What impact can post-secondary education institutions make on a community's primary and secondary schools?

Post-secondary education is the pathway for increased opportunities, but race, ethnicity, income, and zip code are too often predictors of access to and success in post-secondary education. Therefore, we must address and dismantle structural barriers, processes, practices, and beliefs leading to predictive outcomes that advantage some while disadvantaging others. Working collectively with community organizations, higher education institutions, and school districts, we can examine and address several issues impacting people and communities. Higher education has historically been an engine of social mobility and economic growth. Consequently, higher education institutions must build pathways starting with primary schools.   

How can a partnership like Cradle to Career help address the challenges faced by the education workforce?

Partnerships like Cradle to Career can help us investigate the range of issues impacting workforce development, including those impacting schools and those impacting communities and families. Cradle to Career can provide a data-driven approach to help address and dismantle structural barriers, processes, practices, and beliefs, leading to predictive outcomes. For example, a wide range of explanations has been offered explaining differential outcomes within communities, including the effects of poverty, poor prenatal health, quality of schools, and implicit or explicit bias. In addition, historically excluded learners in K-12 have fewer opportunities to access human and material resources to support high-quality experiences. Given this range of explanations, partnerships like Cradle to Career can support a broad scope for understanding and addressing issues faced by the education workforce.

What is TREC and how does it work with area educators?

TREC’s mission is to bring together the region’s educators, resources, and partners to support their evolving professional growth. TREC aims to build professional development capacity, increase teacher retention, and develop teacher leaders. To accomplish the mission aim of TREC, partnerships with school districts, teachers, and professional development providers are significantly important. TREC works with area educators to connect them with opportunities to grow and develop as teacher leaders.  

How did you first become involved with C2C and Youth on the Rise?

We have been involved with Youth on the Rise prior to the pandemic as part of their coalition. We lost that connection during the pandemic and reconnected in January. On that same month our organization was the highlight for the YOTR meeting. 

What does your organization do around youth re-engagement?

Our mission at Youth On Their Own (YOTO) is to support the high school graduation and continued success of youth experiencing homelessness. Our primary program is the High School program where we incentivize youth to attend school with a monthly stipend that is based on their attendance. The more the youth attend school, the more they earn each month. The “continued success” part of the mission is where we focus on youth re-engagement, specifically in the Alumni Program, a transitional program for youth that graduated high school while being in YOTO. Our goal is to identify the youth’s pathway (post-secondary education, workforce, military, etc.) and connect them with community resources that further support their pathway. This is why our participation in Youth on the Rise and C2C is important for YOTO.  

How does youth re-engagement benefit our community?

As we think about youth re-engagement we must consider the individual impact first. As community organizations we must ensure we are empowering youth with the most accurate information about the resources available to them. This allows youth to make the most informed decision and take action on the pathway they want to take. As a result, our community can become stronger and more resilient from economic downturns. Another benefit is that re-engaging youth promotes future leaders that want to use their lived expertise to improve services and systems for all youth. 

You can learn more about Youth On Their Own by visiting their website:

Make a gift to the Cradle to Career Partnership and keep the work moving forward.