2 Our Leadership Council

8 Community-Wide Outcomes

20 Every Young Adult is College

3 About Cradle to Career

10 Every Child is Ready

4 Pima County by the Numbers

12 Every Child is Successful

22 Our Investors

5 Our Approach

16 Every Child Graduates

23 Ideas for Getting Involved

6 C2C Milestones

18 Every Youth is Connected

& Career Ready

LETTER FROM CHAIR AND DIRECTOR

Dear Friends, We are grateful for the constancy of this partnership’s commitment to kids. As we continue to work with each other and our broader community to break down inequities and opportunity gaps in our systems, we’re heartened by our nearly 50 partner organizations’ passion, dedication, and expertise. Our growing willingness to dive into difficult conversations and action to improve outcomes for every child in Pima County encourages us. While many of our students excel, disparities in outcomes persist and require our honesty about who is falling into opportunity gaps and why. The work before us remains daunting. We need systems that encourage diving deep into root causes and co-design of solutions with those who are most impacted by inequitable systems. With the progress we’ve made together in developing trusting, collaborative relationships and the modifications we’ve made as a partnership—an action-oriented restructuring of the leadership council, additional staff, and redefined pathways for school district engagement— we feel more ready than ever to leverage the power of collective impact and improve outcomes for our kids.

In this annual report, we want to celebrate and express appreciation for the community partners, highlighting a select few doing the work across several indicators. Their hard work and commitment have significantly contributed to the progress made thus far. Opportunities abound for people and organizations to take the lead in changing these outcomes. We invite you to join us. Onward,

STEVE HOLMES, CO-CHAIR

AMANDA BROCKMAN

Superintendent Sunnyside Unified School District

Associate VP, Community Development United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona 1

2020 Leadership Council Members who served on the Policy Team are indicated with an * next to their name.

David Baker

Steve Holmes, Chair

Kathleen Quigley

Arlene Benavidez*

Flori Huitt

Kristin Reidy

Superintendent Flowing Wells Unified School District Executive Director Metropolitan Education Commission

Victor Burrola

Community Development Officer Wells Fargo

Mel Cohen SALC Director SALC

Andrew Comrie*

Professor & Associate Director School of Geography & Development University of Arizona

Superintendent Sunnyside Unified School District Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction Tucson Unified School District

Todd Jaeger

Superintendent Amphitheater Public Schools

Bruce Johnson

Dean of the College of Education University of Arizona

Jennifer Lohse

Program Director Tucson Foundations

Dolores Duran-Cerda*

Erin Lyons

Francisco Garcia

Doug Martin

Bernadette Gruber

Edna Morris

Jessica Harrington

Tony Penn

Graham Hoffman

Kathy Prather

Executive Vice Chancellor & Provost Pima Community College Deputy County Administrator Pima County Education Domain Director 4Tucson Senior Director, SE Regional Area First Things First CEO Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona

CEO Child-Parent Centers, Inc President/General Manager Good News Communications Superintendent Baboquivari Unified School District President & CEO United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona

Presiding Judge Pima County Juvenile Court Center Assistant Superintendent Marana Unified School District

Eric Schindler

President & CEO Child & Family Resources, Inc

Amber Smith

President & CEO Tucson Metro Chamber

Betty Stauffer

Executive Director Literacy Connects

Manny Valenzuela

Superintendent Sahuarita Unified School District

Mark Vitale

Campus & Academic Director University of Phoenix

Jenny Volpe

Executive Director Make Way for Books

Dustin Williams

Superintendent Office of the Pima County Superintendent

Superintendent Pima JTED

C2C Backbone Staff and Volunteers Amanda Brockman

Andrew Pieterick

Freda Marshall

Rae Richards

Impact and Improvement Director

Kassondra Silva

Change Network Facilitator

Data Director

Desiree Collins Data Analyst

2

Peter Newbegin

Associate Vice President,  Community Development

Malika Ghafour

Youth Engagement Coordinator

Marketing Senior Manager Workforce Development Data Coordinator Coverdell Peace Corps Fellow

Cindy Hogan

Digital Equity Project Manager AmeriCorps State Member

About Cradle to Career

Working Better Together OUR VISION

Successful children | Engaged community | Thriving economy OUR MISSION

The mission of the Cradle to Career Partnership is to prepare every childfor success in school and life, ensuring the economic vitality of our community.

Goals

Every child is prepared for school

Every student is successful in school and graduates prepared for college, career and success in life

All young people complete post-secondary education or training to prepare for a career

Every young adult enters a career

OUR ROLE

The Cradle to Career Partnership (C2C) is a results-focused collaborative committed to ensuring that children and youth in Pima County have access to opportunities and resources to succeed not only in school, but in life. Convened by a backbone team anchored at United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona, C2C seeks to align organizations, institutions, and individuals to change systems so that every young person - no matter their race, ethnicity, zip code, or circumstance - is supported fully in an informed and equitable way. Using data and community expertise, C2C is building, strengthening, and leveraging strategic partnerships for a stronger Pima County by:

Building a Shared Community Vision of Long-Term Impact: We support and align leaders and practitioners with a relentless focus on putting innovation into action.

Putting the Right Data in the Hands of the Right People at the Right Time: We broker access to data and build capacity among our partner schoolsand agencies to use data to improve.

Aligning Resources to the Practices that Get Results: We listen to educators and service providers to give system leaders a  nd investors insights that allow them to align resources to support what works.

Centering Equitable Outcomes: We work with our partners and individuals (parents and young people) most impacted by systems who have the lived experience to co-develop relevant solutions and use data to highlight gaps and accelerate progress to eliminate disparities.

3

4

Our Approach  eveloping solutions for complex social problems requires silos to be broken down, contributions aligned, and equity D centered. No single organization can do this work alone, but individual organizations can come together with their resources, expertise, and data to build impactful and meaningful connections across sectors - bridges that create systems that work for kids. This is the work C2C is doing. It is not easy or quick and requires a rigorous approach, but one flexible enough to meet our community’s unique needs, especially during these challenging times.

Our Theory of Change

Shared Community Vision

Collaborative Action

Evidence-Based Decision Making

Investment & Sustainability

The Cradle to Career Partnership believes that by working together we can accomplish more. We use a collective impact approach that aligns contributions from across sectors and uses a continuous improvement framework to produce better educational and life outcomes for our students.

•

Collective Impact: The result of people working together to create sustained, noticeable change

•

Collaborative Action: Co-executing improvement plans in a relationship built on trust

•

Continuous Improvement: An ongoing process of using data to set g oals, plan interventions, act, reflect, adjust….and repeat

We use this framework to improve outcomes across seven different milestones we want every child to achieve across the birth to career continuum.

Doing the Work with Change Networks Engage the Community

Advance Equity

Change Networks are how the work of collective impact gets done. Organizations committed to applying a continuous improvement framework to guide their work come togetherto focus on a specific outcome.

Here is the process they undergo: • Focus on improving a specific community-level indicator Develop a Culture of Continuous Improvement

Leverage Existing Resources

“Every time I walk away from a C2C meeting I feel energized and empowered. Meeting facilitators

•

Prioritize local data to identify areas of need and promising practices

•

Identify shared action to move the needle on a community level indicator

•

Develop a collaborative action plan to implement identified shared action with metrics for accountability

guide diverse group members through learning

 ole of the Backbone: R • Provide results-based meeting facilitation

conversations and strategically transition the

•

Act as a data broker and provide relevant data analysis

group from talk to action.”

•

Communicate barriers and opportunities arising in the change networks to the Leadership Council

•

Handle logistics support and administrative details needed for the w  ork to function

– Kristin Reidy, Assistant Superintendent, Marana Unified School District

Part of a National Movement The Cradle to Career Partnership is a member of the StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network, a network of communities committed to centering equity and changing systems to ensure every child succeeds. The StriveTogether framework provides C2C with strategic assistance that helps build on opportunities, solve issues, and overcome challenges. C2C has met a rigorous set of benchmarks to earn its membership as a sustaining partnership in this national network. 5

C2C Milestones Over the Last Five Years

Cradle to Career was founded in 2015 as community leaders and stakeholders decided that the old way of doing things wasn’t getting the results our children and youth deserved. With a commitment to a collective impact approach, the Partnership has accomplished significant change. While there is much more to do, it’s important to acknowledge how far we’ve come.

6

Data with an Equity Lens The pages that follow show where our children and young people are on eight community-wide indicators. This data is important to track not because it shows that our children are failing or that hard work is not being done by our community, but that the systems currently in place are still not working equitably for all. Our Black, Latinx, and Native American students are experiencing these inequities at higher rates than their white peers. Data is a powerful tool in this work, but without an equity lens it can do more harm than good. As you go through the rest of this report, we encourage you to keep these insights in mind:

•

Talent is equally distributed, opportunity is not. Child-level data such as proficiency rates on standardized tests provide important information to support continuous improvement efforts and track progress over time. However, this data is the result of systemic, structural, and institutional inequities, which can be more difficult to identify at a community level. O ver the next year, C2C will be working on selecting systems-level indicators that address these inequities and our progress t owards eliminating them.

•

Getting to root causes. Data can help tell us what is, but not as easily why it is. Assumptions are often made as to w  hy the data looks the way it does and solutions developed without turning to the experts themselves - the children, youth, a nd families with lived experiences. Through Change Networks and site-based projects, C2C seeks to draw on this rich q ualitative data to get down to the root causes of inequities.

•

Shifting Power Dynamics. We are bringing community members with lived experience to the table, not just as informants but also as change agents, and putting data in their hands. True systems transformation requires that community m  embers most marginalized by current systems, including those who do not hold formal authority, are at the table to c o-design solutions that truly work for the communities we serve.

7

Community-Wide Outcomes at a Glance Cradle to Career tracks data on eight core outcomes that paint a broad picture of how Pima County is doing. The partnership selected these outcomes as measures of our collective progress toward shared results. This scorecard provides a 10,000-foot view of our community’s progress on seven critical milestones of development, with a focus on the re-engagement of Opportunity Youth as an additional measure. Compared to baseline1 numbers, we have made progress in eight of these outcomes, which speaks to the hard work of our community partners. Yet, the rate of change and the persistence of disparities for students of color tell us our work is far from done.

KINDERGARTEN READINESS

EARLY GRADE LITERACY

MIDDLE SCHOOL MATH

HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION

Percent of 3- and 4-year-olds enrolled in a high-quality early education program

Percent of third graders who meet or exceed state standards2 in Language Arts

Percent of eighth graders who meet or exceed state standards2 in Math

Percent of high school students who graduate within four years

+12% +10% +8%

10.0%

+6% +4%

7.0%

+2%

6.0%

BASELINE -2%

3.8%

-4% -6%

CURRENT IN 2019 23.4%

IN 2019 46.0%

IN 2019 36.0%

IN 2019 74.7%

IN 2014 40.0%

IN 2014 26.0%

IN 2014 70.9%

BASELINE IN 2014 16.4%

8

POST-SECONDARY ENROLLMENT

POST-SECONDARY COMPLETION

CAREER ATTAINMENT

OPPORTUNITY YOUTH RE-ENGAGEMENT

Percent of students who enroll in a post-secondary education institution the fall after high school

Percent of students who graduate a post-secondary institution within six years of high school graduation

Percent of 20- to 24-year-olds employed

Percent of 16- to 24-year-olds NOT connected to school or work

6.0%

1.3%

1.3%

IN 2017 48.8%

IN 2017 29.1%

IN 2019 92.8%

IN 2019 11.8%

IN 2014 47.5%

IN 2014 27.8%

IN 2014 86.8%

IN 2014 13.7%

-1.9%

DATA DASHBOARD To see more, including data on disaggregated subgroups, visit the Data Dashboard. You can also look at how outcomes and demographics have shifted since 2014. c2cpima.org/data 1. Baseline years differ due to change in assessments and data availability. Current data is based on most recent data available and may vary across outcomes. Data sources listed on outcome pages. 2. State standards as measures by Arizona’s Measurement of Educational Readiness to Inform Teaching (AzMERIT).

9

Every Child is Ready

Percent of 3- and 4-Year-Olds in High-Quality Early Education Childhood Programs

Kindergarten Readiness 50%

What the Data Says and Why it Matters The benefits of high-quality childcare go beyond the children who receive the care and learning that prepare them for success as they enter kindergarten. Our

40% 30%

community’s economic future is inextricably linked to the

20%

overall functioning of the systems meant to support our

10%

youngest children and their families. When these systems are working well for everyone, all children are equipped

16.4%

2014

for life-long success, and their caregivers can more fully engage in job training and the workforce. Additionally, when

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

Number of 3- and 4-Year Olds in High Quality Early Education Childhood Programs

early childhood educators, who are disproportionately women of color, are valued as professionals with adequate compensation, children are more likely to have a higher

9,000

quality learning experience. All of this combined promotes

8,000

economic mobility throughout the community.

7,000

The factors that contribute to more kids being ready for

6,000

kindergarten are varied, complex, and begin before birth, but

5,000

we do know that going to a high-quality preschool is one

4,000

of the most impactful. Because of this, and in the absence

3,000

of a state-wide child-centered indicator for readiness, C2C

2,000

tracks the percent of 3- and 4-year-olds enrolled in high-

1,000

quality early childhood programs, and there is some good

5,979 4,023

2014

news to share:

As a percentage of all 3- and 4-year-olds in Pima County, the trend is less stable because of fluctuations in the number of children in Pima County, but it is still seven percentage points higher than our baseline. However, it should be noted that this data is pre-pandemic, and anecdotal reports are indicating that many programs have closed or are open with fewer children attending. Over the next year, the partnership will be studying the impact the pandemic has had on the childcare system to devise strategies that strengthen an already overburdened system.

23.4%

0%

with the foundational skills that set them on the trajectory

Over the last five years, the number of children enrolled in high-quality programs has steadily increased by nearly 2,000.

Goal - 33%

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

High-quality programs are defined as Quality First sites rated 3-,4-, or 5-stars and all Head Start Centers. Data provided by First Things First (excludes protected tribal data) and Child Parent Centers, Inc.; Number of 3- and 4-year olds estimated from US Census, ACS, 1-year estimates, 2019.

Quality First Centers in Quality Levels (3-, 4- or 5-Star) in Pima County

90% 80% 146 76.0%

70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0

28 16.4%

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Data provided by First Things First

10

Action Towards Change Over the last year-and-a-half, C2C has continued to convene and facilitate leaders in early childhood education and the broader community to move talk to action at both the programmatic level with continuous improvement efforts and at the systems-level with advocacy efforts to increase public funding to ensure equitable access to high-quality childcare. A retreat was held in March of 2020 with the Kindergarten Readiness Change Network leaders, who decided to expand focused action to include increasing the percentage of vulnerable families with pre-natal to age three children participating in evidence-based home visitation programs. More work is planned over the next year to develop a measurable indicator with partners that the partnership hopes to report on in the 2021 Community Impact Report. This decision sprung from exploratory work that started in 2018, when C2C, along with partners Casa de los Niùos’ Parents as Teachers and Child & Family Resources’ Healthy Families programs, was selected as one of five communities to participate in the Pre-Natal to Three Impact and Improvement Network by StriveTogether. As part of this network, they began studying and addressing challenges to engaging and retaining families in home visitation programs - initiatives that support families in ensuring their children are developmentally on track for success in kindergarten through parent education and empowerment. Over the past year-and-a-half, this work has expanded to include five more home visitation programs. Using a continuous improvement framework, this workgroup meets monthly to better understand and address barriers families face in staying in home visitation programs - especially with the transition to virtual visits - as well as to share findings. Because of their work, these partners have not only been able to maintain pre-pandemic numbers but are continuing to use data to inform practice improvement and decision-making.

11

100%

Every Child is Successful

Early Grade Literacy What the Data Says and Why It Matters Early literacy skills are foundational for a child’s positive trajectory toward high school graduation and beyond. Reading at grade level by third grade is one important benchmark for tracking progress to improve the systems and scale best practices that support these skills. Although less than half of our third-grade students are proficient on the state assessment, the most recent data available shows the highest proficiency rate in the last five years at 46%, three percentage points higher than the previous year and six points higher than baseline. The upward trend is promising and indicative of the work being done across Pima County to improve classroom instruction, reading programs, and providing young children with greater access to books. However, disparities for students of color persist, particularly for our Native American students, with a proficiency rate 46 percentage points lower than their white peers.

90% 80% 70%

3rd Grade Proficiency Rates for AzMERIT Language Arts in Pima County

60% 50% 40%

46%

40%

30% 20% 10% 0% 2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

100% 90% 80%

3rd Grade Proficiency Rates for AzMERIT Language Arts by Subgroup

70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

Opportunity Gaps in 3rd Grade AzMERIT Language Arts Proficiency Rates for Students of Color, 2015 to 2019 Hispanic /Latinx

Asian

Black

10% 0% -10% -20% -30% -40%

Data Source: Arizona Department of Education 12

Native American

Action Towards Change Many factors contribute to early grade literacy, and while C2C is continuing to work with partners to better understand those contributing factors outside the classroom, our work over the last year has primarily focused on what research has shown to have the greatest impact – the quality of teacher instructional practice. C2C is partnering with teachers to experiment with strategies that can be implemented in their own classrooms using their own data in real time. This continuous improvement work culminated this past year with the launch of the C2C’s Early Grade Literacy Change Network. This network consists of 37 first though third grade teachers, along with their school leadership, from the Marana, Baboquivari, and Sunnyside Unified School districts. School-based teams received continuous improvement coaching and conducted small tests of change with lesson planning, student grouping, and classroom design. Estes Elementary in the Marana Unified School District implemented a strategy that placed children in skill-alike groups for a small portion of the day for targeted instruction. Based on Guided Reading levels, assessed in quarterly benchmarks throughout the school year, there was an increase from 86% to 97% of students reading at or above grade level compared to the previous year. Although full results of the project could not be captured because state testing was not completed due to the pandemic, each team developed a project unique to their own circumstances. Collectively, they employed a framework for improvement that will allow similar success to be shared across the network and continued over the next year.

“Our work with C2C allows the team to take the big challenges we see and break them down into manageable pieces looking at data we can use to improve our instructional practices” - Kelly Willett, Second Grade Teacher Estes Elementary School

13

Every Child is Successful

Middle School Math What the Data Says and Why It Matters One of the largest predictors of high school graduation and post-secondary education completion is eighth grade math proficiency. The most recent data available shows that proficiency rates have remained relatively unchanged across all state math assessments that eighth graders can take. As in previous years, a vast majority of eighth graders in Algebra I, considered an advanced course, are passing the state assessment, while only 26% of students taking the eighth grade assessment were proficient. When looking across all assessments, 36% of students are proficient, meaning 2 out of 3 students are at risk for starting high school behind on critical math skills. Disaggregated data again shows the disparities for students of color not only in proficiency rates, but also in access to advanced math courses with 13% of students of color in Algebra I compared to 21% of their white peers. 8th Grade Proficiency Rates for AzMERIT Math in Pima County

100% 90%

80%

80%

80%

8th Grade - Algerbra 1 Assessments

70%

80% 70% 60%

50%

50%

30%

26%

8th Grade - All Math Assessments 36%

40%

26%

30%

26%

8th Grade - Assessment

20%

20%

10%

10%

0%

0% 2016

2017

2018

Data Source: Arizona Department of Education 14

90%

60%

40%

8th Grade Proficiency Rates AzMERIT Math (All Assessments)

100%

2019

2017

2018

2019

Opportunity Gaps in 8th Grade AzMERIT Math Proficiency Rates for Students of Color (All Assessments), 2017 to 2019

Action Towards Change Statewide assessments provide a big picture look at our community’s schools, while benchmark testing throughout the year may give a preview of student performance on

Hispanic /Latinx

Asian

Black

Native American

20%

those tests. Neither, however, provides actionable data for teachers as they create lesson plans and assignments on a daily or weekly basis. To fill that void, Sunnyside Unified School District partnered with C2C to facilitate discussions

10%

among math teachers, designed to dig into student learning beyond percentages of correct answers, using a student

0%

work analysis protocol. During these sessions teachers bring recent classwork and are asked to explain to their peers

-10%

the expectations of proficiency they hold in the work. Their peers then analyze each piece and provide feedback to help

-20%

guide the presenting teacher’s instruction in the upcoming -30%

lessons. Through this in-depth look at student knowledge, as displayed through their own work, teachers gain insight

-40%

into how their instructional practices are being transferred to student learning. As with C2C Early Grade Literacy outcome, the pandemic and resulting school closures in the spring of 2020 kept 8th Graders Completing Algebra 1 AzMERIT Assessment

schools from administering the state-wide math assessment which prevented the partnership from capturing the entire impact of this project.

All Students 16.1%

White 20.9%

Students of Color 13.2% Note: Students of Color include Hispanic/Latinx, Black, Native American, Pacific Islander, and Multi-racial students. Asian students were excluded because they were the highest performing subgroup

“Because of the results-based and data-informed approach C2C supported our math teachers with in using the student work analysis tool, they had rich, collaborative conversations about evidence of learning, got to know their students on a deeper level, and were able to plan instructional steps for immediate application.” - Maggie Hackett, PhD, NBCT, K-12 Mathematics & Science Director Sunnyside Unified School District

Data Source: Arizona Department of Education 15

95%

Every Child Graduates

High School Graduation

90%

What the Data Says and Why it Matters

80%

High School Graduation Rates in Pima County

85%

Graduating from high school is another important milestone on the way to a career that promotes and supports economic mobility for individuals and families. The trends in Pima County over the last six years have shown a modest upward trend overall for both 4- and 5-year graduation rates, yet around 20% of high school students are unable to continue their journey toward a post-secondary credential and career without a high school diploma. This number is even larger for Black and Native American students.

75% 74.7%

70%

70.9%

65% 60% 55% 50%

2014

5 year

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

4 year

Opportunity Gaps in High School Graduation Rates for Students of Color, 2014 to 2019

Four-Year High School Graduation Rates by Subgroups

100%

Black

90%

Asian

Native American

Hispanic /Latinx

15%

80%

10%

70%

5%

60%

0%

50%

-5%

40%

-10%

30%

-15% -20%

20%

2014

All Students Asian White

2015

2016

Economically Disadvantaged Hispanic/Latinx Black

2017

2018

2019

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

-25%

0%

16

78.8%

76.6%

Data Source: Arizona Department of Education

High School Graduation Rates by School Type

100% 90%

87.6%

88.3%

80%

85%

85.4%

45.1%

46.7%

35.4%

32.4%

70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10%

Traditional, 5yr Traditional, 4yr

Alternative, 5yr Alternative, 4yr

0% 2015

2016

2017

2018

Actions Toward Change Alternative high schools in Pima County represent a crucial component in the work of increasing high school graduation rates. To assist in improving outcomes for students attending these schools, the Cradle to Career Partnership is working on site-based improvement projects with three alternative high schools. Hearing many challenges common to each, C2C reached out to other educational leaders developing successful alternative options for students in need of an opportunity to get back on track after falling behind in credits, re-enrolling in school, or simply finding that conventional high schools were not the right fit for their style of learning. Given the thousands of students in need of such opportunities and the number of leaders working to provide alternative options, C2C convened a meeting of alternative school faculty, staff, and administrators to discuss shared solutions to common barriers. Along with the crossdistrict learning opportunity, STAR Academic High School of Sunnyside Unified School District as well as Teenage Parent High School and Project MORE of Tucson Unified School District, received monthly continuous improvement coaching to implement projects aimed at increasing credit attainment, work-study credits, and attendance. Alone, each school worked to solve issues identified at the site level. Together, they look forward to seeing how those efforts are amplified to ensure that every student in our community is provided an opportunity to graduate high school in a setting most conducive to their success. 17

Every Youth is Connected

Opportunity Youth Re-engagement What the Data Say and Why it Matters While the hope is that all young people stay connected to an education or career pathway as they progress through the education pipeline into the workforce, we know that is not always possible. Known as Opportunity Youth, approximately 16,800 16- to 24-year-olds in Pima County are not in school and not working, with Black, Latinx, and Native American youth experiencing disconnection at higher rates than their white peers. These Opportunity Youth represent a huge source of potential for our community, but often face challenges that make it difficult to re-engage. Removing barriers to equitable access to community resources, flexible pathways to education and career credentials that meet youth where they are, and building on the strengths this diverse group of youth bring to the table, will be essential to ensuring every youth is connected.

“Voting is a way for opportunity youth to take back their voice and advocate for the changes that they want to see in their community. It allows them to feel empowered, reminding them that they are so much more than the predicament they are in. By removing these barriers, it’s easier for them get inspired about what their future holds rather than going through obstacle after obstacle just to get their voices heard.” – Marbella Izabel Coleman, Youth Leader 18

16-24-Year-Olds Not in School and Not Working by Race/Ethinicity. 2014-2019

16-24-Year-Olds Not in School and Not Working

15% 13.7%

14.6% 11.9%

13.2% 10.9%

11.8%

Asian

3.9%

10%

10.3%

White, Non-Hispanic 5%

Hispanic, any race Black

0% 2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

Native American

13.9% 14.5% 37.5%

US Census. American Community Survey. Public Use Microdata (PUMS). 5-year estimates. 2014-2019. Due to the small sample size of some subgroups. 5-year estimates were used for disaggreated data

Actions Towards Change Applying findings from national work on re-engagement,

work and one C2C is proud to support is the United Youth

C2C is leveraging local data to better understand how

Leadership Council. This group of youth leaders not only

systems need to change to best support Opportunity Youth

sits at the table in Youth on the Rise, but also spearheads

in our community. This group of young people is diverse

their own projects to bring awareness to the inequities

in skills and experiences and has disengaged for different

faced by Opportunity Youth and co-develops solutions

reasons and at different points in their journey. This is why,

with systems leaders. The council implemented Pima Youth

in addition to tracking the overall number of Opportunity

Vote, an initiative to address the barrier many young people

Youth in Pima County, C2C is supporting research to be able

have to making their voices heard in the political process,

to take a more nuanced look at what types of disconnection

understanding the voting system. The council, supported

these youth are facing to inform decision-making in Youth

by the partnership, implemented a multi-pronged strategy

on the Rise, the change network for Opportunity Youth Re-

including meeting with Pima County Recorder, F. Ann

Engagement. For example, the approach to re-engaging a

Rodriguez, to develop election education materials and a

16-year-old who left high school in the last year will look very

guide for first-time youth voters that included information

different than the approach needed to re-engage a 23-year-

about registering, what ballots look like, and where to find

old who left community college five years before. Although

their polling place on election day. Additionally, with the

the specific pathways for each Opportunity Youth may look

cancellation of in-person voter registration events due to

different, stronger and more intentional connections across

the pandemic, council members, working with the voter

systems, institutions, and organizations serving Opportunity

mobilization organization, Next Gen, shifted their efforts to

Youth are essential to ensure equitable access to resources.

engage potential voters through phone banking. Through

Data is an important tool, but without the voices and leadership of youth in this work, real and meaningful change can’t happen. There are many ways youth can lead this

this collaboration, from January through October 2020, 516 new voters between the ages of 17 and– 24 were registered, and more than 5,085 pledges to vote were collected. 19

Every Young Adult is

College and Career Ready What the Data Says and Why it Matters There are many contextual and economic factors that can influence employment rates, but we know that education is an essential part of attaining a career that supports economic mobility. In addition to improving the lives of individuals and their families, having a highly-skilled workforce is vital to a thriving community for all. Although not yet a priority outcome for C2C, career attainment for young adults is being tracked. The most recently available data from 2019 shows that the employment rate for 20- to 24-year-olds is the highest it has been in the last six years, which mirrors the economic recovery our country has seen over the same time period. However, we anticipate these numbers looking much different next year when 2020 data is made available, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As we enter the recovery phase of this public health crisis, ensuring young people are able to meet their immediate needs through part-time work while also incorporating opportunities for continued education and career training that can lead to long-term career pathways, needs to be a priority.

Employment Rate for 20-24-Year-Olds in Pima County

95%

94.3% 92.8% 91.6%

90%

85%

88.4% 86.8% 85.9%

80%

75%

70%

65% 2014

All

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Hispanic/ any race

2015

White, Non-Hispanic

2016

2017

2018

2019

These outcomes belong to the community. They reflect the extent to which we are committed to creating systems that work for all children and families. The data show that, while there has been some progress, much work remains. Contributions from current partners and partners yet to be identified need to be aligned, and power must shift to our Black, Indigenous, and Latinx communities.

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Every Young Adult is

College and Career Ready Post-Secondary Enrollment Post-Secondary Completion Updated data for these outcomes were not available from the Arizona Board of Regents in time to be included in this report. C2C will release an updated version of the 2020 Community Impact Report with this data as soon as it is available.

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Our Investors Valedictorian - $100,000+ The San Francisco Foundation StriveTogether Tucson Foundations United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona

Dean’s List - $50,000-$99,999 The Aspen Institute Freeport-McMoRan Tides Center

Honor Roll - $20,000 - $49,000 The Fournier Growth Fund Raytheon

Council - $5,000 - $19,999 Laura and Archibald Brown Community Foundation for Southern Arizona Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona Calline Sanchez & Chad Driedger Wells Fargo

A+ - $1,000 - $4,999 Vicki & John Balentine Cacciatore Family Charitable Fund LaVonne Douville & Chett Hedden Linda & Tony Penn Rusing Family Tucson Electric Power

Friend - $25 - $999 Amanda & David Brockman Jennifer Lohse Doug Martin Kassondra Silva

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Get Involved The changes we seek happen in the hearts and minds of each person and each organization across Pima County. Thank you for your current level of engagement in this important work and we invite you to consider additional ways you can help improve equitable outcomes for our young people.

Here are some ideas: •

Consider volunteering through one of our partner organizations

•

Sign up for our newsletter and help us spread the word about our work

•

Elect candidates for local, state and national offices that support equitable access to education for all

•

If you’re a business owner Work with us to develop work-based learning opportunities for Opportunity Youth Help your employees locate high-quality preschool programs by sharing the Quality First website – www.qualityfirstaz.com Put children’s books in waiting areas Support teenage employees in attending school and getting passing grades

•

If you’re a parent Read to and with your children daily Learn about developmental milestones for children Take your child to doctor and dentist checkups every year

•

If you’re an elected policy maker Meet with us to discuss the important policy and legislative actions that can improve educational outcomes Champion initiatives that advance equitable access to world-class education for every child

•

If you’re a philanthropist Align your funding priorities with cradle-to-career outcomes 25

Supported by

UNITED WAY OF TUCSON AND SOUTHERN ARIZONA

330 N Commerce Park Loop, Suite 200, Tucson, AZ 85745 c2cpima.org | 520.903.9000