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Wrapping up a year of good work, on December 13, neighbors, friends, and program partners from the Northwest Dayton Community Investment Fund (CIF) gathered for an evening of reflection and celebration. Here is a spotlight on three of our grant recipients. Spectrum New Beginnings: Connecting people to mindfulness experiences, CIF funding was a boon for capacity building -- helping Spectrum New Beginnings to set up the organization structure that will lead to success and sustainability. Their original goal was to provide wellness practices and increase emotional well-being and quality of life for Northwest Dayton residents. To ensure they were providing the most valuable services, the team started with a community survey to seek input on the needs of the residents. Programs launched to serve more than 200 residents, including self-care Saturday (massage, stretching, fitness, therapeutic art, etc.) - woman-to-woman circles for community support, and a youth cope program (geared toward teen boys). In the midst of growing program offerings, they also strengthened their organization, as they redeveloped the board, hired an accountant, and partnered with Five Rivers Health Center and UD Fitz Center. The expanded model is income generating (for organizations who are able to pay), which covers the cost of the community-based free program. In addition to providing program updated, we heard testimonials that highlighted how the group helped individuals find strength within themselves and find community. Valens Solutions: Over the past year, Valens Solutions conducted over 140 community navigator related cases, impacting nearly 1000 immigrants in our community. These cases addressed education, housing, housing needs, food insecurity, transportation, and employment. Large programs included support for four Community ID events and several presentations for awareness building. Serving on a more personal basis, Valens Solutions provided workforce assistance to support individuals through training programs including nursing school and the police academy. They also helped numerous people navigate the complexities of criminal and civil courts cases. Their legal immigration arm, IC Dayton, consulted with 133 people and worked 93 cases. Valens is proud to support their clients toward goal that include American citizenship, education, employment, and greater inclusion within the Dayton community. Youth House: With the focus to develop youth of color throughout their critical development years with a focus on educational services, resources, mentoring, and community support -- Youth House launched in 2023. In 2024, they received their CIF grant to build capacity for their organization and the wider community. They have secured a new office space that houses offices, meeting rooms, podcasting, storage, and a resource closet. Their new Youth Programming/Partner Space houses a third shift childcare program and a food service provider; additionally, it is available for special events or needed youth programming. Recognizing the critical need for transportation solutions, the used CIF funds to purchase a van in support of youth participants. These new spaces serve as a resource hub for youth directly and youth-serving organizations. With their increased capacity, programming through Youth House has had a significant impact in the community; they have facilitated 200+ youth leadership service hours, 1,000 youth care packages, and college scholarships.

University of Dayton Men's Basketball Student-Athletes, as part of the EVERY DAY in School Matters campaign, joined Learn to Earn Dayton in a holiday visit to Dayton Public School District’s Fairview Elementary this week. The visit included sharing a story, gifts for all of the 1st grade students, and a bit of advice about the importance of school attendance, reading and listening to teachers. The students are always very excited to interact with the UD players, and we are appreciate the partnership with Dayton6th and the investments from generous donors that make these opportunities possible.

Learn to Earn Dayton CEO Stacy Schweikhart and Policy Director Tom Lasley, alongside community partners from Omega CDC, presented with Harvard School of EdRedesign at the recent StriveTogether Policy Summit in Washington D.C. Their presentation, "Empowering Policy Implementation: The Transformative Role of Success Planning in Personalized Support and Community Collaboration" explored how personalized relationship-based systems of support and cross-sector community collaboration can empower place-based partnerships to advance transformational policy implementation for and with children, youth, and families. The third annual StriveTogether Policy Summit brought together more than 150 leaders of place-based, cradle-to-career partnerships like Learn to Earn Dayton to focus on how local, state and national policy initiatives can leverage and align public resources to better support students and families. National experts shared best practices in policy development, advocacy and implementation, with strategies for sustainable funding a priority. Prior to the first day of the Policy Summit, leaders from six states including Ohio gathered for a Community of Practice to deeply explore how we can scale our data driven policy work to advance systems change statewide.

The Ohio Mayors Alliance (OMA), a bipartisan coalition of mayors of Ohio's largest urban and suburban communities, meets regularly to share insights and experiences about the challenges and opportunities in Ohio's cities. They collaborate to speak with one voice about the needs of Ohioans in order to advocate for their communities and constituents. The OMA gathered in Dayton on Tuesday, August 29, hosted by Mayor Jeffrey Mims of Dayton, at The Hub at the Dayton Arcade, with a full agenda of thoughtful topics. Learn to Earn Dayton was honored to offer insights and updates on exciting pilot programs in civic engagement currently underway in Kettering and Dayton. With support from the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, Learn to Earn Dayton is working alongside a team of educators and elected officials in both of these cities to create positive civic engagement opportunities for middle and high school students. Research from the Institute for Citizens & Scholars is guiding both efforts. Introduced by Mayor Steve Patterson (Athens), Dr. Tom Lasley shared the vision for the Kettering City Schools program that will better inform middle school students about the role of city, state, and federal government. Erica Fields shared ways elected officials can incorporate youth voice in government decision making. Finally, Mayor Mims and Ms. Fields collaborated on a presentation about the upcoming Mayors Youth Summit and the future work of the Youth Commission. The session ended as Dr. Lasley celebrated the work of the OMA as a strategic and collaborative effort to ensure policies are aligned, driving toward better outcomes for youth across Ohio. Learn to Earn Dayton is proud to support the Ohio Mayors Alliance (OMA) in the development and strengthening of the Education Advocacy Leadership Committee . Working together to drive toward statewide changes to benefit all students while also providing these dedicated and passionate local leaders insights into best practices and innovative pilot programs that can serve their communities. Chaired by Kettering Mayor, Peggy Lehner, the committee is dedicated to collaboration to serve students, as it brings mayors and superintendents from within the cities to collaborate and foster shared learning on education-related issues and advocate for our cities’ young people in policy discussions.

At Mayor Mims' Youth Summit, he announced a program to help shape the future of Dayton with ideas by and for teens. The first step is better understanding student needs. High School students from all across Dayton are encouraged to take this short survey to share what they see as areas for improvement in the community. Students from participating schools will be entered to win one of 10 $50 Amazon gift cards in appreciation for participating in the survey. Please share the survey with any high school students within the City of Dayton; partner schools include Belmont High School, David H. Ponitz Career Technology Center, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, Meadowdale Career Technology Center, Mound Street Academy, Stivers School for the Arts, Thurgood Marshall High School, Dayton Digital Academy, DECA, and Chaminade-Julienne High School. What's Next? With the survey results in hand, Learn to Earn Dayton will review the data and invite interested students back to brainstorm solutions and imagine the possibilities of a stronger Dayton for teens. Through this effort, we'll generate an action plan to make Dayton a better place for youth and set the framework for an ongoing Youth Commission.

Join Miami Valley Fair Housing and the City of Dayton Human Relations Council for the Fair Housing Collaborative Lunch and Learn on May 1 for the roll-out of the Housing Policy Toolkit. In 2022, Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County convened a Housing Workgroup to discuss the impact of housing on infant mortality and overall health. The Workgroup consists of individuals from public health, housing, public policy, maternal and child health, advocacy, local government, and more. This cross-sector collaboration of individuals is essential to addressing complex issues such as housing. This toolkit is the result of the in-depth research and discussion by members of this Workgroup. Speakers include Emma Smales, Director of Data & Impact from Learn to Earn Dayton; Debra Lavey, Senior Attorney for Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. (ABLE); Angela Rahman, Community Development Manager for City of Kettering; and Alice Wood, Co-Organizer of Dayton Tenant Union. The program will be moderated by Samba Sila, Office of Justice and Inclusion Administrator for the City of Dayton Human Relations Council. Register for this Zoom Lunch and Learn to learn more.

Learn to Earn Dayton, in partnership with the City of Dayton, hosted a Community Kickoff for the My Voice. My City. My Future. Student Vision for Dayton initiative earlier this week. More than 75 students, educators and engaged community leaders heard from the Mayor Mims, L2ED CEO Stacy Schweikhart and the Student Vision facilitators that will be a part of the upcoming listening sessions and work groups - the next steps in this 3 year initiative. A mini data walk was also presented, giving participants a glimpse of  relevant data that highlighted and showcased student priorities.

Learn to Earn Dayton is proud to be one of three communities in the nation, and the first in the Midwest, to earn Systems Transformation designation from StriveTogether in recognition of our leadership of cradle-to-career collective impact strategies. Learn more about how the StriveTogether model guides L2ED's work and what it means to be focused on developing effective "civic infrastructure" in their announcement . Thank you to StriveTogether and all our partners for their commitment to a shared vision and collaborative action to ensure that all learners and their families in our region can thrive - regardless of race, gender or zip code. Read the news story in the Dayton Daily News .

Learn to Earn supports a focus on the science of reading Northridge’s changed approach to reading would mirror what DeWine wants to see across Ohio From the Dayton Daily News: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine visited Northridge Schools Thursday to see the results of implementing the science of reading in the district. Under the governor’s current budget plan, all schools would be mandated to use a science-backed reading approach. Ohio does not currently mandate how schools teach reading. This school year, Northridge fully implemented a new science of reading curriculum, Superintendent Dave Jackson said. Previously, the district used a whole language approach. In curriculums based in the science of reading, the emphasis is on phonics and teaching skills to identify words. Whole language focuses on using speaking, writing and sounds to teach children to read, whereas the science of reading uses neuroscience. Jackson said the district started this school year with 28% of kindergarten students on track for reading, and as of March 13, 73% of those students were on track. In the 2018-2019 school year, by the end of the school year, 46% of kindergarten students were on track. Read more: https://www.daytondailynews.com/local/northridges-changed-approach-to-reading-would-mirror-what-dewine-wants-to-see-across-ohio/UT4EQEBXSVDIPFCNMWYJ6ZDWLI/ Photo Credit: Paul Vernon/AP File Photo

LOCAL NEWS WYSO By Jerry Kenney Ohio’s education leaders have announced more funding to help young people who want to pursue higher education. The new effort is an attempt to combat the toll the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on the number of students applying for college aid. Filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid , or FAFSA, is how students, their families and colleges determine eligibility for student financial aid. The number of FAFSA applicants dropped off significantly during the pandemic. Randy Gardner is chancellor at the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE). He wants potential college students to know that college is more affordable than many people think. “There is support, there are scholarships," he says. "There's federal and state need based aid. Fill out the FAFSA and give it a shot because we do know that with with higher education attainment comes higher wages, comes lower unemployment and comes a better health care outcomes." Gardner adds that those outcomes benefit all Ohioans. Earlier this year the state granted $966,772 to organizations working to boost the number of students who fill out the FAFSA. Learn to Earn in Dayton and the Montgomery County Educational Service Center are two of the local organizations taking part in the effort. The program will grant an additional $1.8 million in the coming year.

LOCAL NEWS Dayton Daily News By William A. LaPrise Less than 30 percent of young adults age 17-24 are eligible to enter the United States military. The top reasons so many young adults are ineligible for service include lack of education and the inability to pass the basic entrance examination, criminality, and drug use, and lack of physical fitness. As a retired brigadier general in the United States Army, I find this unacceptable, and I see it as a significant, long-term national security risk. For years, the retired admirals and generals of Mission: Readiness have supported evidence-based solutions that improve our educational system from birth to career. Because we know a child’s brain develops most rapidly in the first five years of life, quality child care programs are a critical component of this effort. As most parents are part of the workforce, high-quality child care programs not only provide a safe location for children while their parents work but also key support that helps ensure that children meet their developmental milestones. In my civilian career, I served for more than 30 years in the Miamisburg, Ohio School District. My tenure included stints as a school psychologist, an elementary principal, a pupil services director, and a deputy superintendent. My varied experience working with schoolaged children strongly suggests to me that we cannot wait until a child is in the upper grades to address academic challenges. The time to ensure all children have the best chance to succeed in life is the first five years. And we must do better. Just this week, the Ohio Senate removed funding for the state’s Step Up To Quality (SUTQ) child care rating system, citing the high cost of the model and alleging that it cannot be financially sustained over time. This action goes too far. Legislators from the Ohio House and Senate should restore language in the state budget to reflect the earlier House version, which preserves the SUTQ system. At the same time maintain the Senate’s funding increase that expands access to families with incomes up to 142 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, as this will ensure greater access for working families. Because of the importance and potential positive impact of high-quality early supports like child care, it is also imperative to continue to support community-based early learning efforts such as Learn to Earn Dayton and Dayton’s Preschool Promise. They have been leading the way through their public/private partnership to develop a high-quality early learning experience for our children. Programs like these, as well as high-quality child care, help to lay a foundation for future success for our youngest learners. One thing I learned as both a general and as an educator is that you cannot turn your back on challenges. Mission: Readiness members offer their years of experience managing large government systems and billion-dollar budgets to help address the Senate’s serious concerns. We must work together to ensure Ohio is home to elite education services from birth to career. And remember that it all begins in the first five years. Retired Brig. Gen. William A. LaPrise of Miamisburg is also a former deputy superintendent of Miamisburg City Schools.

Team Learn to Earn Dayton joined Blairwood Elementary earlier this week, distributing Reading Is Lit! literacy kits to Kindergarten, First and Second Grade students and their families. Each box features a grade-level aligned book and multiple hands-on learning activities and engaging videos for families to support literacy at home. Beginning in 2023, ThinkTV and Learn to Earn Dayton collaborated to pilot kits for out-of-school use that encourage family engagement through literacy activities. We have been thrilled with the positive reception the kits have received from educators, students, and families. Thank you to our many partners, including the Iddings Foundation, Del Mar Encore Fellows Initiative (through The Dayton Foundation), CenterPoint Energy Foundation, The Frank M. Tait Foundation, Kettering Family Philanthropies, and the University of Dayton Teacher Education Program & Fitz Center Educational Equity Program.