In StriveTogether’s framework, Systems Transformation is the highest possible designation, and it recognizes that the community is creating lasting change in the areas of shared community vision, evidence-based decision making, collaborative action, and investment and sustainability.
“This designation demonstrates what systems transformation actually looks like,” said Jennifer Blatz, President and CEO of StriveTogether. “Learn to Earn Dayton has produced outcomes that prove what is possible with a data-driven, collective impact approach. They demonstrated the ability to not only maintain results, but to scale them up.”
Learn to Earn Dayton said the positive progress in milestone outcomes, like kindergarten readiness and high school graduation, contributed to the designation. Learn to Earn Dayton also helps invest in priority projects and gets people to come together and collaborate.
“This honor would not be possible without the shared vision and commitment from all of our partners who work in collaboration to build human capital and reach educational attainment goals for all students in Montgomery County,” said Stacy Wall Schweikhart, CEO of Learn to Earn Dayton.
Simon Tam, a spokesman for Strive Together, said the idea of Systems Transformation has been a core part of StriveTogether’s framework for a while but communities only started receiving the designations last fall.
Learn to Earn Dayton was able to connect schools, nonprofits, community partners, public funders and philanthropists to bridge the digital divide during the pandemic, when many students were doing school from home but didn’t have access to WiFi.
Last school year, Learn to Earn Dayton helped to secure funds, manage grants, or provide technical assistance for $8.5 million in investment to partners to deliver on high-quality educational programming, the organization said.
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