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ACS Policy Associate Heather Lenz will present “PechaKucha Cleveland,” a look at how creative platforms can drive civic conversation and facilitate social change among young adults, at the Levin Lounge on October 24th from 4pm – 6pm. Levin Lounge is hosted by the Cleveland State University chapter of the American Planning Association, and is a civic engagement program that takes place regularly at the Maxine Goodman College of Urban Affairs. The Cleveland State American Planning Association is a student-run organization that strives to enlighten the community about the importance of urban planning, engage neighborhoods in revitalization through civic service, and help students find innovative solutions to planning challenges. PechaKucha is a quarterly event that takes place in Cleveland and 693 other cities across the globe, where people gather to hear rapid-fire presentations from local thought leaders about their innovative approaches to design, art, planning, and creativity! Heather will present about PechaKucha alongside representatives from other civic groups like OurCLE, Save Lower Prospect, City Beautiful, and the Cleveland Young Professional Senate.

This article outlines the Ohio Board of Education’s adoption of the Common Core standard and a legislative effort to void that adoption. ACS is tracking this bill on behalf of it’s K-12 clients throughout the fall legislative session.

In today’s competitive economy, the value of a diploma cannot be overstated. Yet when only seven in 10 ninth-graders complete high school on time and a child is kicked out or drops out of high school every 26 seconds, it’s clear there’s an epidemic keeping our youth from realizing their dreams. In Sundance Channel’s Dream School, premiering Oct. 7 at 10 p.m., celebrity teachers (Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson, Swizz Beatz, Jeff Corwin, Oliver Stone, and more) will play host to a class of dropouts with the hope of giving the disadvantaged youth the tools and inspiration they need to succeed in changing the course of their lives. But the reasons for the dropout epidemic are many and complex. In the infographic below, you’ll see just why many are leaving school, as well as the kinds of opportunities they’re being robbed of by doing so.

View infographic

Building upon its work in Ohio, Arizona, and New York, ACS adds ECIC to their growing national early childhood portfolio with the State of Michigan. ACS is spearheading a communication research effort on behalf of Michigan’s early childhood state agency – Great Start. The results will lead to building a strategy and messages related to quality early childhood and the overall brand of the organization. The project includes the development of a quantitative research instrument, messaging strategy, focus groups and related analysis that is not only tailored to the specific needs of Great Start, but also will leverage experience of ACS’s national early childhood portfolio.

Lori McClung’s presentation will provide attendees with tools they can use to successfully integrate communication into a statewide early childhood system-building effort and emphasizing that while it’s not always easy, when done right, smart communication strategies and tactics can be the difference between victory and failure!

The BUILD Initiative helps states develop an early childhood system – programs, services and policies tailored to the needs of the state’s unique young child population. Conference attendees are various BUILD states from around the country learning best practices around policy, communication, and outreach for early childhood.

Identifying the right childcare or preschool provider can be incredibly stressful for parents. It’s a decision that helps to lay the groundwork for a child’s future success. In Arizona, ACS client First Things First (FTF) has just launched a new website, QualityFirstAZ.com, to help parents identify what quality care looks like and find a quality child care and preschool setting that meets their needs.

The website and materials are built upon messages developed by FTF and ACS during the last several months. It offers families tools to help make informed decisions quality child care and preschool including, information about the importance of placing children in an environment that will prepare them for kindergarten, a checklist of questions to ask any potential childcare or preschool provider and a databse of providers who are participating in Quality First.

We’re proud to play a role in this important resource for Arizona’s children!

“High school freshmen will soon start their high school careers without knowing what test – or tests – they will have to pass to graduate. Graduation testing in Ohio is in an odd state of limbo, with the old Ohio Graduation Test about to end, and a new series of tests coming soon that multiple states will use as part of the new Common Core standards.”

Read the full article here

“Just weeks before Ohio children return to school, conservative lawmakers introduced a last-minute bill yesterday to block new and more-rigorous curriculum guidelines championed by governors and education leaders. Opponents of the Common Core standards hope to throw the brakes on what they fear is a federal takeover of education.”

ACS client, Every Child Succeeds is front-page news regarding their national model to reduce infant mortality—data show that Every Child Succeeds has dropped infant mortality rate evenly across racial lines to 4.7 per 1,000 births! Read more below and click on the link to view the entire in-depth story.

“What’s the best way to reduce the region’s stubbornly high infant death rate? Supporters say it’s to add money and reach to Every Child Succeeds, a national model of help that’s already working in our midst”.

Read the full article here

Via The Ohio 8 Coalition, ACS client, Cincinnati Public Schools’ innovative model for turning schoolhouses into Community Learning Centers has earned the district a National Community School Award for Excellence by the National Coalition for Community Schools.