April news & updates
April 19, 2022 | Issue 18
Centering Equity




Outcomes Team Meetings
College Access – Tuesday, May 3rd
High School Graduation - Monday, May 9th
School Readiness – Wednesday, May 11th

Convener Leadership Retreat
Convener Retreat – May 11 and 16, 2022
Tell Us How Your Are Engaging Parents
Email us at [email protected]
Message from the Director
Dear Friends,

We have exciting news to share! RTFA has secured $1.55M in funding to strengthen and support our focus and commitment to the Whole Child. A child’s overall well-being is influenced by a wide range of people, experiences and systems that support their growth and development, including education, health, and human services. Our commitment to improving educational outcomes for Rochester’s children will now be expanded to engage new partners in different ways to support the Whole Child, pre-natal to age 8.

This success is due to the hard work of many individuals, including parents and organizational partners, who over the course of the last 12 months, dedicated countless hours — sharing ideas and subject matter expertise, writing, reviewing drafts, editing, etc.— to develop and submit a successful proposal. Although there are too many to mention here individually (about 3 dozen from start to submission), we’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the contributions of our parent leaders, Toyin Anderson, Tina Carney, Simone Clarke and Cherriese Buffis. We are incredibly grateful to each of you!
Network News
Jackie Campbell to be Awarded at Children’s Institute Community Breakfast and Coterie Award Celebration
The Coterie of Children's Institute comprises a select group of individuals who have provided sustained, significant, and very special support to Children's Institute. The following people will be honored for their contributions to the work of Children's Institute and inducted into the Coterie:

  • Jackie Campbell
  • Dennis DeLeo
  • Charlotte Landhuis
  • Serge Lossa

Interact with Children's Institute staff and celebrate with us as we uplift every child’s complete well-being.

Event Details:
Thursday, April 28, 2022
8:00-10:00 a.m.
Location: The Century Club of Rochester
566 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14607
Free parking across the street at the Strathallan Hotel

Arrival and experience Children's Institute activities: 8:00 a.m.
Welcome remarks and award presentation: 9:00 a.m.
New RECAP Report
This year’s report looks ahead to see how the 2021-22 cohort entered Pre-Kindergarten. This report provides a first glimpse or baseline of young children’s entering readiness among those who enrolled in a context of lengthy pandemic conditions. The report articulates new learning directions responsive to parents’ voices and current community conditions for raising one’s youngest children. It also calls out past learnings about how quality and school readiness is consistently achieved across birth year cohorts – to inform future directions.
Parent Corner
Parent Power in Unity
By: Deb Hanmer

If Rochester parents (and caregivers) understand how to organize to create a powerful constituency and leverage that power to change systems, then long-term change can be achieved to end decades of harmful policies and practices and build equity into the decision-making process across education systems. That is the thinking behind the upcoming convening of Rochester parents from district, charter, private, urban/suburban and homeschools across our city.

A diverse group of parent leaders have been meeting and planning since December 2021 to think about how unified parent power can create educational equity in the City of Rochester. This community action will kick-off with a conference on Saturday, April 30th from 11am-2pm at East High School. There will be childcare, lunch from a variety of BIPOC caterers, and giveaways! The group of parent leaders has named the conference Roc Parents United. This group of parent leaders is supported by the Greater Rochester Parent Leadership Training Institute and the National Parents Union.
Parent Thank You’s
We would like to recognize three parent leaders, Leslie Knox, Kearstin Brown-Warren and Caroline McClendon, for their commitment to the Healthy Equitable Futures Learning collaborative planning meetings. These meetings take place monthly for three hours in the evening. We appreciate your commitment!
News from StriveTogether
StriveTogether's April Newsletter
Read the latest edition of Making it Possible, StriveTogether's new newsletter. This month, they share stories of Network members across the country who have created civic infrastructures that helped their communities access equitable educational and vocational opportunities that help set all youth on the path toward economic mobility despite the pandemic's disruptions.
Upcoming Events
ROC the Future | www.rocthefuture.org