C2C Invited to Apply for Systems Change Designation
The 2023-2024 school year has brought a wave of exciting changes to Cradle 2 Career and the progress towards our end results. In addition to the many bright spots highlighted by my colleagues in this newsletter, we have been invited by StriveTogether to submit an application for the Systems Change designation on the StriveTogether Theory of Action.
The Theory of Action provides communities with a road map for changing systems to improve outcomes for youth and families. This framework for change is rooted in how the work happens in communities across the Cradle to Career Network. The framework evolves as network members fail forward and learn together, building the civic infrastructure critical to getting better outcomes for youth and families.. It strengthens the focus on racial and ethnic equity and places an even greater emphasis on systems transformation. Systems transformation occurs when communities build civic infrastructure that enables every Black, Indigenous, Latinx and Asian youth and family and those experiencing poverty to have the opportunity to reach their fullest potential, cradle to career. This is a result of partnership with system leaders in making fundamental and institutionalized shifts in policies, practices, resources and power structures to eliminate structural racism and advance equitable outcomes.
Cradle 2 Career has been in the Sustaining gateway for two years, but thanks to the tireless efforts of our backbone staff, networks, parent council, leadership table, and community partners, we have progressed along the roadmap into the Systems Change gateway. We hope that our application will be approved which will mean we are one step closer to measurable, lasting, change to our community.
For more information about the StriveTogether Theory of Action, please visit this link.