2017 Stamford Cradle to Career Annual Convening
The 2017 Stamford Cradle to Career (SC2C) Annual Convening was a success! More than 150 agency partners and community members convened to celebrate the progress of the collective impact partnership and view the goals for the future of our youth, from cradle to career. The energy and atmosphere in the room was magnetic and set the pace for an enthralling experience as we discussed our goal to accomplish one very important thing: assist in continuing to lay the foundation for our youth to succeed and thrive in every phase of their lives.
The participants heard from the co-chairs of the Community Action Networks (CANs), as they reported on the research, rational and status of each of the action plans. Reports addressed the plans from every active CAN: Infant Health and Development; Kindergarten Readiness; Early Grade Reading; and Transition from High School to Postsecondary, College and/or Career. We acknowledged that our community is program rich, but system poor and that we need to strengthen a collective impact approach to our agenda. Since the launch of SC2C, we now have more than 146 community leaders and members involved and more than 200 hours have been spent developing and finalizing action plans by the CANs, determining community wide campaigns by the Community Task Force, addressing management and procedural strategies by the Executive Team, finalizing data sharing agreements and reviewing data related issues by the Data Network, and identifying best practice strategies for external and internal communication by the Communication Network.
Highlights from the convening include the unveiling of the Stamford Public Schools Strategic Plan framework followed by a keynote address from Matthew Worwood, UConn Stamford Associate Director of Digital Media & Design. He addressed the ways young children interact with technology, and implications for the school experience in the year 2032 and beyond.
Jam-packed with captivating imagery and innovative concepts, Mr. Worwood encouraged educators to challenge students to solve “authentic” problems or acquire complex knowledge in information-rich settings based on the assumption that having learners construct their own solutions leads to the most effective learning experience.
Educating a child goes far beyond what happens in a classroom. This initiative aims to leverage all the community resources in Stamford to ensure that all of our youth get what they need to succeed and this is only the beginning!
More photos from our convening HERE
Thank you to everyone who participated in our survey to share their thoughts and feedback on Stamford Cradle to Career (SC2C) and our initiative as a whole. Some of the results included:
69% of attendees were aware of the opportunity gap in Stamford.
44% of attendees found the Keynote address the most interesting part of the convening.
79% of attendees agreed they plan to share the information they received at the event with others.
87% of attendees plan to attend future SC2C convenings.
Memorable Quotes:
"Mara has been a spectacular visionary and leader, it is a pleasure to work with her and all of the other professionals involved."
"Loved some of the points raised during the keynote presentation. Also, I thought the CAN leaders did a great job reporting on their progress. Great to see how far you have come in a year. Great meeting today. Really glad I had a chance to attend. THANK YOU!"
"Get involved because this is a worthwhile cause."
"Parent engagement projects that have a quantifiable, positive impact on kindergarten readiness, K-12 social, emotional and academic benchmarks and college and career readiness benchmarks is the key."
"Areas of improving communication and access to community with technology is very important. Mr. Worwood highlighted that we have to move forward and use this tool as an asset and to share some of our great best practices. As a result, instead of counting heads in seats, we can learn how many of our students view information in today's digital culture."
Overall, we value all the tremendous feedback we have received from the participants and will work to implement the suggestions as we continue to collaborate. It takes a village to raise successful children. Let's continue to strengthen our village. Together.
