This month, we welcomed a new group of youth into Cohort 3 of the Youth Leadership Coalition (YLC). These students participated in an orientation with their families to learn about the goals and objectives of the coalition. During the session, YLC trainers led an interactive team-building exercise to build relationships with the families of the new members who are taking part in the third year of the training.

We are also proud to announce a new partnership with the Levine Center to End Hate and Youth Voice One Vision for the development of the 2023 youth summit taking place this spring.



For youth interested in joining the YLC, nominations are still being accepted. Official sessions start in February 2023. For more information, please contact Kilolo Moyo-White, Family and Community Engagement Specialist, at [email protected]. 

C.O.R.E., which stands for Community Onboarding & Reboarding Experience, is a customized learning series comprised of 5 modules that will help us approach the collective work of the Alliance with more alignment. C.O.R.E. was founded because building a foundation of shared understanding is a critical step toward systems change and transformation. In C.O.R.E. Module 1, we are building relationships & trust, deepening our understanding of racial equity, and moving toward the mental model level of systems change. 

Register here for our next session on January 23rd from 9-10:30am via Zoom.  

ROC the Future Alliance is full of enthusiasm for the new opportunities and new strategies on the horizon for supporting our scholars in the area of high school graduation. This month, HSGOT members had a chance to hear from several presenters, including Brandon Frame and Kristin Kearns-Jordan from The Urban Assembly Inc., Cameron Caputi from RCSD, and Jennifer Rees from East EPO, with a focus on critical levers for students’ success.

Contact Shawanda Evans & Nicolle Haynes, co-chairs, to learn more about the High School Graduation Outcomes Team and join us on Tuesday, January 24, 2023, from 6-7:30pm for our next session.

During the month of December, parents met to revisit and refine PECAN’s strategy for 2023 and beyond. At this session, we began refining the shared goal of growing ROC the Future Alliance’s parent/family partner membership and walked away with next steps for recruitment and engagement.

We want to get your input on priorities and goal setting for the upcoming year. Join us for the next PECAN Public Session on Thursday, January 19, 2023, from 6-7:30pm via Zoom. 

The Whole Child Initiative (WCI) is off to a great start. The Implementation Work Group, comprised of 6 parent/family partner consultants and 8 systems partners, has been meeting weekly to prepare for the WCI Outcomes Team kickoff. The Whole Child Outcomes Team will bring together the School Readiness and the Early Grade Literacy outcomes teams to become the Whole Child Outcomes Team. This group will work towards re-imagining systems, sectors, and professionals that adopt a whole-child, parent-led, anti-racist, family, and community-voice centered, cross-sector way of doing business in support of children, prenatal to age 8.

We are currently seeking two additional parent/family partners to work with the Implementation Work Group and filling several vacancies, including an Administrative Assistant, Continuous Improvement Specialist, and Family and Community Engagement Specialist. Apply now via LinkedIn.

Contact Sara White-Smith, Whole Child Initiative Director, at [email protected] to attend the meeting on February 8, 2023.