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Posts Tagged ‘strategic’

Gary Indiana’s Response to High Dropout Rates

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

 

Gary, Indiana’s leaders share profound concern and inspiring commitment to their young people, many of whom are being left behind by the 21st Century.  Over the past three years, Gary’s leaders produced their Multiple Education Pathway Blueprint. The blueprint may serve as a catalyst for  education attainment that leads to employment and supports economic development in Gary and NW Indiana.

In-School Portfolio of Options: In 2008, the Gary Community Schools unveiled a set of ten specific strategies known as the “The New Secondary Experience.” The objective was to implement best practices from work being done in other cities that were possible with limited resources.

The ten components include:

  1. Collecting and utilizing school-based data to provide early indicators of students at-risk of dropping out by: a) identifying all students falling behind, b) classifying students by credits earned, and c) using KidTrax data systems to foster connectedness between community and in-school activities,
  2. Transforming schools to allow students to pursue interests, talents and abilities
  3. Eliminating all social promotions and engage students and their parents in developing a plan for credit recovery and intensive remedial education
  4. Implementing “Double Dose” classes for students falling behind in mathematics and language arts
  5. Implementing extended day strategies supported by existing Title XX and remediation funds
  6. Engaging employers and workforce specialists to provide career and job awareness, exploration, mentoring and employment
  7. Implementing immediate instructional interventions and exploring the use of technology options to support teachers and counselors
  8. Implementing reading and literacy classes at the high school level to provide remediation for those students not reading English at grade level
  9. Providing credit recovery and acquisition opportunities for all students classified as behind their grade level in credits earned after regular school day, and
  10. Developing an individual Career Pathway Plan for all Gary students

New Pathways Options through “Magnet Schools”: In the winter of 2008, faced with a $22 million budget shortfall, the Gary Community Schools Board designed and passed a sweeping secondary school re-organization built on principles of “The New Secondary Experience.” The strategy, “Magnet Schools,” requires students, parents and faculty to choose where their talent and interests lie in selecting one of four schools that will offer choice of 1) Leadership/Military Academy & Gifted/Talented Focus, 2) Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM),  3) Career and Technical options, and 4)Visual & Performing Arts.

“Oldest and Closest”: An immediate strategy to arise from MEP Blueprint planning process is for the Gary Community Schools and its partners to rapidly identify its 2008-2009 students missing the least number of credits and who were oldest students at risk of “aging out” for immediate interventions. It was estimated that roughly 10% of the students most likely to drop out were in this category. Intensive time and resources for students in need of assistance to secure credits or a satisfactory ISTEP score to graduate could produce momentum and early success.

 

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The Power of Getting Not Out Of Your Life

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

In a few shevelopmentort days of presenting the Get Not Out of Your Life campaign to various partners, leaders showed through their reactions the power of looking differently upon one’s condition.

Remaining open to possibilities and taking a step to strengthen skills, literacy and credentials are essential to overcoming fear, hopelessness and loss of control in one’s life. It is not easy to adapt or overcome limitations, but doing so is very often more self-imposed than merely one’s fate.  Get Not Out of Your Life is focused on older adults, pregnant teens, kids who have dropped out, the working poor in search of family-supporting  jobs, Spanish-speakers looking to succeed in high-skill jobs and those who struggle with reading. 

From a social marketing perspective, the Get Not Out Of Your Life campaign is special in that it places the emotional needs of displaced adult workers and off-track youth and young adults first.  Institutions and there products are a distant second.  It has the potential, if implemented thoughtfully, of branding a region or organization as one that puts those in need first.

Getting Not Out Of Your Lifecampaign materials is designed for those who undestand and value servant leadership.  It is not for self-promoters or those wishing to place their organization’s name out in front.  That, they will have to on their own.  What will be interesting to see is if elected officials see the power of Getting Not Out Of Your Life as an expression of their commitment to public service.

As further reactions and suggestions emerge, I will try to capture them here.

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Stimulus That Works in Global Markets

Saturday, November 7th, 2009

Promising news this week that the US is out of recession, manufacturing output is on the rise and durable goods orders were up in October 2009 was contradicted by unemployment climbing above 10% for the first time since 1983. Indeed, unemployment slowed to one-sixth the rate of January 2009 and looks like it is heading in the direction of jobs growth in early 2010.

How employment expands is really what matters. As several stimulus attempts that worked reach an end or are already over, the US government and states should do more of those things that created good jobs, especially in 21st Century, energy- and planet-saving manufacturing. The future of US economic and jobs recovery lies, in part, in manufacturing. At a time when the rules are being re-written, so can the industries that emerge. America must move from 70% of its economy driven by consumption and retail to high-demand goods that will be bought by domestic and foreign consumers and their governments.

The US government and the states have an opportunity to show leadership by choosing where to invest in manufacturing stimulus. Cash For Clunkers worked. So do more of that. Stimulate purchases of energy efficient large appliances - I’ve read where that is in the works but have seen nothing. The stimulus around energy efficiency in buildings - municipal, state and private should find a way to grow - it means jobs and lower energy costs for cash-strapped cities, towns and states. But look outside our borders.

The Chinese are pumping billions into rail transportation - compete for that market. The Scandinavians are investing in alternative fuels and geothermal technologies to heat homes and buildings. The Indians are seeking ways to improve housing for its underemployed hundreds of millions. These are but three areas where manufacturers and the public sector should collaborate to manufacture things others will buy. The weak dollar is an asset in late 2009 that can be exploited by selling US goods competitively on global markets if America is agile enough.

Investment in small enterprises as well in those “too big to fail” is necessary with an outward view of the world while the US continues to stimulate the kind of consumption that puts people to work, reduces energy consumption and aids in lowering personal and public debt.

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Fund Raising in This Recession

Saturday, October 31st, 2009

In talking with a number of top-flight fund raising pros in recent weeks, I’ve heard some strategic ways to adapt to these unprecedented times.

Awareness is high of the increased need of those most vulnerable among those who give and care. Demand for services to help those who’ve lost their jobs is a reality and a solid platform on which to appeal for support. For those in the human services business, making the case is the easy part.

Rational non-profit leaders understand that confidence and giving are down. For fund raisers it means setting and insisting on reasonable goals and sharpening the brand and promise of what a donation will deliver in these times. Platitudes about excellence and high quality are not meaningful right now. What the dollar will do in plain language is what is what is needed. Donors want to know that their gift will make a difference today for a person in need.

One other comment I have heard repeatedly is how the wealthy have suffered along with the middle class and the poor. People with means have watched money vanish, participated in laying off workers, closed businesses and worry along with the rest of us about the future. That uncertainty and worry is a good thing. It decreases arrogance and helps in any discussion of helping people through hard times. For fund raisers, it is important to acknowledge the need and uncertainty of these times and appeal to the sense that we are all in this together.

One last thing I am hearing is how “gala” event fund raising may be a poor tactic right now. The haves are not all that excited about celebrating their success in public and sponsors are looking at every expense through the lens of what is core to their business and what is not. Sponsoring tables or holes at a golf tournament are extras in these times but business owners feel bad about saying no. Events should be simple, not ostentatious and fun in a modest way. Events should bring constituents together in a thoughtful, cautious way.

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