|
I.
Say Yes to Education Initiative
JCBE Meeting Videos
Audio: 7 26 2016 Work Session 1
In this Work Session, the Board will hear a presentation from Say Yes to Education Foundation Senior Vice-President Ellen Grant (former Deputy Mayor of Buffalo, New York) and Director of Programming Nadia Moore regarding the Say Yes to Education initiative.
Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS), Louisville Metro, and a wide range of community partners, have embarked on a process to investigate entering into a long-term relationship with the Say Yes to Education Foundation. As the Say Yes to Education website explains, “in partnership with whole cities and counties, Say Yes facilitates a culture of collaboration around the goal of postsecondary completion for all young people. By realigning the civic infrastructure to provide coordinated services and enrichment opportunities district-wide, communities can find renewed hope and sustainably improve outcomes at scale.”
Say Yes to Education’s strategy provides a last-dollar full tuition scholarship for postsecondary education to high school graduates in a city. That becomes a powerful incentive for students, families, and community to ensure that every student graduates high school prepared for college and career. It is directly aligned with the JCPS Vision Statement, “All Jefferson County Public Schools students graduate prepared, empowered, and inspired to reach their full potential and contribute as thoughtful, responsible citizens of our diverse, shared world.”
To get students ready for college, the Say Yes to Education strategy provides comprehensive wrap-around services to address the significant barriers to learning that many of our student's face. For example, in Buffalo NY, implementation of the Say Yes to Education framework has led to the establishment of mental health clinics in all schools, and legal clinics in all schools.
The specific initiatives within Say Yes to Education are locally developed through a collaborative governance structure within the community and are paid for using a reallocation of existing local resources from public and private sources. Say Yes to Education provides $15 million over five years to assist communities to build capacity and create a system of supports that is self-sustaining. Specific goals are established against measures of identified milestones along the P-12 continuum, and robust data collection and analysis forms the basis for collective decision making.
In order to pay for scholarships for all high school graduates, our community will need to raise a very large endowment, something on the order of $100 million. The endowment funds will be used for tuition scholarships to public postsecondary institutions. Say Yes to Education also has recruited more than 100 private colleges and universities that will provide, from their own scholarship funds, tuition scholarships for Say Yes to Education Scholars. These postsecondary institutions are interested in identifying and supporting academically qualified students, including students of color, low-income students, and first-generation college-going students.
At the August 9, 2016, Regular Meeting, the Board will be asked to approve a letter of commitment to Say Yes to Education, to be included in the Louisville response to the organization’s Request for Proposal.
Submitted by: Jonathan Lowe
Attachments
|