© the forum for youth investment 2008 the ready by 21 ® challenge to change the odds for youth by...

© The Forum for Youth Investment 2008

The Ready by 21® ChallengeTo change the odds for youth by changing the way we do business…

The Essential Role of School/Community PartnershipsFebruary 19, 2009


The National PartnershipThe Key Ideas

Discussion: The Essential Role of School/Community Partnerships

TODAY’S SESSION


THE NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP


Forum for Youth Investment

Nonprofit, nonpartisan “action tank” dedicated to helping communities and the nation make sure all young people are Ready by 21 – ready for college, work and life.

• Headquarters in Washington, D.C. • 30+ staff headed by prominent national leaders• Adjunct office in Michigan (Center for Youth Program Quality)• Staff based in Seattle, Kansas City, Richmond & New York


The Ready by 21 Partners (as of December 08)

Technical/ Research partners

Mobilization partners

Managing partner

Signature partner

MOBILIZATION PARTNERS United Way of America (signature partner) American Assoc. of School Administrators America’s Promise Alliance Corporate Voices for Working Families National Collaboration for Youth National Conference of State Legislatures

TECHNICAL PARTNERS• The Search Institute (40 Assets) Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality Youth Pathways Consortium (Child Trends, The Finance Project & The Aspen Roundtable)


THE KEY IDEAS


Changing the Odds for Youth by Changing the Way We Do Business

Change the oddsfor youth

Change the waywe do business

Change the landscapeof communities

OUR THEORY OF CHANGE:


The small gear makes a big difference

Educators, Businesses,

Public Service Agencies, Community Providers,

Public Officials, Funders, Advocates,

Faith Institutions, Community Catalysts,

Families, Young People

OUR THEORY OF CHANGE:


CHILDREN & YOUTH


Are they Ready?





43% are doing well in two lifeareas and okay in one

• Productivity: Attend college, work steadily

• Health: Good health, positive health habits, healthy relationships

• Connectedness: Volunteer, politically active, active in religious institutions, active in community

Too Few Young People are Ready

Doing Well43%

Doing Poorly22%

In the Middle35%

22% are doing poorly in two lifeareas and not well in any

• Productivity: High school diploma or less, are unemployed, on welfare

• Health: Poor health, bad health habits, unsupportive relationships

• Connectedness: Commit illegal activity once a month

Researchers Gambone, Connell & Klem (2002) estimate that only 4 in 10 are doing well in their early 20s.


Are They Getting the Supports They Need?





We Know What it Takes to Support Development

• The National Research Council reports that teens need:• Physical and Psychological Safety• Appropriate Structure• Supportive Relationships• Opportunities to Belong• Positive Social Norms• Support for Efficacy and Mattering• Opportunities for Skill-Building• Integration of Family, School and Community efforts


Do these Supports Really Make a Difference? Even in Adolescence?

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Youth with SupportiveRelationships

Youth with UnsupportiveRelationships

Ready by End of 12th Grade Not Ready

ABSOLUTELY

SOURCE: Finding Out What Matters for Youth: Testing Key Links in a Community Action Framework for Youth Development

Gambone and colleagues show that youth with supportive relationships as they enter high school are 5 times more likely to leave high school “ready” than those with weak relationships…


… and those seniors who were “ready” at the end of high school were more than 4 times as likely to be doing well as young adults.

Do these Supports Make a Difference in Adulthood?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Ready by 21 Not Ready by 21

Good Young Adult Outcomes

Poor Young Adult OutcomesSOURCE: Finding Out What Matters for Youth: Testing Key Links in a Community Action Framework for Youth Development


from 4 in 10doing well

to 7 in 10 doing well

Providing These Supports CAN Change the Odds

Gambone/Connell’s research suggests that if all young people got the supports they needed in early adolescence, the picture could change…


Effective leaders





SOURCE:Margaret Dunkle

Business as Usual… See a Problem, Convene a Task Force, Create a Program…

Has Created a Tangle of Inefficiencies

Children’s Services in Los Angeles County


Collaborations

MCTP

United Neighbor

hood Centers

Of Greater Roch.

Rochester‘s

Child

Youth 2000

Juvenile

Justice

Council

CCSI TIER

II

Interagency

Council

Comm. Asset

Network

Not Me Not Now

Community

Service Board

Board of

Health

Children & Family

Serv. Subcomm

.

Youth Services Quality

C.

School Health Leaders

hip Team

RECAP

Community

Profile

Preventive

Services Coalition

RAEYC

Early Childho

od Develop

I.

Homeless

Continuum of care Impl. Team Monroe

Cty. Sch& Comm.Health

Ed.Network

REEP

RochesterEffectiveness Partnership

N.E.T.

City Violen

ce Initiat

ive

Task Force

on Violenc

e Domestic Violence

Consortium

Perinatal CommunityConsortium

Do Right byKids campaign

HealthAction

DomesticViolence

Partnership

PerinatalSubstance

AbuseCoalition

PCIC

SACSI

Counselor’sConsortium

Rochester

Children’s Collab.

Roch. Enterpri

se Commu

nity Zone P.

YRBS Group

HW & Tutoring

Round Table

Student Assistance Prof.

Diversion

Collaborative

Runaway &

Homeless

Youth Ser

Provider

Reg. 2 Prevent

ive Provid.

N

Homeless Services Network

CASASProviders

Adult Service

s Subcom

m.

StudentAsst. Prof.

Greater Roch.Area

Transitions

Collab.

America’s

Promise

NBN

Mentoring

Round Table

OASAS Preventi

on Initiativ

eCHANGE

SDFSCA Planning Committ

ees ReclaimingYouth

Continuous

Improvement

Service Delivery

Advocacy

Cross - Systems Change

Community

Mobilization

Evaluation

Positive Outcomes for youth & families

Best Practice


To Help All of Us Think Differently

the more we focus (on narrow pieces), the more we fragment (the responses),

the more we fail (our children and youth).

C = D x V x PChange = Dissatisfaction x Vision x Plan

The Harvard Change Model suggests that the likelihood of change increases exponentially as any of these factors gets stronger.

But disconnected change efforts may actually dissipate the energy for change.


Changing the Way We Do Business

SET BIGGER GOALSBE BETTER PARTNERSUSE BOLDER STRATEGIES

Think Differently

so that together we can

Act Differently

focus & prioritize differently with a BIG PICTURE APPROACH


THE BIG PICTURE APPROACH

Bringing Precision to our Passion


A Big Picture Approach

Civic Social Emotional Physical Vocational Cognitive

Ages

Times of Day

OutcomeAreas

???

Morning . . . Night

21

.

.

.

0 School AfterSchool

At its best, school only fills a portion of developmental space

Insulating the Education Pipeline: moving beyond afterschool to define and develop a continuum of basic and enrichment supports to endure that young people are ready for college, work and life

K – 12 SystemEarly Childhood

Post Secondary

Work & Career

Child care After-school Civic/Social/Work Social & Strategic Placement Providers Programs Opportunities Supports & Coaching

e.g., transportation, health, housing, financial

The Forum for Youth Investment 2009

BASIC SERVICES:

ENRICHMENT SUPPORTS

EDUCATION PIPELINE * * * EDUCATION PIPELINE * * EDUCATION PIPELINE


Big Tent: Who is Responsible for the Rest?

• Families• Peer Groups• Schools and Training Organizations• Higher Education• Youth-Serving Organizations• CBOs (Non-Profit Service Providers and Associations)• Businesses (Jobs, Internships and Apprenticeships)• Faith-Based Organizations• Libraries, Parks, and Recreation Departments• Community-Based Health and Social Service Agencies

?


THE BIG PICTURE APPROACH

An example


Moving Principles into Practice

ABOUT COMMUNITY SUPPORTS

ABOUT LEADERSABOUT YOUTH• Invest early and often.• Support the whole child.• Focus attention on those

most in need.• Build on strengths, don’t

just focus on problem-reduction.

• See youth and families as change agents, not clients.

• Engage all sectors and stakeholders.

• Coordinate efforts, align resources.

• Inspire and inform the public.

• Children don’t grow up in programs, they grow up in families & communities.

• Support a full range of learning opportunities, formal/informal, in school and out.

• Assess and improve quality, reach and impact across all the places young people spend their time.

• Recruit, train and retain good staff.


Example Language

From Core Principles to Common Language


From Core Principles to Common Language

Using a Youth-Centered Closet Organizer


Take Aim on the Big PictureHow are Young People Doing?

Pre-K0–5

School-Age6–10

Middle School11–14

High School15–18

Young Adults19–21+

Ready for College

LEARNING

Ready for Work

WORKING

Ready for Life

THRIVING

CONNECTING

LEADING


Pre-K0–5

School-Age6–10


High School15–18


Ready for

CollegeLEARNING

Ready for Work

WORKING

Ready for Life

THRIVING

CONNECTING

LEADING

Children Enter School Ready to Learn

Traditional Approach: Pick One Area


But What Happened to the Rest of the Picture?

Pre-K0–5

School-Age6–10


High School15–18


Ready for

CollegeLEARNING

Ready for Work

WORKING

Ready for Life

THRIVING

CONNECTING

LEADING




Alternative:Learning to Focus Differently

Shifting Red to Yellow,

Yellow to Green

Pre-K0–5

School-Age6–10


High School15–18


Ready for College

LEARNING

Ready for Work

WORKING

Ready for Life

THRIVING

CONNECTING

LEADING

Pre-K0–5

School-Age6–10


High School15–18


Ready for College

LEARNING

Ready for Work

WORKING

Ready for Life

THRIVING

CONNECTING

LEADING


Take Stock of Public and Private Community SupportsUsing a Common Set of Performance Measures

Setting A Setting B Setting C Setting D Setting E

Safe Places

Caring Adults

Opportunities to Help Others

Effective Education

Healthy Start


STARTING POINTS


The Leadership Engagement Circle4 key steps to helping leaders increase their effectiveness

Facilitate connections

Support 12 critical tasks

Champion 12 action

areas

Improved leader

outcomes

Provide leadership

engagement opportunities

ACTION AREAS CONNECTIONS

CRITICAL TASKS

ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES


Ready by 21 National PartnershipThe Action Areas

FAMILY, SCHOOL & COMMUNIT

Y

• Increase and sustain school readiness

• Improve well-being and civic engagement; reduce risky behaviors

• Improve college and workforce readiness and success

• Close performance gaps

• Provide early and sustained supports

• Expand and coordinate learning opportunities in school and out

• Create alternative pathways to success

• Improve quality, equity & access

• Increase capacity for data-driven performance management

• Increase returns on current investments and increase targeted, high-payoff investments

• Increase youth, family and public engagement

• Strengthen and diversify coordinating bodies, partnerships, and leaders

CHILDREN & YOUTH

LEADERS

OUTCOMES SUPPORTS ACCOUNTABILITY


Critical Tasks for Planning & Action

• Take Aim• Take Stock• Target Action• Track Progress

The Forum couples field knowledge with conceptual, practical and “power” tools to help state and local leaders quickly organize available information

(about youth outcomes, community supports and current initiatives and resources) to support data-driven “big picture” planning and accountability.


Precision tools Take Aim, Take Stock, Plan Action & Track Progress

Selecting indicatorsDeveloping report cards

How are Young People Doing?

How are Communities Doing in Ensuring Supports?

Tracking ParticipationMapping the Program LandscapeAssessing & Improving Quality

Mapping the Youth Work Workforce

How are Leaders Doing?

Diagnostics & Readiness Assessments





The Ready by 21 Challenge:


Remember: Moving the Small Gear Makes a BIG Difference


The Forum for Youth Investmentwww.forumfyi.org202.207.3333


Panelist Slides:

Corporate Voices for Working Families


New Employer Survey Finds Skills in Short Supply

On page after page, the answer to the report – Are They Really Ready to Work? –

was a disturbing “NO.”

Employers ranked 20 skill areas in order of importance.

The top skills fell into five categories:• Professionalism/Work Ethic• Teamwork/Collaboration• Oral Communications• Ethics/Social Responsibility• Reading Comprehension


Employers Find These Skills in Short Supply

• 7 in 10 employers saw these skills as critical for entry-level high school graduates

8 in 10 as critical for two-year college graduates, more than 9 in 10 as critical for four-year graduates.

• Employers reported that 4 in 10 high school graduates were deficient in these areas

Note: Only 1 in 4 of four-year college graduates were highly qualified.

© the forum for youth investment 2008 the ready by 21 ® challenge to change the odds for youth by...

Documents

youth development slide

youth investment nonprofit

business children youth

youth development gambone

business slide

youth program quality

rochester s child youth

theory of change