LAUNCH Flagstaff update for September

ADVANCING WORLD-CLASS EDUCATION

This month I am pleased to share with you the amazing work of our partners, the renewal of broad community support for the infrastructure of LAUNCH Flagstaff, and a sneak peak of the Flagstaff premier screening of the documentary film Teaching in Arizona.

You’ll also see some new sections in this newsletter which will become regular features. One, a Partner Spotlight, where we will showcase the work of a particular partner in advancing world-class education. If you would like to submit an article for a future edition, please contact me.

Second, the section called What We’re Reading will give you an example of just one of the many resources our subject-matter experts and leadership team members are reading to help inform their work and our collaborative conversations. Hopefully you’ll find value in these resources as well.

Finally, I urge you to stay informed and stay engaged as we draw closer to the November General Election. Visit our advocacy page regularly to help you stay informed.

Our children are counting on us.

Warmly,

Paul Kulpinski
Partnership Director

3 STEPS FORWARD

FUNDING FOR LAUNCH RENEWED

The Arizona Community Foundation of Flagstaff(ACFF) at their 21st Annual Grants Presentation on Monday renewed their funding for organizational infrastructure and staffing of LAUNCH Flagstaff. This is the third year of investment by ACFF into the collective impact work of the LAUNCH partnership.

Earlier this year, the Wharton Foundation announced an expansion of their investment in LAUNCH Flagstaff. Together with the ACFF investment, this funding supports the staffing of a Partnership Director through October 2019. The balance of funding for LAUNCH Flagstaff’s operations comes through the backbone support of the United Way of Northern Arizona.

“Collaborating with the Arizona Community Foundation of Flagstaff in supporting the efforts of LAUNCH Flagstaff compliments United Way of Northern Arizona’s decades-long focus on education, particularly early childhood development,” said United Way of Northern Arizona’s President and CEO Steve Peru.

COMMUNITY COLLABORATION FOR FAFSA AWARENESS

At its September 18th meeting, theFinancial Literacy Team developed an action plan to build volunteer supportfor existing efforts to promote awareness of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and help current high school seniors and their parents complete the FAFSA this fall.

The United Way of Northern Arizona will help recruit and train community volunteers to assist the Northern Arizona College Resource Center with their work in Flagstaff area high schools.

Additionally, the team will develop a “one-sheet” to help students and parentsnavigate the FAFSA process in lieu of direct help.

The community collaboration ideas arose from the group participating in the webinar No Dollar Left Behind: Organizing a Community Based Approach to FAFSA.

GETTING RESULTS THAT MATTER FOR KIDS

A team of LAUNCH Flagstaff partnersparticipated in a two-day training on the topic of results based facilitation, convened by the Valley of the Sun United Way in Phoenix. The outcome for this training was to help participants better facilitate partnership meetings that move from just talk into collaborative action.

The foundation of the collective impact work of LAUNCH Flagstaff is to serve as the neutral facilitator of conversation in meetings that produce actionable outcomes. In the practice of results based facilitation, this neutrality is key.

The training taught the importance of the roles and authority of the participants and how to create boundaries for group behavior. The facilitation model ultimately focuses meeting results into an accountability framework that captures commitments made by participants to achieve the group’s objective.

PARTNER SPOTLIGHT

WHAT WE’RE READING

During the 2016 school year, author Ted Dintersmith travelled across America visiting all fifty states. In every state, he met innovative teachers doing extraordinary things in ordinary settings, creating innovative classrooms where children learn deeply and joyously.

The insights of these teachers offer a vision of what school could be, and a model for how to help schools achieve it.

LOOKING FORWARD

Watch the trailer

The film explores challenges faced by teachers, along with opportunities for improving the profession and supporting educators. Created by Tucson Values Teachers, Teaching in Arizona brings to life the issue of teacher recruitment and retention by telling the personal stories of three teachers in public schools in Arizona.After the film, a panel discussion facilitated by United Way of Northern Arizona President and CEO, Steve Peru, will explore the state of teaching in Arizona and ways that the Flagstaff community is working to boost teaching and learning.

The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required, due to limited space.