December 2011

Focus on the Bright Spots

December 21, 2025

This work has the tendency to get a little frustrating, especially as we continue to work towards our goals without ever feeling fully satisfied with the impact we’re making. There always seems to be one partner you can’t bring to the table, or school who can’t meet the sufficient gains, or student that falls through [...]

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Aligning the Partnership to Regional Goals

December 21, 2025

A challenging aspect of this work is figuring out how a more focused cradle to career partnership fits into a community’s regional or even state-wide context. In many communities, regional, metropolitan and neighborhood level goals and aspirations already exist. How do we align these goals to that of the partnership so we can ensure collaborative [...]

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Seattle: Improving Education With Collective Action

December 16, 2025

The Road Map Project, an initiative of Seattle’s Community Center for Education Results (CCER), recently released its baseline report. Mary Jean Ryan, the Executive Director of CCER, took to posting on the Impatient Optimist, the official blog of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to share her excitement for the work and her thoughts on the [...]

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Developing Shared Measures

December 8, 2025

I had the opportunity to spend some additional time with some visitors from Germany who came to Cincinnati to take part in the recent Strive Discovery Workshop. They have become very interested in the collective impact approach to a cradle to career initiative and wanted to learn more about what is taking place in Cincinnati. They [...]

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The Importance of a Shared Community Vision

December 2, 2025

In order to successfully carry out the work of a cradle to career partnership, it’s pivotal that the community feel a sense of ownership over the work. Initiatives in both Columbia, Missouri and Treasure Valley, Idaho have recognized this while still in the beginning stages of developing their own collaboratives. An article in The Idaho [...]

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