Roc the Future highlights progress at 10-year mark – Rochester Beacon

Parent engagement will be essential to continued progress in educational success, according to ROC the Futures ninth annual State of Our Children Report. Vigilance through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond also is paramount.

Seventy percent of Rochesters young children are kindergarten-ready after participation in Rochesters pre-K programs, run by the Rochester City School District and community organizations, the report shows. High school graduation ratesfor the RCSD ninth grade cohort graduate in four yearsare up 21 percentage points, while college readinessthe percentage of RCSD graduates who are college-ready in Englishis up 11 points. College graduation is up as well. The percentage of RCSD graduates who complete college in four years has increased by 11 points.

Our work at ROC the Future has developed from raising awareness through practices such as pre-K family orientations to interventions like the Every Minute Matters campaignweve built so much on what weve learned over the years and used that knowledge to expand our work to include new systems and intentionally working for equity in all areas, says Jackie Campbell, director of ROC the Future, which was founded 10 years ago. Together with our conveners, we have significantly improved education outcomes in Rochester, but theres still so much more we plan to accomplish.

Among the areas identified in the report that need additional work are early grade literacy (RCSD third graders proficient on state assessment declined 6 points); college enrollment (the percentage of RCSD graduates enrolled in a two- or four-year college within one year of graduation is down 12 points) and RCSD faculty/staff of color down 3 points in teachers and 10 points in staff).

To ensure additional progress, the collective impact effort has identified parent engagement, in partnership with CauseWave and others, as a wildly important goal. Between now and June 2022,ROC the Futurewill ensure that its parents will engage with at least 6,000 families to ensure that the reopening period following COVID-19 is both responsive to unfinished learning and the gateway to long-term transformation, officials say.

We have a nationally ranked pre-K program that has seen improvements in preparing kids for a strong start and were working together to build and expand those efforts to lift our modest gains for early grade literacy, Campbell says. Our out-of-school programs have provided an additional layer of support that all students should have access to. We are nearing our goal of 80 percent high school graduation within the Rochester City School District. And parent leadership and engagement in decision-making are the new standards for success across the community.

Actions for partner organizations include identifying the essential elements of successful learning environments for children, deciding on priority actions and informing funding priorities.ROC the Futurealso hopes to develop strategies that improve student achievement by strengthening relationships; ensuring school systems meet the academic, social, emotional, and physical needs of children; and building community systems that empower and support children and families both inside and outside of school, the report says.

Together, we can make that goal attainable. Moving the needle on critical milestones such as middle-grade math, post-secondary education and career training is essential to creating a thriving future for our studentsbut we cant do it alone. Campbell says. It will take all of us, working together, to set us on a course of educational renewal that prioritize(s) the need of all students, regardless of race, ZIP code or circumstance. Rochesters children are counting on us.

At an event Thursday, Shaun Nelms, chair ofROC the Future, presented the ninth Annual State of Our Children Awards. The recipients include:

Tonia Burton at the Rochester Public Library, who received the Jacque Cady Annual Advocacy for Children Award, which honorsan individual for extraordinary accomplishment in advancing public policy or funding decisions for the benefit of children in the community, in furtherance of ROC the Futures mission to improve cradle-to-career outcomes for Rochesters children.As part of the award, the recipient selects an agency serving children ages 0-8 to receive a $5,000 donation, courtesy ofRochesters Child, an initiative of the Rochester Area Community Foundation in honor ofJacque Cady.

Allen Jackson,Cherriese Bufis,Heather Feinman,Patricia McKinneyandMichaela Wall received the Parent Leader Award.They exhibited exemplary leadership by engaging and partnering with other parents to support the success of the communitys children and families.

Parent Leadership Training Institute was recognized withthe Organizational Partner Award for itsexemplary leadership working with other organizations in collective impact and collaboration in support of ROC the Futures mission to improve cradle-to-career outcomes for Rochesters children.

We are happy to recognize the many individuals who are leaning in to support student success, Nelms says. ROC the Future is uniquely positioned to align the economic, educational, and community-based initiatives in our community to collectively address needs of our children. The State of Our Children (report) is more than a call to action. It is a commitment to ensure the sustainability of our city.

Launched 10 years ago, Roc the Future was established as an alliance of more than 70 local institutions and community partners, aligning resources and initiatives to improve academic achievement of Rochesters children. With a common agenda and outcomes, evidence-based practices, continuous communication and mutual reinforcement, mobilizing resources and increasing equity,ROC the Futurebelieves it creates an impact.

Since its inception, ROC the Future has represented our citys village, in the African proverb: It takes a village to raise a child, says Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren. By bringing key community stakeholders to the table and keeping them engaged in these important topics, ROC the Future is demonstrating that collective impact is critical to the success of any effort to overcome the challenges of our education system and provide our children the futures they deserve.

Smriti Jacob is Rochester Beacon managing editor.

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Roc the Future highlights progress at 10-year mark - Rochester Beacon