FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 29, 2019
CONTACT:
Alex Chandler
achandler@e3alliance.org
512.680.4824
CENTRAL TEXAS RECEIVES $150,000 THROUGH GRANT PROGRAM BY NATIONAL NONPROFIT STRIVETOGETHER TO IMPROVE RESULTS AT MAJOR MILESTONES FOR KIDS
E3 Alliance one of 21 cradle-to-career partnerships that will advance equity and spread bold strategies to help children and families access opportunity and move up the economic ladder
AUSTIN, TEXAS — E3 Alliance, a regional, data-driven education collaborative helping to build the strongest educational pipeline in the country to drive regional economic prosperity, has received $150,000 from StriveTogether, a national nonprofit working to bring communities together around data to make decisions and improve results for kids. E3 Alliance will use its grant award to launch Maximizing School Improvements Networks: Beyond Super Glue and Duct Tape in Central Texas.
The grant award is part of StriveTogether’s Cradle to Career Community Challenge, which seeks to create local change to enable economic mobility. The program’s goal is to strengthen and align the many systems, such as education, employment, health and housing, that shape opportunity for children and families in America.
“E3 Alliance has a strong history of leading regional education initiatives that have improved student outcomes along the cradle-to-career continuum. As more and more of work is driven through direct services on campuses, whether that means training workshops or multi-year transformation efforts, this support to codify successful tools and processes will allow us to accelerate positive change in schools,” E3 Alliance President Susan Dawson explained.
Maximizing School Improvements Networks: Beyond Super Glue and Duct Tape will leverage RAISEup Texas, and other school-based initiatives supported by E3 Alliance, to build on existing tools and processes, codify them into a replicable, scalable platform, and test that enhanced platform in other critical networks — Attendance Peer Learning Network, My Brother’s Keeper Scholars and STEM Equity Network — to take school improvement networks to the next level.
The grant will allow E3 to pilot these new tools and platform to three school improvement networks in the region in 2019. At the end of the project, these networks will develop/modularize trainings for campuses; systematize campus vetting tools to connect compatible/supportive networks; deploy common forms to support effective engagement; and implement continuous improvement tools into E3’s campus-based Theory of Change.
E3 Alliance has been awarded a grant from the Community Challenge’s Promising Practices Fund, which is intended to find local projects applying bold strategies that can be spread across StriveTogether’s national network. These projects will focus on deeper community engagement and align education with other sectors such as health, housing and transportation. Eleven community-based organizations were awarded grants of up to $150,000 for one year.
Through the Community Challenge, up to $7 million over the next three years will fund projects across the country that advance equity and spread bold strategies to help students progress from kindergarten to postsecondary completion and a job. During this round of grants, 10 communities also were selected for the Accelerator Fund. Communities in the StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network were eligible to apply for the Community Challenge.
“StriveTogether launched the Cradle to Career Community Challenge because we refuse to settle for a world in which a child’s ability to thrive is dictated by factors like race or income,” StriveTogether President and CEO Jennifer Blatz said. “From partners across the country, we know the urgency of this work and the value of creating lasting change in communities. We are proud to start this year supporting 21 cradle-to-career partnerships to get real results for youth and families.”
About E3 Alliance
E3 Alliance is the P-16 Council for Central Texas that is transforming the education system through data and collaboration so all students succeed. We provide access to the best education data to ensure a culture and practice of data-driven decision making in education. We build and facilitate collaborations to promote a culture of student success and community accountability. We align the system to ensure school readiness, eliminating achievement gaps for all students, and promoting high school, college and workforce success. We serve five counties in Central Texas and partner with 15 school districts, 8 institutions of higher education and over 200 community partners and organizations to ensure that systems are improved and aligned cradle-to-career.
About StriveTogether
StriveTogether is a national movement with a clear purpose: help every child succeed in school and in life from cradle to career, regardless of race, zip code or circumstance. In partnership with nearly 70 communities across the country, StriveTogether provides resources, best practices and processes to give every child every chance for success. The StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network reaches 10.5 million students, involves 10,800 organizations and has partners in 30 states and Washington, D.C.
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