Student Vision Adopted, Creation of Mayor's Children's Cabinet

A city’s future is only as bright as the opportunities it provides for its youngest residents.

In 2023, Learn to Earn Dayton, in partnership with the City of Dayton, embarked on an ambitious three-year initiative to transform how our community supports its youth. The goal was simple yet profound: center student voices to determine the true needs, priorities, and wishes of our young people.

The culmination of this process is the Student Vision for Dayton—a master planning document created by, for, and about young people. This roadmap is designed for the city, local schools, and youth service organizations to utilize as they set policy and funding priorities. Ultimately, it encourages a fundamental shift in the way we all do business, govern, and advocate for the next generation.

A Roadmap Defined by Youth

Through deep community engagement, Dayton’s young people identified four major priority areas that require our collective attention:

• Leadership Opportunities

• Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods

• Mental Health and Bullying Prevention

• College and Career Readiness

  
  

The Student Vision for Dayton details a clear vision, specific goals, and targeted strategies for each of these pillars. Far from a static document left on a shelf, the plan includes a rigorous theory of change, a breakdown of the "enabling conditions" required for success, a comprehensive resource guide, and a live implementation tracker to ensure measurable progress.

This milestone would not have been possible without the immense contributions of our community. We want to extend our deepest gratitude to every young person across the city who participated in this process, the numerous partner organizations who opened their doors, and our dedicated engagement facilitators: Shawneika Pope, Nikol Miller, James Cosby, Trey Clements, Mike Squire, and Johnaton Johnson.

Moving From Planning to Implementation

With the formal adoption resolution by the Dayton City Commission, we are officially moving from the planning phase into implementation. Our focus now turns to building the robust infrastructure required to turn this youth-led vision into meaningful action. At the center of this strategy is the creation of the Mayor’s Children’s Cabinet.

The Mayor's Children's Cabinet will serve as a cross-sector leadership structure that brings together city government, K-12 education, healthcare, housing, workforce development, and community partners alongside the proximate voices of residents and youth. By setting shared priorities and metrics, aligning strategies, and pooling resources, this cabinet will ensure agencies work together seamlessly rather than in isolated silos. The result will be a more connected, accountable system of support for Dayton’s children and families.

A Window of Opportunity: Funding and Capacity

To ensure the Mayor's Children's Cabinet is built to last, Dayton has been invited to leverage two significant national opportunities for technical assistance, capacity building, and external funding. Together, these programs create a powerful, timely launchpad for our infrastructure.

The City Accelerator

Led by StriveTogether, the Harvard EdRedesign Lab, and Results for America, the City Accelerator is a prestigious national initiative that helps municipalities improve outcomes for families through cross-sector alignment.

Dayton was invited to participate because of our deep, existing commitment to cradle-to-career success and place-based partnership work. Beginning in July 2026, the Accelerator will provide technical assistance, access to a national learning community, and structured accountability to support the design and launch of the Mayor's Children’s Cabinet. This work will be driven by a joint City–Learn to Earn Dayton team, with crucial partnership and commitment from Dayton Public Schools.

The FUSE Executive Fellowship

To provide the dedicated, day-to-day project management required for a launch of this scale, Dayton will welcome a FUSE Executive Fellow in the Fall of 2026. FUSE Corps is a national nonprofit that embeds private-sector executives into local government agencies to accelerate systems change.

The Fellow will be embedded within the City to help build out the Cabinet, strengthen cross-sector partnerships, and develop clear milestones and success metrics.

A Lasting Commitment to Dayton's Future

Student Vision for Dayton Final Report with Proclamation.pdf

Download PDF • 18.05MB

The passage of this resolution represents far more than the standard adoption of a municipal plan. It reflects an binding commitment to ensuring that the voices, ideas, and priorities shared so bravely by Dayton’s young people lead to systemic, measurable change.

By building the Mayor's Children's Cabinet and surrounding it with national expertise and local determination, we are ensuring that when our youth speak, Dayton doesn't just listen—we act.