Dear Friends,

Here we are again, at the end of a season and aligning ourselves for the start of a new one – and there’s work ahead for everyone!

For children and students, it is a time of aligning actions in anticipation of a new beginning, a new school year! A time of looking forward to the challenge of learning new things, of seeing old friends and making new ones, and engaging in activities that shape their identities and build character. For parents, it is yet another year in our most prolific role to shape and develop the lives we’ve been entrusted with.

For our parent and family partners in the Parent Engagement Collaborative Action Network (PECAN), the changes include an additional responsibility to work collectively with Alliance staff and stakeholders to improve outcomes for all children and families, not just their own.

For the Alliance leadership, we’re taking steps to align for change, by transitioning to new leadership. This month, we welcome our new Alliance Chair, Dr. Lorna Washington, who has hit the ground running and is committed to take the Alliance to the next level! We’re also in the process of interviewing candidates for the new Executive Director of ROC the Future and expect to name my replacement in the coming weeks. We will have two new dynamic leaders aligned for the next horizon, to shift policies, practices, resources, and power!

Additionally, we are expanding our team with staff to implement the Whole Child Initiative and the launch of the Whole Child Outcome Team (WCOT). During the summer, the High School Graduation Outcome Team (HSGOT) held a dynamic retreat to align its new leadership, new membership, and renewed energy to identify a strategy to improve graduation outcomes. And our partners in higher education and K12 met to discuss their Teacher Pipeline strategies and opportunities for better alignment within the Alliance moving forward.

In addition to these major changes, we’re aligning our efforts to produce a magnificent State of Our Children event and release our 10th Annual Report Card.

The change in seasons gives us the right time to amplify the good things that are happening, and our shared goals for working together, some of which are highlighted in this month’s newsletter. There is no other way to the improvement we seek for children and families – ALIGNED and TOGETHER.

For the Children,
Eldress Campbell