Direct from the Exec.

December offers us a time to reflect on the ending of one year and to begin planning for the year to come! I am filled with gratitude as 2023 ends. Gratitude, specifically, for all the people who have played a role in moving our collective work forward. Our staff, network partners, donors, leadership table members, parent council members, and volunteers have given countless hours so that we can realize our end goal of all children and youth in our community succeeding from cradle to career. When we work together, we can transform systems in our community!

It is nearly impossible, and definitely would not fit on this page, to name all of the moments and experiences for which I am grateful. Here are a few of the highlights:
Completing our year-long, local study on childcare barriers and potential solutions in Rochester

Connecting with partners and potential partners so that we can move forward with our childcare recommendations
Offering free professional development and opportunities for partners to connect through our Annual Education Summit
Participating in the new Executive Directors community of practice and 1:1 coaching from our parent organization StriveTogether
Working with Buoy! Marketing and Communications (and many of our partners) to create and implement our communications plan
Adding the Prenatal to Age 3 Network and our conveners, Olmsted County Public Health, to our initiative
Watching our Parent Advocate, Beth, and the Parent Council build community and relationship and share their hopes and dreams for their children
Engaging our Leadership Table in a half-day data retreat where questions were answered, small groups were brainstorming and our strategic plan was approved
Facilitating a Student Data Summit with Rochester Public Schools staff for high school students focused on students’ Sense of Belonging at School
Working with our Education Partnership Coalition partners to secure three years of funding support for each of our initiatives
Supporting our Network Facilitator, Winnie, and our networks as they work to name their strategies and implement pilots
Building community (as a staff, a leadership table, as networks, and as a community) that supports and is willing to engage in collective impact

This past year has been a time of learning and planning. We have accomplished so much in a short time! We have a plan and have secured the partners and trusted relationships necessary to move this plan forward. 2024 is our time to put this plan into action!

Until then, I remain ever grateful for the many people in our community who have contributed to the success of Cradle 2 Career. We said it at our Education Summit in October 2023 and we’ll keep saying it in 2024, we are ALL Cradle 2 Career! Happy Holidays! May your holiday season be filled with joy, peace, love and gratitude!

Julie Ruzek, Executive Director

A Successful Annual Education Summit
By Angalee Schmidt, Communications Manager

On October 4th, over 200 educators, youth-serving adults, community partners, parents, and youth gathered for our 2nd Annual Education Summit. With the theme “Transforming Systems Together: We Are All Cradle to Career,” lively discussions sparked new ideas and collaborations across early childhood, K-12, higher education, and beyond. We could not have had such success without all who attended!

The interactive sessions, thought-provoking panel of education leaders in our community, and abundant networking opportunities made the day fly by. Breakout sessions included a variety of topics from childcare access to supports for first-generation college students. Attendees left with fresh motivation, insights, and connections to drive systemic change. Special thanks to the Rotary Clubs of Rochester for underwriting our event and providing dedicated volunteers! Additional thanks to Dunn Brother’s Coffee and Pasquale’s Pizza for donating breakfast items and presenter gifts.

Due to popular demand, we are thrilled to announce that next year’s 3rd Annual Education Summit will take place the second week of October! Please watch for more details. The resounding success of this year’s summit has demonstrated a need for a larger venue as our network of partners continues expanding. A larger venue will allow even more educators, leaders, and stakeholders to join together in realizing our shared vision for student excellence. We will broaden our session offerings and invite a keynote speaker. Do you have suggestions? If so, please email Angalees@c2cmn.com. Stay tuned as we start planning another day of inspiration and collaboration. We can’t wait to unite with you in transforming systems for our young people!

Childcare Resource Hub, Coming Soon!
By Noah Shore, Data Analyst

In the theme of gratitude, we want to reflect on our continuing collaboration with Intercultural Mutual Assistance Association (IMAA). We are so appreciative of the opportunity to continue working with this influential community partner. We have begun the development of an early childcare resource hub that will be housed on the new C2C website in early 2024. This initiative is the direct outcome of IMAA’s Year 4 Whole Family System efforts and the childcare report released by C2C in October 2023. This is an exciting prospect as we hope to gather information that can assist all families in navigating the various childcare options for their children, spanning from birth to 5 years old. For our initial brainstorming, IMAA and the BUILD Initiative hosted a virtual summit on December 14th, featuring presentations from other resource hubs in Minnesota. We are grateful for the collaborative effort of everyone who was involved and those who were able to attend. We believe it will help us gain clarity on our future direction, aiding us in creating a hub that truly meets the needs of our families and community.

Our Networks
By Winnie Godi, Network Facilitator

First, let me say that I am so thankful for our dedicated conveners. I am also grateful for our network partners from many organizations. We appreciate the time they make to collaborate and to be Cradle 2 Career. Finally, we are so appreciative of our surrounding community. We are in this together and our work would not be possible without YOU!

Prenatal to Age 3 Network
Our Prenatal to 3 network is our newest network. Cradle 2 Career decided to convene partners around a specific strategy. The strategy we will be convening partners around is “increasing initiation and access to prenatal care and maternal health for African American mothers, mothers aged 15-19, and mothers with less than a high school education.”

Our conveners, Olmsted County Public Health Services (OCPHS) are instrumental in addressing this strategy. OCPHS has worked with Cradle 2 Career to plan and launch a co-design pilot, set to start in early January. They provided us with data that shows a discrepancy in the initiation of prenatal care and access for certain populations. We will center the voices of individuals affected by this issue. We will engage the voices of stakeholders working with these populations. Together, we will create a list of barriers and potential solutions to prenatal care access. This process will also identify a set of potential pilots we can test to improve prenatal care access.

Transitions to Kindergarten Network
(formerly known as “Kindergarten Readiness”)
Transition 2 Kindergarten Network jumped right into the new school year ready to work. We continued to work on approved strategies and began working on overall language and strategy alignment.

We continued working on the timeline for our co-design project with our established partners. The project will focus on promoting equitable Social Emotional Learning (SEL) outcomes for young children. We are currently in the early planning stages of the co-design process. The project is set to start in mid-December and continue through the end of February. The results of the co-design project will inform future pilots.

The Minnesota Department of Education recently shifted their language to the Successful Learner Equation. This shift aligns with our network goals and represents how we can communicate systems being ready for transitions to kindergarten.

As you may have noticed above, the “Kindergarten Readiness Network” has changed its name to the “Transition to Kindergarten Network”. In our last few meetings, the network has had some important conversations. They talked about the language used within the network and with the wider community. The group decided that "kindergarten readiness" did not fully reflect what the network wants to achieve. Recognizing that each kindergartener is unique and that the only requirement for kindergarten entry is age, the network chose to align its focus with the systems in which kindergarteners interact. Families, schools/programs, and communities need to “be ready” to support children entering kindergarten.

Finally, we will continue reviewing qualitative and quantitative data together. In our data review, we will look at information gathered from our Parent Council on their “hopes and dreams” of children aged 0-5. We will regularly review data and include the voices of our community. We believe our goals and pilots should be data-driven and inclusive of community needs.

High School Graduation Network
Our High School Graduation Network kicked off the year with a data review. Across all of our networks, C2C wants to make sure that our work is data-driven. For this to happen, we want to make sure that we are disaggregating and reviewing the most recent and relevant data for the populations we serve. As a network, we broke down and reviewed 4 and 7-year graduation rate data by race/ethnicity. We also looked at the disaggregations of free and reduced-priced lunch, multi-language learners, and special education learners.

In our last two network meetings, we identified the potential barriers and influences that may cause the graduation rates for specific populations to increase or decrease. The group selected which barriers or influences they would like to explore further and who they would need to talk to for more information. They also identified which resources or data they still need. Our next step is to validate specific factors impacting graduation rates and to plan for and implement specific pilots.

The Parent Council: Growing Numbers, Growing Hope
By Beth Martinez, Parent Advocate

'm excited to share some great updates from our Parent Council.

Our meetings in November and December were very successful. Our Parent Council has grown, with over twice as many people getting involved. This shows how much our community cares about making decisions that matter to our families. We met at the Pipsqueaks Playground, making it easy for parents to be a part of the meeting while their kids played. It was a mix of getting things done and enjoying time with our families.

At the November meeting, the group participated in an activity to gather feedback on parents' hopes and dreams and the barriers children, youth, and young adults were experiencing. The feedback gathered will be brought to our networks to make sure our goals align and we can address named barriers. Gathering and sharing direct feedback from our parent council helps us raise awareness of the current needs of our community.

Parent council members have also been joining in giving professional development training to our community. Together, we presented to the Early Childhood team at Rochester Public Schools about fostering family partnerships. Having our parents be part of this training shows our commitment to engaging our parents and including them our work.

Looking ahead, we want each member to feel comfortable, respected, and valued in our Parent Council. We aim to create a space where their voices are not just heard but acted on. This way, we can make positive changes that benefit everyone in our community.

We're excited to keep going on this journey together, making a lasting impact in our community.

We Are C2C - Community Highlights

Zerina Said
Role within C2C:C2C is the program evaluator for our Whole Family Systems (WFS) program
Professional or organizational affiliation outside of C2C: Whole Family Systems Program Coordinator at IMAA
What are your hopes and dreams for the work of C2C? As a 1.5-generation immigrant, I personally have experienced the complexities of the U.S. educational system. It certainly is not an easy system to navigate, particularly for those with limited English proficiency. Unfortunately, this difficulty results in missed opportunities for both families and youth. My hope is that our community in Rochester can collaborate to streamline the educational system, making it more accessible to all children and families. This goes beyond the refugee and immigrant populations that IMAA supports, as challenges like access, transportation, and finances are pertinent concerns for the broader public. My vision is for every youth in our community to enjoy equitable access to education and programming, ensuring they can seize their full potential.

Erica Schumacher
Role within C2C: Transition to Kindergarten Network Member
Professional or organizational affiliation outside of C2C: Director of Early Learning for Rochester Public Schools
What are your hopes and dreams for the work of C2C? I envision that the work our group is dedicated to will profoundly benefit our community by offering a wealth of ideas, resources, and support aimed at nurturing the development of our youngest learners and their families. Furthermore, I aspire to see our dedicated practitioners, who are deeply committed to providing the best carefor young children and families, equipped with the necessary resources to enhance their capacities. This, in turn, will empower them to consistently share their strengths with each individual they interact with.

Greg Jacob III
Role within C2C: Special Projects Assistant
Professional or organizational affiliation outside of C2C: Media Communications Specialist
What have you learned from your time with C2C? I have learned that the people at C2C care about the work they are doing. It shows me that when you find a group of people willing to get on the same page and work towards a goal that doors will begin to open and an opportunity to create change will start to reveal itself... but that only happens when you have people who care about what they are doing.

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Cradle 2 Career is a community-wide initiative that works to improve educational outcomes for every child in Rochester by transforming the way partners work together.

What this means…