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Dear Marin Promise Partners,

Marin has great schools, dedicated nonprofits, and an abundance of resources. So why do educational equity gaps still persist?

One reason is coordination. The systems that shape a child’s future — early learning, health, housing, family stability, and career pathways — often work separately even though their outcomes are deeply connected. By strengthening how we work together in the communities experiencing the greatest inequities, we can improve outcomes locally and help close equity gaps across Marin.

The updates below highlight how this work is taking shape through neighborhood partnerships, improved milestone outcomes, and growing momentum for place-based collaboration in Marin and beyond.

College & Career Readiness on the Rise Countywide

More Marin students are completing the A-G courses to be eligible to apply to California public universities. In 2025, 54% of Marin students of color completed the A-G college-prep course sequence — an 11-point increase since 2015.

That progress represents 642 students of color meeting the milestone in 2025, the highest number ever recorded!

Canal Promise Neighborhood: Residents Leading Change

The Canal Promise Neighborhood launched in early 2025 and continues to grow as a partnership shaped by resident priorities. It is the first of four communities where Marin Promise Partnership is working with residents and local partners to strengthen coordination across the systems that support children and families from cradle to career.

Action teams are currently focused on strengthening early learning and college and career readiness outcomes. Partners are reviewing data alongside lived experience to identify support gaps, strengthen what’s already working, and design solutions together.

For example, when the early learning team reviewed preschool accommodation data in the Canal, residents described how this shortage affects families’ ability to work, pursue education, and maintain stable housing. Together, they shaped a strategy to expand child care centers in the neighborhood.

Canal parents and students are helping shape these strategies through a new  Education Workgroup, convened by Nuestro Canal, Nuestro Futuro. Their feedback strengthens ideas before they move forward.

Marin's Promise Neighborhood Work is Part of a Growing Movement

What’s happening in Marin’s neighborhoods is part of a growing movement across California and the country to invest in place-based partnerships that support children from early childhood through adulthood.

Regional Alignment

At a recent Bay Area forum, Promise Neighborhood leaders and funders shared why this approach is expanding across California and the country. In 2025, research by RTI International showed that every $1 invested in California Promise Neighborhoods returns about $4 in long-term societal benefit.

State Policy

Momentum is also reaching policymakers. In February, statewide partners gathered in Sacramento to support the Imagine Agenda, a slate of policies focused on ending child poverty in California. One of those proposals is the It Takes a Village Act, legislation that would invest in cradle-to-career partnerships like Promise Neighborhoods across the state.

Assemblymember Mia Bonta also introduced the bill during the launch of the California Children’s Caucus, a bipartisan group of lawmakers prioritizing children in budget and policy decisions. Richard Raya spoke in support , sharing how Marin’s communities are coordinating efforts to improve outcomes for children and families.

National Learning

Members of the backbone team joined field leaders at Harvard’s EdRedesign convening to explore how data strengthens place-based partnerships. The conversation reinforced a key insight: lasting change happens when strong data systems are paired with strong community relationships.

Real change starts in our neighborhoods and grows when those efforts connect across the region, state, and country.

Opportunities and Resources

Housing Stability Impacts Student Success

More than 1,000 Marin public school students experienced homelessness in 2022, representing about 4% of students countywide. Some community partners are supporting stronger tenant protections in Novato as part of efforts to prevent further housing instability.

In this video, Novato Unified Superintendent Dr. Tracy Smith explains how housing stability shapes student learning, attendance, and long-term success. Watch here.

Why High School Graduation Matters

Each year, about 700,000 students nationwide do not graduate from high school, limiting access to stable careers and economic mobility.

Learn why StriveTogether identifies graduation as one of the most important milestones on the cradle-to-career journey. Learn more.

Scholarship Opportunity for Marin Youth by Marin Youth

TeenNavigate is a youth-run nonprofit that offers Junior and Senior college bound high school students a financial literacy lesson covering foundational money management topics. After completing the lesson, students apply what they have learned in a scholarship competition. More information.

Applications Open for Marin County Youth Commision

The Marin County Youth Commission (MCYC) is one of the oldest and most well-regarded youth commissions in the United States. Made up of up to 25 youth aged 12-23 years, MCYC’s goal is to act as a political voice for young people by engaging with the Marin County Board of Supervisors and other policymakers. Applications open now through May 22, 2026. Learn more.

Mission

Close educational equity gaps at every stage along a student’s journey from cradle to career.

Vision

Every child in Marin can reach their full educational potential regardless of their race, ethnicity, income, background, or zip code.