C2C Connects | Vol. 1 | March, 2023
DIRECT FROM THE EXEC
Welcome to the first edition of the Cradle 2 Career’s newsletter, C2C Connects. If you are new to Cradle 2 Career like I am, it may be helpful for you to know a little bit more about us. Cradle 2 Career (we call it C2C for short) is a community-owned, community-based initiative in Rochester, MN. We are aligned with a national organization called StriveTogether based in Cincinnati, OH. StriveTogether supports over 70 communities nationwide doing collective impact work. In Minnesota, there are 9 communities doing this work. Our state-wide coalition is called the Education Partnership Coalition.
The term 'collective impact' comes from the work of StriveTogether and is defined as a commitment of a group of people from different sectors to a common agenda for solving a specific social problem or issue. Here in Rochester, C2C focuses our work on educational and developmental outcomes. To date, we have two open work groups (we call them networks) that are focused on Kindergarten Readiness and High School Graduation. Eventually, we hope to have 7 total work groups that are convening to support children in our community from cradle to career.
The work of collective impact is a long-term method of working in a different way to improve educational outcomes. Thriving individuals, families and communities are the result. I am honored to be part of this work in Rochester. In the coming months, we will be working on a planning and visioning process for C2C. We will be researching, planning and strategizing ways to communicate who we are, what we do and how we do it.
If you are interested in lending your voice and perspective to this work, please let us know. The outcome of this work will be shared with the community in the fall of 2023. The future looks bright!
Thank you for your support!
Julie Ruzek, Executive Director
An Introduction to our Networks
by Claudia Tabini, Director of Community Engagement & Network Facilitation
The Kindergarten Readiness Network’s goal is that all children in our community are ready for success in Kindergarten. The academic success of children in later years depends heavily upon their kindergarten readiness. The first few years of education and preparedness are the most crucial to establishing a solid foundation from which children can adapt to school systems and learn successfully.
During 2020 and 2021, the network focused on providing parents with resources to support their children. The group created a set of Kindergarten Ready! Cards filled with activities to support children in different areas of development. These activities are easy to follow and promote interaction between children and adults in playful ways. Click the image above for more information!
We are grateful for the work that the kindergarten readiness network has accomplished! With the help of conveners Sandy Simar and Amanda Lacek from Families First of Minnesota, we are coming together monthly to work toward changing or transforming systems in our community!
The Kindergarten Readiness Network is currently identifying strategies to enhance adults’ understanding of social-emotional learning in children to achieve equitable outcomes, realizing that social-emotional learning is foundational to all learning. A pilot is currently being developed. We will share more information in future communications.
We are in the process of designing a Birth to age 3 component that will eventually align with the Kindergarten Readiness network. Currently, C2C and an adhoc committee are working to identify population level indicators that will guide the work of the Birth to age 3 group. Stay tuned for future developments!
The High School Graduation Network’s goal is that all kids graduate from high school and are prepared for their next step. We use collective impact in our networks to work together and make decisions. Last year, the High School Graduation Network offered trainings in cultural competencies to the network partners.
The goal of these trainings is to equip adults who interact with youth with the tools needed to relate to youth and families from diverse backgrounds in a culturally responsive way. Kids who feel accepted and respected are more likely to be engaged in school and have a deeper sense of belonging. When students feel a sense of belonging in their school, they are more likely to stay motivated and succeed.
Currently, the High School Graduation Network is focusing on a pilot supporting kids in their transition from middle school into high school. Students who feel supported and connected to adults and peers are more likely to be successful in 9th grade.
Research tells us that a successful 9th grade will determine a student’s success in high school and beyond.
We are grateful for the work that the high school network has accomplished! With the help of convener, Erin Vasquez from John Marshall High School, we are coming together monthly to work toward changing or transforming systems in our community!
Cradle 2 Career’s Parent Advisory Council provides valuable parent and family voice to the networks. The council is formed by parents, caregivers, and/or family members from our community. They meet monthly, ten times a year.
Parent Advisory Council members are:
Khadija Ali
Kim Sin
Anavelia Segura
Zeni Aly
Beth Martinez
Leslie Sutter
The Parent Advisory Council members participate in decision-making to ensure that pilots and initiatives are centered in parent, family, and youth perspectives. The members bring the needs and perspectives of families and students from diverse backgrounds to the forefront of our work. Currently, the council members are participating in the co-design process for the Childcare Capacity and Utilization project.
Numbers tell the Story
by Kelsey Duffy, Director of Data & Research
Hi there! I'm Kelsey Duffy and I work as the Director of Data & Research at Cradle 2 Career. My team works to make sure that C2C staff, networks, and partners have data to make informed decisions.
There are two main parts to my job. First, I help our network partners share information with each other safely and securely. The ability to learn from each other’s data helps move us toward collective change that no one organization do alone. It's really cool to see how our community has gotten better and better at this over time!
The other part of my job is the most fun! We get to talk to students and families and hear what they think about our network’s projects. This helps us plan better and make sure that we're doing what's best for everyone.
I work with a team of people who are all different ages and have different backgrounds. Some of them help with technical things, like figuring out how to collect data or creating graphs that show what we've learned. Others work directly with students and families to make sure we're listening to their opinions and ideas.
We also support after-school programs and schools that partner with community organizations in Rochester. Needs assessment support, collecting student voice, and progress toward shared community data are the focus of our work with these organizations. Changes and improvements in these areas are helping our community realize success!
EPC Day on the Hill
Wednesday, March 22nd was very eventful for all members of the Education Partnership Coalition (EPC)! All 9 EPC organizations visited the state capitol in St. Paul to advocate for youth in our communities. We spoke with our state representatives and urged them to support bills HF2056 & SF1719. These bills would provide base funding for our initiatives.
Base funding would allow us to become more sustainable. Sustainable funding helps us focus on our current work and expansion as we work toward all children succeeding cradle to career through shared purpose, alignment, and accountability among community partners.
Don’t Miss Out!
We are hiring a parent advocate! If you are someone who wants to work with families to improve the educational outcome for all community members, you may be a good fit! No formal experience required.
We are doing a city-wide study on childcare capacity and utilization to learn more about childcare use, accessibility, and sustainability in Rochester. We hope to better understand some of the business barriers being faced by providers as well as better understand the preferences of families. Look for our results and their implications this fall!
Last fall, our student intern April Ky Neang created a video for us. "Excellence for Everyone” is the C2C tagline because we believe everyone deserves excellence. However, excellence means something different to everyone. April sought to know how the students in our community define “excellence for everyone”. She asked 3,000 John Marshall students 'What does ‘excellence for everyone’ mean to you?”. The results were thousands of sticky notes filled with the ideas of the youth of Rochester. The final showcase is a April video created, which can be found on C2C's YouTube page, @Cradle 2 Career. Enjoy!
