Page 16 - FGLN SC Onboarding Binder 2021
P. 16
STRUCTURED COLLABORATION FOR A COMPLEX CHALLENGE
Our literacy crisis is not unique. International statistics show that the United States as a whole is becoming a less educated nation. The National Commission on Adult Literacy recently reported that the U.S. is the only one out of thirty leading free-market countries where young adults are less educated than their parents. Facing this situation, every American community wants high level/high impact changes to improve education, and we are no exception.
We will have the mechanisms in place for people with limited literacy to gain the skills necessary to succeed in the workforce and for their families to move toward self-sufficiency and an improved quality of life. Theses mechanisms will be a life-long learning network that is coordinated by the Flint & Genesee Literacy Network.
This plan positions all of us to comprehensively address the literacy needs of our community across the lifespan.
The initiative is not reinventing the wheel by creating new programs and services. The Network is designed to use the power of the community working together to move forward. Our premise is based on a belief that the foundation of a thriving democratic society depends on an educated populace. As members of our community, we are all responsible to advocate for, and participate in, the advancement of literacy for all residents.
The Network is a consensus-building initiative intended to unite the community around the importance of literacy, provide economies of scale to existing organizations to efficiently service those in need and provide hope to residents for sustainable change and an improved future. The plan recognizes that no single agency or organization alone can end low literacy. It will need to be a community effort. Further, that within the umbrella of the community plan, there will be initial focus areas for targeted interventions to achieve impact.
This plan aims to achieve impact by providing a common agenda, shared measurement system, mutually reinforcing activities, continuous communication and a “backbone” support organization – tools of Collective Impact. As the Network transitions from planning to implementation, subject area action teams, resource development, communications and performance evaluation efforts will focus their effort on the two identified priorities areas.
Through this long-term collaborative effort, we will...
Increase resources for literacy and help target investments for the greatest positive change Expand access to literacy services and keep literacy visible as a top community priority
Provide coordination of communication to ensure the most efficient and effective services Spread best practices throughout an integrated system of lifelong learning
Provide measurements to ensure accountability
Engage households and families in this effort
Flint & Genesee Literacy Network 6
