MEMPHIS RECOGNIZED FOR GETTING BETTER RESULTS FOR YOUTH
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE — In recognition of its impact on the lives of youth across Memphis, Seeding Success has earned the Systems Transformation designation from StriveTogether, the most advanced designation given by the national organization.
To transform systems, community members and leaders come together to create lasting, measurable change. This change includes institutionalized shifts in policies, practices, resources and power structures for better, more equitable outcomes. The shared goal of this work is for every Black, Indigenous, Latine and Asian youth and youth experiencing poverty to succeed, cradle to career, along the path to economic mobility.
Seeding Success (S2) is part of a national movement to help every child succeed in school and in life, regardless of race, ethnicity, zip code or circumstance. The StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network is closing gaps and creating opportunities across education, health, housing and more. S2 is demonstrating clear evidence that Memphis is changing these systems to advance equity and improve results.
“Seeding Success is a catalyst for change across Memphis,” StriveTogether President and CEO Jennifer Blatz said. “Their work shows what’s possible when communities use data to drive change, collaborate across sectors, and advocate for policies that put more young people on the path to economic mobility.”
“[More for Memphis] aims to place an additional 10,000 young people on a path to economic mobility within its first five years of implementation.”
In 2018, Seeding Success led the charge to establish a permanent local fund to ensure universal needs-based pre-K in Memphis and Shelby County. The monumental effort resulted in the passage of a joint ordinance between the Memphis City Council and Shelby County Board of Commissioners to provide up to $16 million per year to ensure equitable access to high-quality pre-K education for low-income students. Over the past four years, students who have attended these classrooms have experienced higher rates of kindergarten readiness than students in years prior to the establishment of the fund.
Currently, Seeding Success is the backbone coordinator of More for Memphis, a collaborative effort aimed at addressing critical issues of racial inequity and generational poverty in Memphis and Shelby County. This transformative public-private partnership brings together a diverse coalition of partners and stakeholders to create a strategic plan to address challenges across multiple topic areas: education and youth development, community development, economic development, health and well-being, arts and culture, and justice and safety.
MFM aims to place an additional 10,000 young people on a path to economic mobility within its first five years of implementation. The plan outlines a new system of support for children and families that uses an array of strategies bolstered by system coordination, civic data infrastructure, and sustainable resourcing.
Seeding Success started when Memphis came together with a shared mission: to support the success of every child, cradle to career. More than 100 cross-sector partners collaborate in this work, including school district superintendents, higher education administrators, early childhood educators, business and philanthropic leaders, community and corporate funders, and government officials.
Seeding Success has been a member of the Cradle to Career Network since 2013. To join the network, communities complete an assessment of their work and progress against a continuum of quality benchmarks called the StriveTogether Theory of Action™. This proven framework for change has five designations—Exploring, Emerging, Sustaining, Systems Change and Systems Transformation—that indicate progress putting more young people on a path to economic mobility.
“In partnership with StriveTogether, we have learned what it takes to transform systems at scale; and Memphis has the history, creativity, and passion to change its trajectory,” said CEO Mark Sturgis. “More for Memphis gives us a vision to bring all those pieces together into a powerful vehicle of change.”
About Seeding Success
Seeding Success works to improve outcomes for all children in Memphis and Shelby County from cradle to career by improving how institutions, community organizations, policies, and resources work together to support our community. Learn more at seeding-success.org.
About StriveTogether
StriveTogether is a national movement with a clear purpose: help every child succeed in school and in life from cradle to career, regardless of race, ethnicity, zip code or circumstance. In partnership with 70 communities across the country, StriveTogether shares resources and best practices to put more young people on the path to economic mobility. Together, the StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network reaches 14 million youth — including 8 million children of color and nearly one in five children living in poverty in the United States.