Reading for the Future.

March 2024

action with purpose and process.

Thank you for subscribing to Achieve Brown County's monthly Reading for the Future newsletter. Achieve Brown County tracks data on seven youth outcomes that are the most significant indicators of economic mobility and career success. Our community is currently working on increasing third grade reading proficiency levels (Early Grade Reading outcome area) across Brown County. This initiative is called Reading for the Future.

Below you will find Achieve Brown County collaborative action team updates, local literacy spotlights, and youth outcome data for Brown County. Have thoughts on topics we should include in future newsletters? Let us know by responding to this email or reaching out to info@achievebrowncounty.org.

literacy collaborative action teams.

What are the action teams doing?

The Reading for the Future action teams have answered the call to action around a population-level Result: We must improve 3^rd Grade reading proficiency rates.

Teams are in the early stages of development and have determined their Group Agreements and Purpose Statements. Next, they’ll examine the Current Conditions by reviewing quantitative, qualitative, and disaggregated reading proficiency data and trends. We’ll be looking for gaps/disparities in outcomes and identify target populations that are most negatively impacted.

Team meetings are convened and facilitated by our Director of Continuous Improvement, who uses the StriveTogether Collaborative Improvement Approach to ignite Collective Action.

What is the collaborative improvement approach?

StriveTogether’s collaborative improvement methodology helps communities work toward better cradle-to-career outcomes for every child. Collaborative improvement starts with the premise that change can only begin with action. Equity is a core guiding principle that helps ensure we go beyond universal strategies and focus on youth and families facing the greatest barriers.

This eight step, fluid process outlines what actions need to be taken to achieve the conditions for populations and systems level change.

Collaborative improvement includes four elements:

Equity

Changing systems to improve outcomes for every child drives the work. We tailor strategies that connect people to opportunity, remove structural barriers and eliminate disparities.

Results Count™

Pioneered by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Results Count™ helps leaders and groups move from intention to action

Continuous Improvement Centered around Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) continuous improvement cycles, we use the simplest of tools and protocols that support communities. At the heart of this practice is an unwavering commitment to using data — quantitative and qualitative — to understand the impact of strategies or practices.

Human-Centered Design This user-centric, creative problem-solving approach provides tools and techniques for engaging the people you are trying to impact by authentically involving them at every step in the process.

More on the StriveTogether Collaborative Improvement Approach

The 8 Steps to our Collaborative Improvement Approach

ways to get involved.

1. Join a collaborative action team.

A Collaborative Action Team is a group of community members who are committed to improving the success rates around one of our outcome areas.

Every Child is Ready to Read Action Team. This team will actively involve parents, caregivers and the community in supporting children's early development and education.

Next Meeting

Tuesday, April 2

at 11:00-12:30 PM

Tuesday, April 30

at 11:00-12:30 PM

READy for Life Action Team. We're crafting a public information campaign that will set Brown County ablaze with urgency for literacy.

Next Meeting

Thursday, April 4

at 7:30-9:00 AM

Thursday, May 2

at 7:30-9:00 AM

Reading for the Future Strategy Team. This team will guide and support the work of all Action Teams and will help determine if/when additional Action Teams develop around other prototypes.

Next Meeting

Tuesday, April 23

at 1-2:30 PM

Join A Team

2. Take a StriveTogether training.

The Training Hub StriveTogether provides easy-to-access, high-quality virtual training, grounded in proven approaches and tested by leaders across the country. The Training Hub builds leaders' capabilities to work across sectors, change systems and achieve equitable outcomes. Courses cover universal concepts and share easily applied, transferable tools.

The Training Hub is free and accessible to all organizations, including place-based partnerships and community partners outside of the StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network.

Systems Elements

The most visible part of a system is the impact it has on people, but what are the hidden parts of the systems creating that impact? Join this self-paced workshop to learn about the three primary elements of a system and how to identify those elements in the systems you are working to improve and change, simple and complex systems and how mental models, structures of the system and patterns of behavior drive them.

Course start date:

Monday, April 1, 2024

Live Q&A:

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

2:00-3:00 p.m. ET

Registration closes:

Monday, April 1, 2024

Level: Beginner

Intended Audiences:

Executive directors
Facilitators
Community partners

Type: Self-paced workshop

Enroll

Systems Levers

The most impactful way to change a system is by pinpointing a leverage point where you can intervene and achieve maximum impact. Join this self-paced workshop to learn about the most common leverage points to look for in systems (system levers), how to locate them and how you can develop strategies to impact them to change systems.

Course start date:

Monday, April 1, 2024

Live Q&A:

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

2:00-3:00 p.m. ET

Registration closes:

Monday, April 1, 2024

Level: Intermediate

Intended Audiences:

Executive directors
Facilitators
Community partners

Type: Self-paced workshop

Enroll

collaborative action team partner spotlight

Encompass Early Education and Care, Inc.

Each child is unique and deserves the opportunity to grow and experience that uniqueness. Through a stimulating and accepting environment, Encompass' intent is to present a curriculum/program that develops the whole child—socially, emotionally, intellectually and physically. Serving as an extension of the family, teachers and parents partner together to provide each child with the opportunity for happy and healthful growth.

Visit Encompass Website

Join a collaborative action team.

A Collaborative Action Team is a group of community members who are committed to improving the success rates around one of our outcome areas.

Join Us

tsutton@achievebrowncounty.org

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