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2 0 1 3R E P O R T

Some Assembly Required

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The Blueprint for Educational Change: Some Assembly Required Thanks to a multitude of collaborating partners, systemic change in education is happening in Central Texas:

• Truly transforming teaching and learning in demonstration middle schools across the region

• Expanding the capacity and quality of the STEM student pipeline more than any other region nationwide

• Building on the first platform for Kindergarten Readiness in the state

• Using action research to identify replicable practices that drive success for our English Language Learners

• Tripling the number of students supported to access and succeed in college

• Achieving student attendance gains that lead the entire nation

Business and community leaders came together in 2006 not because our educational systems were failing. In fact, for almost any student group, on almost any measure, our students were getting incrementally better and better. Our leaders came together because the improvements were not fast enough, not deep enough, not wide enough. We were rapidly losing ground to other industrialized nations in an increasingly global economy. Far too many of our students were not prepared to succeed in the 21st Century. And our economic future was at risk because of it. We had to use objective data and focused community collabora-tion to establish a platform for true systemic change.

It wasn’t that we weren’t doing great things in education. In fact, there were thousands of wonderful pro-grams and projects underway; disconnected from one another; competing for funding; often happening re-dundantly on the same campus; sometimes even conflicting with one another. The most important question for the region was “How can we get our hands around this strategically?”

In 2008, Central Texas community leaders collaboratively established the four priority goals that became The Blueprint for Educational Change TM, our strategic plan to build the strongest educational pipeline in the country. In 2011, E3 Alliance was recognized as a pioneer in an emerging field called “collective impact” which works to address complex social issues by bringing community together to drive toward common goals and taking successful strategies to scale through collaborative action.

Each year our community has come back together to review accomplishments, measure progress toward common goals and targets, celebrate partners, and recommit to the future that we want to build for our stu-dents and our economic future. As you’ll see in this report, the progress in the five years since we launched the Blueprint has been truly amazing. The Blueprint foundation is laid and the structure is well underway. But there is more to do. That’s why our theme for the year is: Some Assembly Required. As we move forward in 2013, we need YOUR help to leverage the Blueprint to assemble our future together — for our students and our economic prosperity.

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 Susan Dawson

President & Executive Director, E3 Alliance

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WHAT IS THE BLUEPRINT FOR EDUCATIONAL CHANGETM AND WHY IS IT NEEDED? The Blueprint for Educational Change is Central Texas’ strategic plan to build the strongest educational pipeline in the country.

The Blueprint reflects the region’s collective aspirations for prosperity, measurable goals and objectives that must be achieved, and the specific action strategies and initiatives required to produce the best education system. Education outcomes for most students on most measures are improving, yet the competitive pressures of the global

economy are intensifying, raising the bar ever higher. As a result, Texas loses billions of dollars in wealth and social capital every year because we don’t take full advantage of our human capital. E3 Alliance seeks to strengthen Central Texas economic competitiveness by increasing educational outcomes for all students. As we say in our name, “Education Equals Economics.”

While Central Texas must have all of our students reach their highest potential to ensure our economic competitiveness, socio-economic trends are challenging us to produce better, faster, and more broadly shared results. Over the past decade, Central Texas has changed dramatically. We have experienced tremendous growth across every county throughout the region. We take pride in this growth as it speaks to a strong and diverse business environment and a high quality of life. With this tremendous growth, however, our schools have struggled to keep pace with both the sheer numbers and rapid changes to our student population – changes that require different support structures for students and teachers alike.

A snapshot of student demographic changes over the last ten years shows1:

• We have 39% more students in our public schools, almost twice the student growth rate of the state.• Our Hispanic student population has grown by 80%. • Our low income student population has grown by 90%.• The percentage of students receiving special education services has grown while

the state’s rate has decreased by over 10%.• Our English Language Learner population has grown by 105%, nearly three times faster than

the state (some districts now serve five times the number of ELLs as ten years ago). • One out of every two students receives free or reduced lunch services.• The number of students living in poverty in our region has grown at 3½ times the national average in the

last ten years.2

Last Decade Saw a Dramatic Increase in Percentage of Low Income Students

2001–02

Non-Low Income

64%

Low Income

36%Non-Low Income

50%

Low Income

50%

2011–12

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The Blueprint for Educational Change™ is:

1. Data-driven and focused on positive change2. Compiling never-before-available, objective, longitudinal information and sharing it transparently, enabling communities and institutions to work together toward common goals3. A regional strategy – the most effective platform for scalable change • Large enough to gain economies of scale and leverage strengths, but small enough to be entrepreneurial and engender understanding and will of the public. • Can be intentionally replicated across the state and beyond, with versatility to allow for regional differences.4. Aligned to institutions and practices from early childhood to career success • The traditional vertical separation of various “levels” of education creates huge barriers for students – even those who are succeeding. • Localized structures tend to promote inefficient “not invented here” approaches to solving problems. Together, we can overcome institutional and policy barriers, and align our resources and practices to optimize educational outcomes.5. Based on regional precedents for effective public-private partnership • We can build on the national reputation our region has in public-private partnerships for other critical infrastructure issues that span artificial geographical boundaries. • Business and community influence and support are required to build the public will for change.

Our Model for Change

The Blueprint focuses on four priority goals: 1. All children enter Kindergarten school ready2. Central Texas eliminates achievement gaps while improving overall student performance3. Students graduate college- and career-ready, and prepared for a lifetime of learning4. Central Texas, as a community, prepares children to succeed

In this report you’ll learn what has been happening over the past 12 months, including updates on Blueprint objectives and measures, and results that we have collaboratively achieved.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

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SCHOOL READ INESSALL CHILDREN ENTER KINDERGARTEN SCHOOL READY

70% of children enter Kindergarten school ready by 2015 95% of children enter Kindergarten school ready by 2020Objectives:

“I have been teaching for 17 years, and my parent-teacher conferences have never gone this well. Sharing my observations from the School Readiness assessment with parents helped them to really understand my expectations in the classroom. This is an assessment that makes sense to parents.” ~ Experienced K-Teacher

Why We Care• More than half of the achievement gap between low income and non-low income children is already present

in Kindergarten. • E3 Alliance’s Central Texas Kindergarten Readiness Study revealed that only 45% of low-income children

in the region were ready for school at the start of the 2012 school year and only 56% of all Kindergarten students in the region were ready for school.3

• Texas has the fastest growing child population in the country, and the Central Texas child population (age 0-5) is growing at twice the state rate.4

• Children who are not ready for Kindergarten are at high risk of staying behind. The costs of not preparing children at a young age include higher rates of grade retention, intervention, remediation, and special education.5

• Every $1 invested in quality early care and education saves taxpayers up to $9 in future costs.6

Action Strategies:Action Strategy 1: Family SupportLink parents, grandparents and un-licensed child care providers to quality, evidence-based programs in early care and education, and expand the capacity of these quality programs.

Action Strategy 2: Child Care and Schools Ensure our children in child care or in Pre-K are getting what they need to be school ready, and that children have access to services by increasing access and capacity of both public and private high quality programs.

Action Strategy 3: Community Commitment to Early ChildhoodPromote appropriate school-readiness standards, and advocate for quality programs for children so they can be ready for school, work and life.

Success Indicators: Early Childhood Programs participating in Quality Improvement and Accreditation Programs 2010 2011 2012 Trend Licensed Child Care Quality Rated Capacity 7 28% 33% 31% Public Pre-K Campuses in CTX Region 8 67% 67% 66% Eligible 4 year olds enrolled in Public Pre-K 2010 2011 2012 Trend CTX Region 9 69% 75% 76% Children Entering Kindergarten School Ready 10 2010 2011 2012 Progress to 70% Overall 52% 51% 56% Girls 61% 63% 63% Boys 44% 40% 49% Non-low Income 66% 63% 68% Low Income 39% 40% 45% Attended a Pre-K Program 55% 55% 58% Did not attend a Pre-K Program 39% 38% 42%

GOAL 1

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Collective Impacts:• Helped to create the Community Solution Action Plan for the All American Cities Campaign for Grade Level

Reading, amplifying Central Texas efforts in School Readiness, Attendance, and Summer Learning.• With partner KLRU, E3 Alliance is convening regional stakeholders to form more strongly aligned, intentional

summer learning programming. • Convened a School Readiness Taskforce of experts from across the region who worked more than two years to

develop Ready, Set, K!, a guide with specific instructional practices and developmental interventions for Pre-K and Kindergarten teachers and measures of school readiness for Kindergarteners.

• ESC Region 13 and E3 Alliance have trained hundreds of Pre-K and Kindergarten teachers in instructional practices and rubrics at a level to support school readiness through Ready, Set, K!.

• The taskforce developed a School Readiness Parent Guide, with tips on how parents can guide young children to be ready for school, that has gone out to more than 250 parent support specialists and teachers.

• Partnered with Region 13 to develop a sustainable plan for Ready, Set, K! based on consultant business plan recommendations.

• Kindergarten Readiness data is helping to inform school districts, and legislators to sustain Pre-K funding .• The Austin/Travis County Community has adopted the goal of 70% of children entering Kindergarten being ready

for school by 2015, using the Ready, Set, K! Kindergarten Assessment as a baseline measure.• Ongoing staff support contributed to the School Readiness Action Plan for Travis County, led by Success by 6.

What can YOU do? Educators:

• Participate in the 2012-2013 Kindergarten Readiness Study• Broaden outreach to parents to encourage eligible children to enroll in public Pre-K programs • Encourage attendance by following tips at www.MissingSchoolMatters.org • Educate families about school readiness expectations using the School Readiness Parent Guide

Community Partners: • Support expanded quality certification of Pre-K programs• Support the School Readiness Action Plan in Travis County, and look for ways to broaden the strategies in the

plan to other areas of our regionBusiness Leaders:

• Work to increase capacity of high quality programs that serve young children and families• Support parents of young children through family friendly business practices

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ELIMINATE ACHIEVEMENT GAPSCENTRAL TEXAS ELIMINATES ACHIEVEMENT GAPS WHILE IMPROVING OVERALL STUDENT PERFORMANCE

70% of all 8th graders in every subpopulation attain at least satisfactory academic performance in Reading, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies as assessed by the State of Texas As-sessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) by 2015

Objectives:

“This is the first thing I’ve learned that changed my teaching practices, and when I used the RAISE up Texas model with my students, I saw my students’ unit test scores go up at least 25%.” ~ RAISE up Texas English Teacher

Why We CareMore academic achievement gaps between different ethnic and income groups exist in the early grades and widen as students proceed through school unless there are high-quality learning opportunities and interventions available to students. By assembling together to eliminate these gaps, we can have a tremendous impact on our future workforce and economy.

In Central Texas:

• Gaps in 8th grade achievement by income are staggering: the mathematics passing rate is 69% for low-income students and 92% for non-low income students.11

• In science, there is a 62% passing rate for low-income students versus an 89% passing rate for non-low-income students—a difference of 27 percentage points.12

• 1 out of every 11 Hispanic first-time 9th graders and 1 out of every 11 Black first-time 9th graders did not advance to 10th grade on time, compared to 1 in 20 White first-time 9th graders.13

• Central Texas has a higher absenteeism rate than the state average at every grade. Absenteeism is highly correlated with students dropping out.14 Ninth graders who are retained have four times as many absences as their peers who continue on to 10th grade on time, and are 10 times as likely to drop out.15

Action Strategies:Action Strategy 1: Literacy and Academic English SkillsIdentify and promote programs and instruction that help ensure all students acquire proficiency in literacy and academic English skills.

Action Strategy 2: Effective TeachingIdentify, share and support implementation of models of high quality instruction for new and continuing educators; especially those in high-needs areas.

Action Strategy 3: Student AttendanceIncrease student attendance rates, especially for at-risk students.

Action Strategy 4: Student Eyesight & VisionIdentify vision-impaired low – income students and provide vision services.

GOAL 2

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Collective Impacts:• Continued the collaborative effort to transform middle school teaching and learning: RAISE up Texas. In its 2nd

year of implementation, this first-of-its-kind collaborative is changing how middle school students learn and meet high standards for college and career-readiness in six Central Texas school districts.

• RAISE up Texas schools are performing better than matched comparison schools in every subject at every grade level, and struggling learners are rapidly demonstrating substantial gains.

• Conducted an English Language Learners Bright Spots Study to identify best practices and exemplars in ELL education.

• Launched the Central Texas Council on Educator Preparation to increase regional capacity to develop and place highly effective new teachers in Central Texas Classrooms.

• In coordination with St. David’s Foundation and Central Health, launched a ground-breaking Absence Reason Code Study in two districts to identify the reasons that students miss school.

• In collaboration with the Advancing America Foundation, CommuniCard, LLC and the Essilor Foundation, launched the Kids Vision for Life program to promote vision screening and eyeglass distribution to low-income students throughout the five counties of Central Texas.

What can YOU do? Educators:

• Actively participate in Food For Thought presentations, collaboratives and symposia to assist in identifying best practices to eliminate achievement gaps

• Keep E3 Alliance staff informed about the pressing issues in your school districtCommunity Partners:

• Talk to public officials about why education is a priority for you• Join a school or district advisory or decision-making committee

Business Leaders: • Assemble employees to become mentors, tutors, or academic coaches at a high needs middle school • Coordinate with E3 Alliance to host an employee forum focused on education

Success Indicators:

*TAKS and STAAR data are not comparable year-to-year, so trend indicators cannot yet be provided.

Student Passing Rates 16 ,17 2008(TAKS) 2009(TAKS) 2010(TAKS) 2011(TAKS) 2012 (STAAR) Trend* ≥80%Black 8th Grade Students Mathematics 69% 71% 77% 77% 64% N/AReading 93% 93% 92% 91% 72% N/AScience 53% 58% 66% 64% 60% N/AHispanic 8th Grade Students Mathematics 77% 80% 82% 84% 72% N/AReading 93% 93% 91% 92% 75% N/AScience 53% 62% 68% 71% 65% N/AWhite 8th Grade Students Mathematics 93% 95% 95% 96% 92% N/AReading 99% 99% 98% 98% 93% N/AScience 86% 89% 92% 92% 89% N/ALow Income 8th Grade Students Mathematics 73% 76% 79% 81% 69% N/AReading 92% 92% 90% 90% 72% N/AScience 52% 59% 66% 68% 62% N/ANon-Low Income 8th Grade Students Mathematics 92% 94% 96% 96% 92% N/AReading 99% 99% 98% 99% 93% N/AScience 84% 88% 91% 91% 89% N/AStudents Ready for High School HS Class of ‘11 Of ‘12 Of ‘13 Of ‘14 Of ‘15 % First-time Freshman who did not advance on time 10% 10% 8% 7% 7%

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HIGH SCHOOL, COLLEGE & CAREER SUCCESS

95% Central Texas graduation rate by 2015 86% The percentage of Central Texas students college and career ready by 2015Objectives:

STUDENTS GRADUATE COLLEGE AND CAREER READY AND PREPARED FOR A LIFETIME OF LEARNING

GOAL 3

“Texas State University’s Ingram School of Engineering has increased enrollment over 300% in the last four years, and our great partnership with E3 Alliance and school districts was a major contributor. By collaborating across sectors to build the strongest STEM pipeline in the nation, our students, families and communities all benefit.” ~ Dr. Harold Stern, Professor, Ingram School of Engineering

Why We CareThe imperatives of 21st Century are squarely upon us—global interconnectedness and competition, complex information-centered workplaces, greater diversity of all kinds, and entrepreneurial and innovative problem-solving. All underscore the need to create an educated and versatile workforce that can contribute to regional economic vitality. Great strides have been made in student performance, graduation rates, and college access. However, more assembly is required to ensure college and career readiness and improve college persistence and completion rates. Our regions’ ability to address the challenges we face will be based in large part on our ability to think proactively and act nimbly:

• Conservative estimates show that, over the course of their lives, each cohort of dropouts in Central Texas costs the region $450 million in lost income, reduced tax revenue, and increased social expenditures.18, 19

• By 2018, 2 out of 3 American jobs will require at least some postsecondary education.20

• While Central Texas high school graduates have improved, more than 40% are still not college- and career-ready.21

• Graduation disparities remain between different ethnic groups, from a high of 90%+ for White and Asian students to 73% and 76% for Black and Hispanic students, respectively.22

• Only 58% of high school graduates in the Class of 2005 entered college within a year of graduating from high school, and of those, only 47% earned a Certificate, Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree from a Texas higher education institution within 6 years.23

Action Strategies: Action Strategy 1: Successful 21st Century High SchoolsReview, share and support evidence-based practices in high school improvement

Action Strategy 2: Increasing College AccessAlign and expand programs to simplify transitions to higher education and to work and that increase course articulations

Action Strategy 3: Targeting 21st Century SkillsCollaborate with industry to build on cross-disciplinary skills defined in the Texas College and Career Readiness Standards and strengthen programs in career awareness, professional skills and work-based learning

Action Strategy 4: College and Workforce Entry SuccessPromote best practices that help students succeed after high school

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Collective Impacts:• In the five years since its inception, the STEM Pipeline Collaborative has presided over a quadrupling in the

number of students in the regional middle and high school engineering pipeline to 6,373, with triple digit gains in participation by minority, female, and low income students.31

• Launched an initiative between schools and employers to systematize work-based learning opportunities for students to expose them to real-world role models and experiences.

• With partner Texas State University, provided direct outreach to over 18,500 students and families to support students in college access and help create a college-going culture.

• The Austin College Access Network (ACAN), a collaborative of community-based organizations and higher education institutions dedicated to improving first generation student college participation and success extended its reach and depth of services to over 4,500 Central Texas students, an increase of 3,000 over the last four years.

• ACAN created and delivered workshops and college advising guides for immigrant and place-bound students to over 260 counselors, coaches, and student success practitioners.

• ACAN began year two implementation of its regional college student persistence plan and developed a more formal Student Success Practitioners’ Council which grew to 53 members.

• The 21st Century Successful High School Symposium successfully identified compelling regional bright spots and equipped campus leaders with the understanding and tools to deploy successful high school practices.

What can YOU do? Educators:

• Facilitate and expand the efforts of community-based organizations on your campuses to improve student performance, graduation, and college access, especially for low income and first generation students

Community Partners: • Support efforts by ACAN, the Greater Austin Chamber, and others to improve graduation and college readiness • Volunteer to support college readiness with Austin Partners in Education, Communities in Schools or others

Business Leaders: • Participate in college and career fairs and events to encourage student achievement • Provide work-based learning opportunities to students (e.g. mentoring, job shadowing, summer internships)

Success Indicators: Students Graduate College & Career Ready HS Class of ’07 of ’08 of ’09 of ’10 of ‘11 TrendGraduation rate 24 77% 78% 80% 84% NA % Seniors Taking Rigorous Coursework 25 41% 43% 43% 59% 59% % Graduated on Recommended or Distinguished Plan26 80% 82% 82% 82% 79% % Graduates Meeting State College 43% 47% 53% 58% 59% & Career Ready Standards 27

% Graduates Enrolling in College within 1 Year of 62% 61% 61% 61% 60% HS Graduation 28

Students Have Good College Persistence and Completion Rates% College Students Persisting in Higher Education 83% 83% 82% 81% NA (Freshman to Sophomore) 29 Students Succeed in College and Workforce Entry HS Class of ’03 of ’04 of ’05 Trend% College Students Obtaining Postsecondary Credential 53% 48% 47% Within 6 Years of Enrollment 30

% College Students Obtaining Postsecondary Credential NA NA NA In Regional High Demand Fields% HS or College Graduates Obtaining Jobs in High NA NA NA Demand Fields% HS Graduates Obtaining Jobs with Livable Wage NA NA NA

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COMMUNITY ACCOUNTABILITYCENTRAL TEXAS AS A COMMUNITY PREPARES CHILDREN TO SUCCEED

By 2015, there is a pervasive culture of shared accountability for student success in our region:Objectives:

GOAL 4

• Enough community members are aware of and act upon a sense of responsibility for outcomes beyond their neighborhood schools to create a “tipping point” in collective behavior.

• The number of established partnerships between public, nonprofit, and for profit institutions has doubled. • Formal and informal communities are connected beyond their natural boundaries of issue or geography.

Improving student attendance is one of the most important ways our communities can help schools. Our kids can’t learn if they are skipping out, and our schools don’t get paid when students aren’t there. This is something that we as a region can change, and E3 Alliance is helping to lead the way.” ~ Jesus Chavez. Superintendent, Round Rock ISD

Why We Care• Some studies have shown that more than 50% of a student’s performance is driven by factors outside of

schools. • Students are more successful when communities work together in a supportive effort with their schools, rather

than assuming that accountability is just for schools and teachers.• Central Texas has a higher absenteeism rate than the state average at every grade. Absenteeism is highly

correlated with students dropping out.32 Ninth graders who are retained have four times as many absences as their peers who continue on to 10th grade on time, and are ten times as likely to drop out.33

Action Strategies:Working with the AARO Community Accountability Team, turn information into action that creates a culture of community accountability for our students’ success in Central Texas.

Action Strategy 1: Student Attendance Launch and lead a region-wide attendance campaign: Missing School Matters; use this as a strategic mechanism to engage the community around how they can be jointly accountable in helping schools.

Action Strategy 2: Community Outreach Hold “Food for Thought” outreach events to share education information and foster the broad use of objective data in the community, drive people to action and help them to support accountability and positive change.

Action Strategy 3: Community AlignmentInteractively engage community leaders and groups to align the goals and objectives of established community organizations with The Blueprint for Educational Change and an annual Summit updating regional progress.

Action Strategy 4: Measure Community AccountabilityAdopt process and outcomes metrics for measuring a culture of accountability for education in our region.

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Collective Impacts:• Launched a redesigned, content-rich E3

Alliance web site integrating Blueprint and E3 information.

• Hosted Food for Thought outreach events attracting hundreds of participants around topics ranging from Kindergarten Readiness to student attendance.

• Hosted multi-night interactive community dialogues with over 1200 participants in ten communities to plan Blueprint actions and develop change agents.

• In partnership with AARO and E3 Alliance districts, designed and launched Missing School Matters regional campaign to increase student attendance.

• Set overall goal to increase attendance an average of 3 days per student, or 2 percentage points, to bring $34 million in revenues to Central Texas schools.

• Launched the campaign through community outreach events, a new www.MissingSchoolMatters.org website and media outreach led by Emmis Communications and Incite Social Marketing.

• Supported 30+ schools in joining and competing in the national Get Schooled Challenge to increase school attendance. Five Central Texas schools were in the top 25 nationwide, and Stony Point High School in Round Rock was the nationwide winner.

• Partnered with a Fielding University graduate student team to analyze possible outcome metrics for measuring community accountability.

What can YOU do? Educators:

• Have your school participate in the 2013 Get Schooled Attendance Challenge• Participate in ongoing reason code studies to help determine the cause of student absence• Attend Food for Thoughts to exchange action research and educational practices

Business Partners: • Engage your constituents, customers and employees in the Missing School Matters Attendance Awareness

Campaign at www.missingschoolmatters.org

2010 2011 2012# Educators, business leaders, community and collaborative partners involved NA NA 250Missing School Matters campaign (cumulative)% Increase in average student attendance in participating Get Schooled Challenge NA NA 2.2% Schools# Central Texas students involved in the Get Schooled Attendance Challenge NA NA 20,000# Stories per year in print media, television, or radio broadcasts 11 16 20# Education, community and business groups participating in collaborative 127 171 202 Blueprint efforts

Success Indicators:

In its first year, the Get Schooled Attendance Challenge improved attendance by 2 percentage points on average in the 17 Central Texas participating schools.

2012 Get Schooled Attendance Challenge Results

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CHANGING THE CULTURE THROUGH COLLABORATIVE ACTION

The work of The Blueprint for Educational Change highlights both the importance and the transformative power of collective impact. By undertaking collaborative action, our region can realize the exponential effects of improved student outcomes and civic engagement that lead to greater economic prosperity for our community and our future.

Collective impact means more than partnership – it means investment, shared ownership and sustained commitment – that the strategies undertaken through the Blueprint show results not for 60 children but for 60,000; not for one middle school but for all our 68 middle schools; not for one demographic but for all. The work of E3 Alliance is to help facilitate and orchestrate such transformation, fueling the work through action research, on-going communication, and delivering on our commitments. Systems change because people make them change – and that happens when they are equipped with the information, motivation and inspiration to do so. That is our charge.

In 2012 alone, over 1100 people across 202 organizations throughout Central Texas made an ongoing commitment of time, expertise, and resources to Blueprint initiatives helping to transform the education experience for over 390,000 students from Pre-K through Post-secondary.

The Blueprint for Educational Change is Central Texas’ strategic plan to build the strongest educational pipeline in the country.

How do We Measure Collaboration?Number of Alliance School Districts 12Number of Pre-K–12 students represented 254,563Additional Districts contributing to Collaborative efforts 6Number of Alliance Higher Education Partners 8Number of College students represented 139,185Number of Active Community And Nonprofit Partners 39Number of Active Business Partners ~80

Blueprint Initiatives Span Cradle to Career

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Alliance Districts have an ongoing, formal relationship with E3 Alliance that allows for regular joint planning with superintendents and other district leaders, detailed data sharing, regional grant opportunities, sharing of practices and other ongoing collaboration.

Austin ISDBastrop ISDDel Valle ISDEanes ISDHays CISDHutto ISDLake Travis ISDLeander ISDPflugerville ISDRound Rock ISDSan Marcos CISDTaylor ISD

Coalition Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) are based in the Central Texas region and have an ongoing, formal relationship with E3 Alliance that allows for regular joint planning with IHE leaders, collaborative activities and shared strategic planning and practices.

Austin Community College DistrictConcordia UniversityHuston–Tillotson University

Southwestern UniversitySt. Edward’s UniversityTexas State UniversityThe University of Texas at AustinWestern Governors University

Community Groups and Nonprofits across the region have worked with E3 Alliance on collaborative projects and initiatives, design of The Blueprint for Educational Change, joint grants, and other Collective Impact activities to support higher outcomes for the students of Central Texas.

American YouthworksAdvancing America Foundation Any Baby CanAttendance WorksAustin Area Interreligious MinistriesAustin Area Research Organization Austin Community Foundation Austin InterfaithAustin Partners in EducationAustin Technology Council Austin Voices for Education and YouthBastrop P-16 PartnershipBreakthrough Austin Central Health Central Texas Education FundersChildren’s Optimal HealthCity of Austin Health and Human Services College ForwardCommunities in Schools Community Action Network Con Mi MADREEducate TexasEducation Service Center Region 13Entrepreneurs Foundation of Central TexasEnvision Central TexasEssilor Vision Foundation Get Schooled Foundation Girls Scouts of Central TexasGreater Austin Chamber

Greater Austin Hispanic ChamberHispanic Scholarship Consortium Independent Colleges and Universities of TexasImpact Austin KIPP AustinKLRU Leadership Austin Opportunity Austin Raise Your Hand TexasRay Marshall Center for the Study of Human ResourcesReady by 21 Coalition Seton Family Skillpoint Alliance St. David’s Foundation Success by 6Sustainability Indicators Project Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering Texas Association of School Boards Texas Education Agency Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Travis County Research and Planning United Way for Greater Austin United Ways of Texas Workforce Solutions Capital Area

Business Partners and Industry Groups across the region have supported the work of E3 Alliance through monetary and in-kind contributions, strategic leadership, collaborative projects and initiatives, design of The Blueprint for Educa-tional Change, and other Collective Impact activities to support higher outcomes for the students of Central Texas. They include over 80 organizations.

WHO IS PART OF THIS COLLABORATIVE ACTION?

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ARCHITECTS OF CHANGEThe Blueprint for Educational Change and E3 Alliance are only as strong as the partnerships and collaborations that we build. We’re pleased to announce the 2013 recipients of the Architects of Change recognitions. An Architect of Change is an individual or organization exemplifying true commitment to the regional collaborative change process and meaningfully impacting the goals of the Blueprint.

Martha SmileyMartha E. Smiley has been committed to a multitude of civic and communities activities her entire life. For the past five years she has served as a leader in the Central Texas community committed to the Blueprint goal of all children being ready for school at Kindergarten. Martha has worked with both E3 Alliance and Success by 6 to leverage the brain power of the Central Texas business community to focus on early childhood education as a way to improve economic development. She has also volunteered countless hours through AARO and E3 Alliance to strategically plan for sustainability for educational change efforts that are transforming Central Texas.

Education Service Center Region XVIII RAISE up Texas TeamThe middle school transformation initiative, RAISE up Texas, would not be successful without the assistance of a highly trained and capable team of people who manage the project and provide training and coaching services to participating schools. The RAISE up Texas team at Education Service Center Region 13 consistently goes above and beyond the call of duty to provide project and instructional supports for campuses throughout the Central Texas region. With their help, RAISE up Texas is transforming the middle school experience and increasing achievement for all students.

Dr. Jesus ChavezFor the last seven years, Dr. Jesus Chavez has shown steadfast, deliberate leadership in the second largest district in our region, coming to us from leading both the Corpus Christi and Harlingen school districts. Dr. Chavez’s leadership has demonstrated success in many areas, but the greatest is probably in his diligent work to eliminate achievement gaps across different student populations. In the last few years he was able to increase the graduation rate of RRISD low income students by 18 percentage points. Dr. Chavez has also been a true voice of regionalism, leading area superintendents in state advocacy and supporting the sharing of best practices across Central Texas schools and districts.

Austin College Access NetworkFive years ago, College Forward led the creation of the Austin College Access Network (ACAN)—a collaboration of community-based organizations dedicated to helping thousands of students with special needs graduate from high school, and successfully enroll in, persist in and complete college. ACAN has developed common goals and identified areas to leverage their resources to better serve students and their families with a variety of high touch and other supports; and, it developed Staying Powers: Central Texas’ Strategic Plan to Increase College Student Persistence and Success—the first regional college persistence plan in the State of Texas.

National InstrumentsSince 1976, National Instruments (NI) has equipped engineers and scientists with tools that accelerate productivity, innovation, and discovery. NI is a supplier of software, test equipment, and advanced design solutions to engineers, scientists, R&D groups, and researchers in 40+ countries worldwide. This puts them in a unique position to target community investments to support students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math – STEM – and help build a future STEM workforce in Central Texas. NI executives are leaders in The Blueprint for Educational Change high school, college and career success initiatives since its launch in 2008. NI works throughout our region and the world to support the STEM workforce of the future.

Incite AustinFor nearly a decade, Incite Social Impact Marketing has been creating results-oriented cause, social, corporate and nonprofit marketing campaigns. Incite is a division of Emmis Communications, a diversified communications company with international digital and media operations, including radio stations KLBJ AM & FM, KGSR, 101x, Comedy 102.7, BOB FM and La Zeta in Austin. The Incite Austin Team partnered with E3 Alliance to develop and kick off the regional Missing School Matters Attendance Campaign, and has actively supported the regional implementation of the Get Schooled Attendance Challenge in Central Texas by providing logistical support and on-air radio promotions to spread the word to audiences across our region.

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In 2012, E3 Alliance and AARO launched Missing School Matters, a regional campaign to increase attendance by an average of three days per student per year, which would return $34 Million in funding annually for our schools. We’re creating a Missing School Matters Task Force and we need your leadership to reach our 3 Days = $34 Million Goal by 2014.

Sign up for the Campaign Task Force!

RAISEup Texas! RAISE up Texas is a demonstration initiative to drastically increase student achievement in middle schools in six Central Texas school districts by implementing whole school reform using the research-validated Strategic Instruction Model (SIM). RAISE up Texas is truly transforming outcomes: after only a year of implementation, demonstration schools outperformed their matched comparison schools in every subject at every grade. By June we must identify the funds to complete a third full year of implementation in order to sustain lasting change and share our model and positive results with other schools in Texas and beyond. We have raised almost ¾ of the $3+M project budget and have other requests outstanding, but we need to close an anticipated funding gap of $375,000 with new local contributions.

Please join us in this important work by donating as an individual, business or foundation. Contact Molly Young at myoung@e3alliance.org, 512-223-7245 or donate to E3 Alliance on Amplify Austin day, March 5th, at AmplifyATX.org

HOW CAN YOU HELP ASSEMBLE THE PIECES?

To join the Missing School Matters Campaign Taskforce, contact Rick L’Amie at rlamie@e3alliance.org or call 512-223-7244.

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ENDNOTES:Source: 1 E3 Alliance analysis of AEIS data from the Texas Education Agency. 2 Source: Kids County Data Center: Children (0-17) living in Poverty for Bastrop, Blanco, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson County 2000 to

2010. Available online http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/bystate/Default.aspx?state=TX. 3 Assessing School Readiness, E3 Alliance 2011-2012. 4 E3 Alliance analysis of 2000 and 2010 US Census data. 5 Bruner, C., Floyd S. and Copeman A. (January 2005) Seven Things Policy Makers Need to Know about School Readiness, available online:

http://www.finebynine.org/uploaded/file/7%20Things.pdf. Accessed: Jan. 24, 2011. 6 Heckman, J.J., Moon, S.H., Pinto, R., Savelyev, P.A., Yavitz, A.Q., 2010. A Reanalysis of the HighScope Perry Preschool Program,

unpublished manuscript, University of Chicago, Department of Economics. First draft, September, 2006. 7 Data compiled by E3 Alliance Using Department of Family and Protective Services Child Care Licensing data with Children in Care reports

from Workforce Solutions Capital Area and Rural Capital Area. Early Childhood Education centers with a full license, serving children under 5 that are accredited through Texas Rising Star, NAEYC, NAC, TSR! or the Kindergarten Readiness System or Head Start Centers in Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson Counties.

8 Data compiled by E3 Alliance using TEA AEIS data, TRS! Certification, Kindergarten Readiness System Participation, and participation in Ready, Set, K! Data is based on campuses with pre– K enrollment in the 2011-2012 school year.

9 PEIMS data analyzed by E3 Alliance. For 2010, denominator includes students enrolled in kindergarten 2009-10 in a school district in the E3 region, who were either low income or LEP. The numerator includes only those students in the denominator who in 2008-09 were either (a) enrolled in PK somewhere in Texas or (b) not enrolled anywhere in public schools in Texas. For 2011, a similarly analysis was done except the kindergarten year was 2010-11 and the PK or not-enrolled year was 2009-10, and similarly for 2012.

10 Data gathered as part of the 2010, 2011, 2012 Kindergarten Readiness Study conducted by E3 Alliance 11 E3 Alliance analysis of 2012 STAAR results data obtained from the Texas Education Agency through a public information request. 12 E3 Alliance analysis of 2012 STAAR results data obtained from the Texas Education Agency through a public information request. 13 E3 Alliance analysis of PEIMS enrollment data at the University of Texas at Austin Education Research Center. 14 Analysis of PEIMS data at the Education Research Center at the University of Texas; Data was for the 2009-2010 school year 15 E3 Alliance analysis of PEIMS attendance data at the University of Texas at Austin Education Research Center. 16 E3 Alliance analysis of AEIS data from the Texas Education Agency. 17 E3 Alliance analysis of 2012 STAAR results data obtained from the Texas Education Agency through a public information request. 18 Levin, H.M. (2009) .The Economic Payoff to Investing in Educational Justice. Educational Researcher, 3(1), 5-20. 19 Rouse, C. E. (2005). “Labor market consequences of an inadequate education.” Paper prepared for the symposium on the Social Costs of

Inadequate Education, Teachers College Columbia University, October 2005. 20 Carnevale, A., Smith, N., Strohl, J. (2010) Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements through 2018. Center on Education

and the Workforce: Georgetown University. p.76. 21 E3 Alliance analysis of Texas Education Agency graduation and TAKS results data at the University of Texas at Austin Education

Research Center. 22 E3 Alliance analysis of PEIMS and Texas Education Agency graduation data at the University of Texas at Austin Education Research Center. 23 E3 Alliance analysis of Texas Education Agency and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board data at the Education Research Center at

the University of Texas at Austin. Students enrolled in fall or spring semesters were considered enrolled that year. 24 E3 Alliance analysis of Texas Education Agency graduation data at the Education Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin. 25 E3 Alliance analysis of PEIMS course completion data at the Education Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Rigorous

coursework was defined as Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or dual credit (or locally defined dual credit in 2010 or 2011). 26 E3 Alliance analysis of Texas Education Agency graduation data at the Education Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin. 27 E3 Alliance analysis of AEIS data from the Texas Education Agency. 28 Student Futures Project at the University of Texas’s Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources for the classes of 2007 through

2010 and E3 Alliance analysis of Texas Education Agency and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board data at the Education Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin for the class of 2011. Students enrolled in fall or spring semesters were considered enrolled that year.

29 E3 Alliance analysis of Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board data at the Education Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin. 30 E3 Alliance analysis of Texas Education Agency graduation data and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board data at the Education

Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin. 31 Van Overschelde, J. P., & Young, M. (2012). Project Lead the Way students more prepared for higher education. Manuscript submitted for

publication. 32 Analysis of PEIMS data at the Education Research Center at the University of Texas; Data was for the 2009-2010 school year. 33 E3 Alliance analysis of PEIMS attendance data at the University of Texas at Austin Education Research Center.

E3 Alliance Founding PARTNERS:

E3 Alliance Sponsors

3MApplied MaterialsBank of AmericaBBVA Compass

The Boone Family FoundationCentral Health

Concordia UniversityGoogle

HEBIBM

JPMorgan ChaseKDK-Harman FoundationThe Meadows Foundation

The Mitte FoundationNational InstrumentsOrsinger Foundation

Raise Your Hand TexasSamsung

St. David’s FoundationSilicon Labs

Stillwater FoundationTG

Texas Higher Education Coordinating BoardTexas State University

Wells FargoWright Family Foundation

In Kind DonorsTerminal B | Maxwell, Locke & Ritter | IBM

AHRMA | ACC | ESC Region XIIIMercury Mambo | TREW Marketing

Camp Sloop

Summit Program SponsorThe University of Texas at Austin Division of Diversity and Community Engagement

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