North Harris County Education Alliance
What is the North Harris County Education Alliance?
The North Harris County Education Alliance works collaboratively around shared goals, measures, and results in education to support the success of every child from cradle to career. We are not a program but rather a community partnership designed to convene community leaders from all sectors (business, community, and education) to bring together ideas and resources to improve student achievement. We use a national framework called StriveTogether that is adaptive in processes and has been proven successful. Our efforts are focused in the Spring and Aldine ISDs in North Harris County.
What is the purpose of the North Harris County Education Alliance?
The North Harris County Education Alliance is built around fundamental principles that we must Unite, Target, Measure, Persist, and do it all from cradle to career. We believe that education is a lifelong experience that begins well before a child ever steps foot in a classroom, and continues long past a cap and gown commencement. The only way to reach the goal of success for every student is to think about how the community as a whole can support students at every step. The North Harris County Education Alliance's vision is Successful Students, Productive Citizens and Thriving Communities. Our mission is to convene and equip community-wide leaders from all three sectors to improve educational outcomes through collective impact. We use data-informed decision making and continuous-improvement processes, creating a seamless, sustainable system designed to promote success for every child.
How will we know we are improving?
The partnership will be measuring its impact on five community goals:
GOAL 1: Ready for School
GOAL 2: Ready for Intermediate School
GOAL 3: Ready for High School
GOAL 4: Ready for College
GOAL 5: Ready for Career
The North Harris County community as a whole is responsible for the education and success of our youth. To help us remain accountable to every child in the North Harris County area, the North Harris County Education Alliance plans to release a community report every year outlining the metrics to help us measure progress on the five community goals.
What are we working on first?
The North Harris County Education Alliance has prioritized key outcomes and chosen to begin with Ready for School to increase the percentage participating in quality pre-kindergarten programs as well as increase proficiency in math to ensure students are Ready for College/Career. We recognize that early childhood education is extremely valuable in creating a strong foundation for future success. Children are falling behind grade-to-grade and children who are moving grade-to-grade may not actually be "ready" for the next grade level. Readiness generally declines as each year passes. Only one out of four university-bound, Texas-high-school graduates entering college are prepared for college-level work. After review, North Harris County Education Alliance has identified these two goals to address first.
How can you get involved?
This partnership is designed to convene community leaders from all sectors and bring together people, ideas, and resources, to improve student achievement system-wide, across the education continuum. No single organization can accomplish this process alone. We are continually seeking out individuals who can join our Collaborative Action Networks and those who may provide funding, resources, knowledge, skills, or desire to make a collective impact. If you or someone you know would like to become part of this national movement please contact us at 281.618.5462.
For more information, contact Amos McDonald, Special Assistant to the President at 281.618.1134 or email Amos.C.McDonald@lonestar.edu.
