Partnership Overview

Seeding Success (S2) is a partnership-based organization that fosters collaboration and is committed to working with cross-sector partners to design, build, manage, and sustain systems of opportunity for children in Memphis and Shelby County. S2 and our partners work to improve outcomes for every child from cradle to career by improving how institutions, community organizations, policies, and resources work together to support our community.

The Partnership consists of people and organizations who value cross-sector collaboration and have the perseverance to pursue change. People and organizations who gain wisdom from success and fail-forwards. People and organizations willing to share that new expertise with community leaders across Shelby County because — together — it’s possible.

What do we do?

Our work aligns strategy, policy, and funding to ensure every family has the resources they need to succeed. To truly improve the systems in our community, we bring together leaders and organizations from all sectors to analyze the data, identify opportunities, and work toward a common goal. By combining the direct-service expertise of S2 Partners with data, process support, and leadership development from S2 staff to confront disparities, improve practices, and adjust policies, the Partnership can create large-scale, lasting social change together.

To bolster better outcomes for students and families, the Seeding Success Partnership supports systems change through four phases:

  • DESIGN

    formal strategies and systems with institutions and community organizations that address current challenges and confront disparities within existing structures.

  • BUILD

    capacity, capability, and coordination of systems through trust and engagement around a common agenda.

  • MANAGE

    accountability and quality standards to address the root causes of underperformance and inequality.

  • SUSTAIN

    improved outcomes to scale by diversifying funding sources, advocating for long-term policy change, and aligning with adjacent sector work.

What is S2’s Role in the Partnership?

CONVENERS

Based on data and feedback from partners, we convene and facilitate sessions to work on a common goal. As a partnership-based organization that fosters community collaboration, we dedicate ourselves to bringing a wide range of stakeholders from the private and public sectors to work on issues that affect our communities. Our signature convening sessions are:

  • More For Memphis Coalition

  • Shelby County Community Schools Coalition

  • Issues-Based Workgroups (ex: Youth Mental Health Workgroup)

  • Quarterly Partnership Meetings

Developers

Our partnerships with national leaders in cradle-to-career impact give us access to innovative models, promising practices, and resources that we proudly share at no cost to our members. We provide various training and professional development opportunities, from data use and literacy to project management and meeting facilitation. Our signature training sessions are:

  • Data Use & Literacy (DUL)

  • Continuous Improvement (CI)

  • Results-Based Facilitation (RBF)

Advocates

We collaborate with our diverse Public Policy Committee and partners in adjacent sectors on a range of educational issues to create an annual agenda that drives our advocacy efforts both locally and at the state level. Our policy agenda development process includes the following phases:

  • Research and Analysis - Investigate key issues through review/evaluation of current contexts and literature and dialogue with Public Policy Committee members

  • Feedback Collection - Use feedback from our partners and the communities they serve

  • Approval - Present policy proposals to the Public Policy Committee and S2 board for approval

  • Advocacy - Pursue passage of policy proposals in relevant local and state administrative and/or legislative bodies

What are different ways to get involved with the Partnership?

A partner is defined as an organization or individual who supports the mission of Seeding Success to ensure every child has the support and resources they need to succeed, cradle to career by engaging the community, advancing equity, developing a culture of continuous improvement, and leveraging existing research. Recognizing that engagement looks different for everyone, we offer three different partnership levels.

PARTNERSHIP LEVELS

  • A contracted organization that actively engages in and contributes to all aspects of the partnership’s work.

  • A non-contracted organization that supports the work but does not actively engage in all aspects of the partnership’s work.

  • An individual who actively engages in the partnership’s work as themselves and not in conjunction with an organization.

What can Partners expect?

All members of the partnership, regardless of partnership level, receive:

  1. Peer-to-peer learning opportunities as part of a network of leaders

  2. Coaching and support to tackle complex challenges and accelerate results

  3. Consistent communication regarding available training, resources, and tools

  4. Access to learning opportunities, both in-person and virtual, including trainings focused on Continuous Improvement and Data use

  5. Access to data sharing and analysis to ensure data-informed decision-making, alignment, and accountability

  6. Invitations to quarterly partnership meetings and other partnership-exclusive events and training

To check your partnership status or begin a partnership agreement, contact Taylor DeMagistris:
taylordm@seeding-success.org.

For Data Inquiries, email Surayyah Hasan: surayyah@seeding-success.org.