Educational Equity

What We Know Now, and What's Next.

This webinar featured 2017 All-America City award winners recognized for their community-based work to help more children from low-income families achieve grade-level reading proficiency and early school success.

Presenters:

Mike Klocke and the Beyond Our Gates Initiative

In 2017, after 29 years working as an editor at various media organizations, Michael Klocke joined the University of the Pacific as the community relations director. In his new position, Klocke promotes initiatives such as Beyond Our Gates working to promote the social and economic health of the Stockton, California region by concentrating on education. Beyond Our Gates focuses on grade level reading, college attendance, and ongoing community engagement to create progress in education and the community. Ensuring students are reading proficiently by the end of third grade has been proven to predict future academic success. The initiative also aims at increasing college-attendance rates in the Valley and offer more resources and support to younger schoolkids. Finally, to help ongoing community-engagement the Beyond Our Gates Community Council was formed. Made up of local leaders from education, nonprofit, media, government and faith sectors the council focuses “the power of partnership on the region’s most urgent needs.” To learn more about the work that Michael Klocke and the University of the Pacific are doing click here.

Dr. Tom Lasley, CEO of Learn to Earn Dayton

Learn to Earn Dayton is dedicated to fostering the success of all Montgomery County children from birth until their graduation from college or selection of a career. Our “Big Goal” is that 60% of Montgomery County’s workforce will have a college degree or high-quality credential by 2025.

On Jan. 27, 2017, Learn to Earn Dayton released Know the Gap, Close the Gap, a sobering report detailing academic achievement measures for white boys and white girls and African-American boys and African-American girls in Montgomery County.

The Dayton region is united around closing both the opportunity gap and the achievement gap – which requires disaggregating and publicizing this information so we can target our energy and resources where they’re most needed.