Happy New Year... Now that we are settling into the New Year, we (your ACYI Team), wanted to take a moment to wish you a very Happy and Prosperous New Year!

On our end, we have been loading up on salad as we are giddy with anticipation of all that we expect to accomplish over the next 12 months.
 
Why is the ACYI Team gorging on salads you ask?
 
Tidbit... Be sure to eat leafy greens on New Year's. Tradition says that the more leafy greens a person eats, the more prosperity he or she will experience (what an incentive for staying healthy!).
 
We are so committed to a prosperous year in moving the needle on our Cradle to Career outcomes that we're even loading up on our leafy greens.  More spinach please!
 
See below for a look at what we have in the works for 2017...

Overarching Goals for 2017... Our overarching goal for this year is that we will see more outcomes trending in the right direction and more examples of systems change as they pertain to positive educational outcomes for our youth.
 
Here is a little of what you can expect this year as we work to support this effort community-wide:
 
Focused Technical Support as it is related to engaging in the ACYI Cradle to Career Partnership including:

• Easy to follow pathways to engagement for all levels of the Partnership.
• Streamlined training and infrastructure to support the 'Continuous Improvement Lean' practice for improving interventions for shared educational outcomes.

Streamlined and Targeted Communications focused on: 

• Engaging stakeholders in the vision of the collective impact (ACYI Partnership).
• Presentation of data using visual analytics tools.
• An in-depth look at what is happening and sharing "what works" and "lessons learned" through tools such as the newsletter,  'Becky's Blog', social media, etc.

• Growing the ACYI LIFT Fund (Local Impact Funding Technical Assistance), which provides partners with a lift to help build their capacity to implement or enhance strategy or practice to support cradle to career student success.
• Supporting and developing funding streams focused on "what works" in improving shared educational outcomes.

 
Watch for more to come...

We Want to Hear From You, By This Friday Please... 
We are asking for your input on a short survey.
 
ACYI is focused on supporting Collective Impact using 'Continuous Improvement Lean' practices around the Cradle to Career Outcomes.  Since 2012, we have supported the convening of Action Teams that served as a 'gathering of the minds' around the Outcomes.  These groups have participated in meaningful dialogue with many positive outcomes as a result.  
 
We will be kicking off a new series of these "gatherings" in 2017 where action will be the "MO".  We need your help determining what to call these 'gatherings".  Read more about what we have in mind and give us your input. QUICK SURVEY 

If you have already taken this survey and provided your input, thank you for your support!

Crossroads Church Continues to Invest in Efforts to Improve Educational Outcomes... Crossroads Church continues to invest in improving educational outcomes for local students, most recently to support an effort to increase attendance and ultimately graduation rates at Thornton High School.  

Crossroads Church provided $500 through the Adams County Youth Initiative's (ACYI) LIFT (Local Impact Funding Technical Assistance) Fund, which provides partners with just that - a "lift" to help build their capacity to implement or enhance strategies that support student success.

The funds have afforded the Thornton High School Truancy Council program an opportunity to provide support groups for students who have been identified and then referred by Truancy Council Staff. The support groups are provided by Community Reach Center's North Metro Youth Organization through a program called 'I'm Going Places'. READ MORE

Pictured: Emma Pinter, ACYI Board Chair and Becky Hoffman, ACYI Executive Director with Pastor Kim Skattum and Pastor Matt Manning of Crossroads Church. Photo Credit - Adams County Government.

We're Beefing Up How We Present Data... ACYI has been selected among 17 communities from accross the nation to participate in a Data Analytics Fellowship.
 
ACYI will spend the next eight months training on how to use and implement a software designed to better communicate data through easy-to-understand visualization. READ MORE

What We're Reading... We are working to finalize our strategic plan and have been inspired by a book titled, Martin Luther King Jr. on Leadership, which is a great guide to how the philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. can be used to effect positive, long-lasting change in any organization. CHECK IT OUT