Under the theme of Go Far, Go Together, ROC the Future joined 70 cradle to career sites from across the nation who make up the StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network, in Seattle, Washington, to learn and share strategies to support better outcomes for kids. The 2018 Cradle to Career Network Convening held in October was the biggest yet, bringing together more than 500 people uniting to work toward equity and committed to going farther together. Continue reading →

Thanks to all who were able to attend our sold-out 6th Annual State of Our Children Address and Report Card Release, at the R. Thomas R. Flynn Campus Center on the Brighton MCC Campus. We hope you found this year’s event informative, engaging and beneficial as each of us play a critical role in the improvement of outcomes for Rochester’s children.

This year represented a significant change to our normal State of the Children format, by adding breakout sessions, and eliminating the key leaders panel.  It is our hope that as we move forward to advance improvement for kids, we provide more depth and background on our work, and share ways that the community can lend support to it.  We hope this was well communicated and felt. Continue reading →

Register now for the 6th Annual State of Our Children Address. This year’s event will be the most robust and engaging yet. A key feature of the event will be the addition of customized breakout sessions around our three priority areas: School Readiness, Early Grade Literacy, and High School Graduation. These breakouts will provide opportunities to delve into data, discuss progress around outcomes, and learn how to get involved.  Continue reading →

The Rochester Schools Modernization Program is planning its third phase. As the largest public works project in Rochester’s history, it affects parents, students, and the entire Rochester community. Learn more about what’s in store for Phase 3 at one of two remaining public meetings:

October 22nd – Franklin Campus Auditorium, 950 Norton Street

November 19th – Jefferson Campus Auditorium, 1 Edgerton Park

All meetings are from 6:00pm-7:30pm. Light refreshments will be served and children are welcome to attend!

There are many reasons to attend! Continue reading →

FAFSA Fest Volunteers Needed!

Since 2014, Rochester Education Foundation, which leads our College Access CAN, has hosted FAFSA Fest events throughout the city to help high school seniors and their families file the FAFSA. This form is essential to receiving financial aid for college, yet the complex nature of the form often makes it an obstacle for students. REF hopes to help students overcome that by providing one-on-one assistance at FAFSA Fest events. Continue reading →

Earlier this year, ROC the Future set out to develop a team to look at the factors impacting high school graduation while using data to inform process and improve progress. In February 2018, we convened community leaders involved in this work to hear from experts on factors driving high school graduation and what the data shows as it relates to 9th grade credit accumulation and disaggregated graduation data across the district and local charter schools. Continue reading →

ROC the Future was awarded $300,000 from the ESL Charitable Foundation for Year 1, and $280,000 in years 2 and 3, to support our backbone infrastructure and operations.  This significant and transformative gift will help to build ROC the Future’s backbone staffing to hire a Director of Research and Analytics, and a Manager of Continuous Improvement that will allow us to accelerate improvement in child outcomes, from cradle to career. Continue reading →

Register today for the ninth annual Cradle to Career Network Convening in Seattle, Washington! This year’s theme is Go Far, Go Together: Uniting in Pursuit of Equity for Every Child. Come learn, share and network with others doing similar work and facing similar challenges in improving educational outcomes and changing systems. Attendees at last year’s national convening gained concrete tools and ideas about accelerating progress in their local communities.

When: Wednesday through Friday, October 10- 12, 2018

Where: The event will be held at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel in Seattle, Wash. Rooms will be blocked at the hotel for attendees at a discounted rate until early September.

Who should attend: ROC the Future staff, Conveners, Outcome and Strategy Team Members, CAN Members, Community Partners and Funders.

Why you should attend: This is StriveTogether’s largest event of the year, with over 400 people in attendance from communities operating within the Strive Theory of Action. They’re committed to featuring rock-star content aimed at the adaptive challenges we face around improving outcomes, changing systems and closing gaps.

Register now by clicking here!

• Cradle to Career Network members who register before July 30 will receive the $720 early bird registration fee. On July 31, the registration fee will increase to $820.

Preview the Convening agenda

Look ahead to some of the Convening’s content offerings, including workshops providing concrete tools and ideas to accelerate progress and keynotes from Brittany Packnett and Dr. Jill Biden. Visit StriveTogether’s website to preview the agenda. The agenda is subject to change.

Questions? Contact Eleni Towner, senior manager of assessment and evaluation, at townere@strivetogether.org.

StriveTogether announced its seventh Cradle to Career Network member, Seeding Success in Shelby County, Tenn., as a proof point community. Reaching proof point recognizes communitywide efforts to change systems and improve outcomes for children. Seeding Success has demonstrated a strong commitment to using data in decision-making, building the capabilities of its partners and supporting a culture of shared accountability.

Read how systems are changing in Shelby County here.

DATE: Thursday, November 15th

TIME: 7:45am-11:00am

LOCATION: MCC Brighton Campus- Thomas Flynn Center, Monroe A&B

Save the Date for ROC the Future’s State of Our Children annual event. This year’s address is designed to equip event attendees with data, stories and tools to bring about practice change within their organizations and the broader community. The event will help attendees:

• Digest and understand the current data, and how it’s relevant to their own work
• Learn success stories from other communities and organizations
• Share ideas and learn from peers about practical tips for bringing about true practice change at their organization

Stay tuned for more event details. If you have any questions, please contact Jessica Lewis at Jessica@thechildrensagenda.org.