Alamance Achieves is committed to the goal of every child in Alamance County thriving, from cradle to career. Achieving this requires educational equity. To help in this effort, Alamance Achieves’ work is being supported by their national partner, StriveTogether, through the Challenge Fund. StriveTogether is a nationwide network that works with communities at a local level to transform failing systems with a collaborative improvement methodology that directs data from small changes to inform adjustments in that community.
Part of that effort involves StriveTogether’s Theory of Action™ framework, which supports communities that are working towards changing the systems that shape opportunity.
StriveTogether’s Theory of Action provides progressive milestones for change. It is not a prescription that must be followed to the letter. This adaptability allows a community’s local context to guide the framework of how things get done. The milestones inform necessary collaboration of cross-sector leaders from systems like education, housing, health care and more to realize better results for each communities’ youth and families. It does this by focusing on the organization of all the moving pieces in a community that impact a child and his or her family in a way that more effectively gets kids from birth to a meaningful career.
To measure progress, the Theory of Action looks at six different “gateways”—exploring, emerging, sustaining, systems change, proof point and systems transformation. Alamance Achieves is currently at the sustaining gateway. The grant from StriveTogether will move Alamance Achieves further along the continuum, closer to systems transformation. These milestones provide communities with a way of seeing how they are progressing through their efforts towards their desired outcomes. And each gateway involves evidence-based decision making, collaborative action, a shared community vision, and investment and sustainability. Doing so, ensures a more equitable outcome for children and families.
StriveTogether is currently working with more than 70 communities across the country, including Alamance County, to achieve the goal of helping every child succeed in school and life. They provide resources, tools and best practices to help communities create opportunities for children and to close any equity gaps that exist in education.
Throughout it all, StriveTogether and its partners are committed to engaging with the community, advancing equity, developing a culture of continuous improvement and leveraging existing resources all in support of education.
Alamance Achieves was just named an awardee for the Challenge Fund from StriveTogether. They join fifty other communities across 26 states who are working to deliver more equitable outcomes for children and families. These communities are part of the Cradle to Career Network, a national movement led by StriveTogether to ensure every child has every opportunity to succeed. Altogether, StriveTogether has provided $20 million in grants since the onset of the pandemic in 2020 and will award another $12 million by the end of 2021.
