Share Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Google Plus Email Aspen to Parachute Cradle to Career Initiative About this Initiative Year Started: 2012 Social issue: Education and Youth, Opportunity Youth / Disconnected Youth Initiative stage: Implementing and Sustaining Impact Location: Colorado, United States of America (the), Rocky Mountain (CO, ID, MT, UT, WY) Initiative Purpose and Goals: The Aspen to Parachute Cradle to Career Initiative (CCI) has a mission to ensure that all children are ready for kindergarten and graduate from high school ready for college and career. Formally launched in 2012, CCI has engaged an entire region – including disadvantaged and underserved rural areas – in a collective impact initiative to ensure that all children can succeed. This mission is critically important. While the Aspen area’s scenic beauty, recreation and cultural resources attract many affluent community members and visitors, the 80 miles between Aspen and Parachute are home to many working class and low income families struggling to survive. In our service area, two-thirds of our children do not have the opportunity to attend preschool and more than half start kindergarten unprepared to learn and with poor language and literacy skills. These children often are not reading proficiently by the end of third grade, a primary indicator of school failure. Many of our low income students do not graduate from high school, and only about half of all our graduates enroll in a postsecondary education program. Initiative website: https://aspencommunityfoundation.org/aspen-community-foundation/cradle-to-career… Collective Impact Elements in Place Common Agenda Continuous Communication Shared Measurement Backbone Support Mutually Reinforcing Activities Backbone Support Organizations serving in the Backbone Role Aspen Community Foundation (ACF) provides backbone support for the Aspen to Parachute Cradle to Career Initiative. Backbone structure Aspen Community Foundation is both funder and backbone for the Aspen to Parachute Cradle to Career Initiative. Measures of Success Grounding its work in four high-level goals, CCI is monitoring and sharing data relevant to a collection of indicators related to these goals. Goal 1: Ready for Kindergarten Indicators: Mothers with multiple risk factors receiving home visits, children assessed “ready” for kindergarten Goal 2: Develop Social and Life Skills for Success and Happiness Indicators: Hope, engagement & wellbeing Goal 3: Succeed Academically Indicators: Third grade reading, eighth grade math Goal 4: Graduate High School Ready for College and Career Indicator: High school graduation rates, SAT/ACT scores, college/vocational enrollment and graduate rates Initiative Activities and Milestones Activities Since its launch in 2012, CCI has seen the dramatic ramp-up in the implementation of collaborative strategies and actions called for in the Aspen to Parachute Cradle to Career Action Plan for Youth Success. Between 2014 and 2015, a total of 14 significant new actions, programs and strategies were launched. In addition, CCI partner reported the creation of other collaborative youth success projects that grew directly from relationships forged through CCI. http://www.aspencommunityfoundation.org/initial-projects/ Milestones CCI has indeed begun moving the needle toward greater youth success. This is exemplified by the effect CCI's various early education projects have had in improving kindergarten readiness. CCI is also seeing early progress around college and career readiness. http://www.aspencommunityfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/CCI-REPORT-1-27-15.pdf Community Engagement and Advancing Equity Community Engagement Activities CCI's partner organizations regularly organize family and student "listening" groups to gather feedback on needs, gaps, and impact. This information is then relayed to the CCI Action Teams where it is then used to guide planning. Activities to Advance Equity Through a shared measurement system created in partnership with Colorado Mountain College, data can be disaggregated to hone in on needs, issues, and gaps. Initiative Partners and Governance Contributing organizations More than 80 organizations are participating in the Aspen to Parachute Cradle to Career Initiative. These include representatives from school districts, county governments, municipalities, nonprofit organizations, higher education, businesses, philanthropy, and the faith community. Sectors Engaged Nonprofit Philanthropic Funders Public Sector Business Sector Broader Community/People with Lived Experience Initiative governance Partnership structure of the Aspen to Parachute Cradle to Career Initiative (CCI): The Implementation Strategy Group (ISG) provides overall leadership for CCI's goals and strategies. Comprised of nonprofit, education and business leaders who hold a deep commitment to the principles of Collective Impact and the vision of CCI, the ISG helps sets priorities for action, guides teams and task forces, and continually reviews and monitors the progress of CCI. Four Action Teams are organized around CCI's four goals for youth success. Each Action Team is co-chaired by 2 or 3 ISG members. Task Forces are formed within each Action Team to work on specific projects or issues. Business Roundtable for Youth Success is focused on supporting kindergarten readiness efforts and expanding internship/job shadowing opportunities for students. Resources CCI Action Plan V1.2.pdf CCI_Projects_revised_2016.pdf Discussions