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When First Things First of Arizona (FTF) needed powerful plans for community outreach and communications to educate families statewide about the importance of early childhood education, they called on ACS. Now, ACS is assisting FTF with building the capacity of its regional community outreach staff and regional council directors to successfully facilitate community stakeholder conversations and negotiate difficult conversations around strategic priorities.

Scarlett Bouder and Rebecca Cohen recently spent several days in Phoenix training more than 30 regional staff and directors who came to the table with a wide variety of experience levels. ACS created custom tools and scenarios for FTF to help regional directors work through concepts and resources that will help them facilitate conversations with various early childhood stakeholders in their unique communities. The training also provided plenty of opportunity for participants to reflect on their facilitation work and work through the challenges of coalition building, coming to consensus, and identifying priorities.

The ACS team will continue providing 1-1 assistance throughout the summer so that FTF staff is well-prepared and highly effective in engaging their communities to support Arizona’s youngest residents.

Kudos to Cincinnati Public Schools for a great article in Ed Source that touts the district’s Community Learning Centers as a model for the nation. The district brings community partners into every one of its 55 schools in a “whole child” approach to improving academics. Cincinnati’s program employs the concepts of “community schools,” in which all of a student’s needs – physical, social, emotional and academic – are met under one roof through an integrated approach. In 10 years, that approach has transformed Cincinnati schools from one of the worst urban school districts in the state into the best. ACS is proud to work closely with Cincinnati Public Schools as part of The Ohio 8.

ACS has once again been selected by First Things First (FTF) in Arizona to help guide the implementation of thier statewide efforts to ensure all Arizona children ages 0-3 years have access to screening, supports and treatments services in a coordinated early childhood health and development system. Supported by a federal grant for Arizona’s Early Childhood Comprehensive System Initiative, FTF and ACS will conduct quarterly meetings and strategy implementation with other partners and early intervention stakeholders throughout the state to help them reach consensus on strategy and move quickly to action. The work kicks off June 3 and will span the next two years. ACS is honored to continue this important work with FTF on behalf of Arizona’s youngest children.

ACS gives kudos to Akron Public Schools Superintendent David James for his comments on a recent panel discussion broadcast by 90.3 WCPN and WVIZ Public Television in a special edition of the Ideas program. James, a member of ACS client The Ohio 8, spoke about the challenges that surround students who live in poverty, and how those external forces have a debilitating impact on academic achievement. “It isn’t just a school problem, it is a community problem,” he said. “You have to have your job and family services folks involved. You have to have your children’s services board, your juvenile court, your mayor… a lot of those folks, and that’s typically what we do in Akron.”

Research from Brookings found that employment prospects for teens and young adults in the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas plummeted between 2000 and 2011. Work experience is a key indicator for finding and keeping future employment, and critical in forming foundational and occupational skills. The report includes recommendations and examples of promising programs across the country. For more information about the report and to interactively explore youth workforce indicators by metro area, click here.

At a time when breaking through all the noise is one of the biggest challenges facing communications and outreach professionals, creating a concise, impactful message has become a critical skill. VP Scarlett Bouder and Policy Associate Heather Lenz are gearing up to help early childhood professionals craft unique, distinct and compelling messages and share them in strategic ways that win supporters and donors during a special pre-conference session at the upcoming 2014 Smart Start conference, May 5-8 in Greensboro, NC. Scarlett and Heather will discuss the definition and components of framing, tools to create target messaging, how to shift the frame and be ready to communicate at a moment’s notice, and integrate framing into all communications efforts. Want to attend? Register now.

A new report released by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights provides new data from all 97,000 of the nation’s public schools and paints a disturbing picture: disparities in access and in discipline exist from pre-school to 12th grade for students of color. Across the board, students of color are less likely to have access to opportunities ranging from quality preschool to advanced placement courses to college counselors. However, they are highly more likely to receive harsher discipline, such as suspensions from school. In fact, even in preschool, black students represent only 18% of enrollment but 42% of suspensions. “Every data point represents a life impacted and a future potentially diverted or derailed,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. View data at state, district and school levels at crdc.ed.gov

ACS President Lori McClung has been named to the board of trustees of the St. Luke’s Foundation in Cleveland. This high-profile post is a perfect fit for Lori, since the St. Luke’s Foundation mission is focused on creating and sustaining healthy people, strong communities and resilient families — all values that drive ACS’s work and the work of our clients. In addition, St. Luke’s specifically focuses on building organizational capacity for its grantees in much the same way that ACS boosts capacity in communications, advocacy, leadership and collaboration for its clients. Lori also will bring her “real world” nonprofit experience to the Foundation board, rooted in her nonprofit career and her service on the boards of The Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest, Education Voters of Ohio, The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, The Cleveland Public Library, The Greater Cleveland Media Development Corporation, and Parents for Public Schools. Congratulations, Lori, and well done St. Luke’s Foundation!

Research from Brookings found that employment prospects for teens and young adults in the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas plummeted between 2000 and 2011. Work experience is a key indicator for finding and keeping future employment, and critical in forming foundational and occupational skills. The report includes recommendations and examples of promising programs across the country. For more information about the report and to interactively explore youth workforce indicators by metro area, click here.

Earlier this month ACS’s Scarlett Bouder provided tips for “giving jargon the boot” to a group 150 early childcare providers at the annual NAEYC conference. In this message training, ACS presented their four point frame and how to apply it to media outreach, and helped NAEYC advocates create clear and concise messages for outreach to legislators, media, and the general public.

Click on the link

ACS Bootcamp: Messaging Worksheet

to access the messaging worksheet and top tips for giving jargon the boot!