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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!

On March 11, 2014, the Cleveland Pre-K Task Force announced an exciting new plan to ensure that every preschooler in the city will have access to high-quality pre-K experience that will leave them ready to succeed in kindergarten and beyond. The plan, PRE4CLE, was created by more than 60 task force members in a four-month process facilitated and led by ACS President Lori McClung and Policy Associate Heather Lenz. It was covered with both a news story and an editorial in the Plain Dealer, the local NPR station – ideastream, and several television stations.

McClung worked closely with Marcia Egbert, senior program officer at the George Gund Foundation, and Cleveland schools CEO Eric Gordon, to create a successful process to tackle the huge task of designing an inclusive, affordable pre-K system that includes a variety of public and private providers. McClung and team ACS led nine separate working groups to delve deeply into aspects ranging from finance to teacher quality to transportation. The result? A comprehensive, ambitious, yet realistic plan with clear goals and benchmarks — kicking off with the addition of 2,0000 new high-quality pre-K seats by the beginning of the coming school year. (Cleveland currently has approximately 1,200 high-quality spots for 5,400 pre-K aged children.)

A recent New York Times opinion piece, When Even the Starting Line is Out of Reach, explains the compelling and very human reasons why early childhood development and education is critical to ending the cycle of poverty that too many American families face. While the challenges are enormous, we are – as always – encouraged by our many clients like First Things First of Arizona,Every Child Succeeds, National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), Early Childhood Investment Corporation (ECIC), who work constantly to expand the reach of critical early childhood supports to families in communities across the country. Read the article