Winter Innovation Summit listening to policymakers, funders, nonprofits and social entrepreneurs explore the future of social innovation. This experience brought to mind a blog by Jeff Edmondson about “creating a marketplace for results” where he challenged investors to put results at the…
2017 was a very big year for StriveTogether and the years ahead promise to be even more exciting. I am both thrilled and humbled to be able to lead the Cradle to Career Network into this next phase of our work together. I spent some time at the end of last year reflecting on what…
Often, educators and education services leave parents out, expecting families to feed, clothe and shelter students but remain separate from the education process. While directors, educators and administrators are heard, parent voices are often ignored or silenced. Bridge to Success in Waterbury, Connecticut, strives to uphold those voices, believing that family engagement is essential to…
All Hands Raised, the cradle-to-career partnership in Multnomah County, Oregon, has made considerable strides in bringing community leaders, school districts and organizations together to improve outcomes for kids. Students’ academic achievement has improved because of changes in policies and organizational structures to ensure equitable opportunities. Based on evidence from data, a self-assessment and interviews, All…
As the third StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network community designated as “proof point,” Higher Expectation for Racine County’s work is changing systems and improving education outcomes for children. The local partnership and its partners are seeing improvements across five of the seven outcomes being tracked in service of Higher Expectation’s vision — a fully capable…
The first three years of a child’s life are critically important to his or her future success. In those first few years, the brain grows to 80 percent of its adult size and decades of research have shown that a child’s earliest experiences impact his or her long-term well-being. In fact, early experiences and interactions…
Remember navigating the murky waters of college enrollment as a high school senior but finding clarity with the assistance of a college counselor? You might recall asking your counselor: Where should I attend? What should I study? Will my major translate into meaning employment after I graduate? How will I pay for tuition? Books? Room…
Guest post by Esmeralda Castillo, District 3 representative of the San Antonio Youth Commission. On Oct. 3-5, 2017, I had the incredible opportunity to attend StriveTogether’s 2017 Cradle to Career Network Convening in Phoenix, Arizona, as the District 3 representative of the San Antonio Youth Commission (SAYC). Managed by the P16Plus Council of Greater Bexar…
Six months after becoming an independent nonprofit, StriveTogether has launched a bold and ambitious plan for building stronger systems for better outcomes. Our vision — Every Child, Cradle to Career — has been clear since the beginning, when the local partnership in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky began to take shape in 2006. Since then, change…