Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, Birmingham City Schools officials and community partners recently unveiled the Birmingham Children and Youth Commission’s Cradle-to-Career Report and Roadmap, a new initiative focused on investing in the city’s youth from early childhood through young adulthood.
According to city officials, the framework represents a new citywide strategy to connect fragmented programs into a unified system aimed at improving educational, enrichment and career-readiness outcomes for Birmingham children and young people.
“This is about changing the trajectory of a child’s life,” Woodfin said. “Where a child is born should never determine where that child ends up. We have talented people, strong institutions and tremendous community organizations doing the work every day. Now, we have a roadmap to connect that work, align our investments and hold ourselves accountable for results.”
The Cradle-to-Career Report and Roadmap was developed over 90 days in partnership with Harlem Children’s Zone. The commission held regular meetings, focus groups and engagement sessions to gather input from more than 75 leaders in education, government, neighborhoods, philanthropy, business and community organizations.
City leaders plan to use the framework to address disparate outcomes facing Birmingham children, improve socioeconomic mobility and better connect organizations working toward lifelong success for children.
“Children have boundless energy and promise. They belong to neighborhoods; participate in community organizations; are shaped by the adults who show up for them, again and again; and prepare for futures that extend far beyond the classroom,” Woodfin and Birmingham City Schools Superintendent Mark Sullivan said in a joint statement. “This work is bigger than any one administration, any one school year, or any one plan. It is a commitment we intend to keep. Birmingham’s future will be written by our youngest residents today.”
With the roadmap established, philanthropic strategist Zhaundra Jones will lead implementation of the strategy using five measurable outcomes:
- Increase the number of child care seats for children ages 0-3 and triple the number of child care centers in Birmingham achieving three or more quality stars.
- Guarantee universal access to high-quality after-school programming for Birmingham students.
- Close Birmingham’s third-grade reading gap.
- Triple Birmingham’s eighth-grade math proficiency rate.
- Increase the percentage of young people connected to employment, paid internships, apprenticeships or postsecondary pathways by age 24.
The framework will first be implemented in Woodlawn-Kingston and Smithfield-North and South Titusville, two areas selected because of their “deep histories of leadership and resilience” and the strength of organizations already working in those communities.
The city also plans to establish a dedicated governance structure for the Children and Youth Commission, identify neighborhood backbone organizations and launch a public engagement campaign to involve residents and community partners.
“The roadmap invites every parent, educator, neighborhood leader, faith leader, nonprofit, business owner, and resident to become part of the effort,” city officials said.
