Common Goals for Our Children

By
by Beth Swanson, Vice President of Strategy and Programs, Joyce Foundation (Chair, Thrive Chicago Board of Directors) and Tom Vanden Berk, Chief Executive Officer, UCAN/Peace Hub (Member, Thrive Chicago Board of Directors) 

When he laid out his education priorities for the next four years, Mayor Emanuel made it clear that while Chicago has made great strides in its educational outcomes, we still have a long way to go. The Mayor plans to expand high-quality education choices at neighborhood schools throughout the city and empower parents and school leaders to improve their local schools. However, he won’t be able to achieve these outcomes alone. As he said, he’ll need to harness the combined might of parents, teachers, and principals. And in addition, he will need to tap the collective power of non-profits and community groups that support Chicago’s young people every day.

Previously incubated in the Mayor’s Office and now launching as a community-led, independent organization, Thrive Chicago is bringing together more than 200 organizations across multiple sectors, agreeing on common outcomes of focus, and uniting efforts spanning the entire continuum from cradle to career that results in citywide alignment to benefit all children.

Thrive Chicago’s partners are divided into Change Networks that focus on specific outcomes along a child’s trajectory: from kindergarten readiness, to helping youth who have dropped out of high school complete their degrees, all the way to employment at living wages. 

For example, research shows that participating in early learning activities sets the groundwork for a child’s educational success. Parents across Chicago want their kids enrolled in high-quality early education programs. Organizations working together in Thrive Chicago are collaborating on an education and outreach campaign to make sure parents access the services available for their children.

Similarly, we know that completing college is tantamount to a young person’s future earning potential. Yet, children from low-income backgrounds who enroll in college are more likely to drop out than complete their degrees. To ensure young people receive the highest-quality guidance – and have the best possible chance to succeed in college – Thrive Chicago is now collaborating to develop a citywide college advising credential that will provide training to college advisers, a group otherwise left without a training regimen.

Through Thrive, it is our hope that we are all working toward common goals that will enable our children to not only survive, but to succeed.

The Robert R. McCormick Foundation has stepped up to serve as host and fiscal sponsor for Thrive Chicago.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Home Visiting Helps Combat Effects of Toxic Stress in Young Children

By
Guest blog by Diana Rauner, President, Ounce of Prevention Fund & Gaylord Gieseke, Vice President, Voices for Illinois Children  The number of children at risk for the short and long-term effects of toxic childhood stress is growing dramatically. This was the dismal news highlighted in a policy statement released last month by the American Academy of Pediatrics and in a recent op-ed from New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof. Both cite new research that demonstrates that the cumulative effects of growing up in environments replete with violence, parental depression, chaos and other uncertainties can literally alter the healthy, normal development of a young child’s brain. These stressors can impede a child’s capacity to “power down” from the fight or flight reflex, which reduces his ability to manage his temper and emotions or show empathy to others. It can also lead to later drug and alcohol use, obesity, heart disease and even early death. But it doesn’t have to be that w
Read more

Educate, Don't Incarcerate

By
Image
Schools should inspire learning, and offer a supportive and positive environment in which to learn. When students are punished for minor offenses by suspensions and expulsions, that out-of-school time creates more problems than it solves. Often, there are more effective interventions that address the root causes of behavioral issues. Students also have a greater chance of educational success the more time they are in school. Voices of Youth in Chicago Education (VOYCE) is a youth-led, citywide collaborative dedicated to education justice and equity. VOYCE, a program of Communities United and a grantee of the Democracy Program, convened The Campaign for Common Sense Discipline that led the effort to pass SB 100 in 2015. SB 100 limits the use of out-of-school suspensions and expulsions at public schools (K – 12) in response to minor incidents. It ensures the most severe disciplinary consequences are used not as punishment, but only in order to preserve a safe and productive lear
Read more

The New Greatest Generation: Helping Veterans Return Home

By
by Don Cooke, Senior VP of Philanthropy  Our nation is at a critical crossroads with our veterans. We can follow the post-Vietnam approach and turn our backs on those who fought an unpopular war, yet who were forever affected by that conflict and by their homecoming. The Vietnam approach led to soldiers’ shame, disaffection with society, and to the startling and unacceptable fact that some 25% of those homeless in America today are Vietnam veterans. Or we can take a different road – we can welcome our military people back to our communities with gratitude and with essential help re-integrating into their communities where they can be invaluable assets. I have been asked many times where the responsibility of the government (which sent young men and women into harm’s way) ends and our collective community responsibility begins. This is a very good question, but veterans are not different from others in our communities we help with jobs, education, healthcare, and housing. Communiti
Read more