Dear community,
I’m writing today with some important updates about the Community Center for Education Results (CCER) and our work with all of you.
As most of you know, CCER was originally founded in 2010 as the backbone of the Road Map Project, a multisector collective impact initiative dedicated to boosting student success in seven King County school districts. Over the past 15 years of that initiative, we have gained expertise about the ways that data, research and family engagement can drive equity in education. We have worked closely with communities, school districts and state agencies—including many of you.
That experience led us to where we are now: Today CCER is Washington state’s leading expert in educational data, and research, engaging communities, families, school districts and state agencies in a collective effort to improve education and create positive systems change—in the Road Map region and beyond.
Moving forward, we will continue to advance projects in the Road Map region while also taking on new endeavors elsewhere in Washington. This will allow us to build on the incredible work of the last 15 years while sharing all we’ve learned so that more communities can benefit. It’s an exciting time in the evolution of CCER and we would not be here without all of you. We are deeply grateful for your partnership and support.
To be honest, though, CCER’s evolution has not been without its challenges. In recent years, Covid and leadership transitions, in particular, have put distance between us and some of our valued partners, sometimes even straining the relationships we depend on to achieve our goals.
But we are now on the path to stability and repair. In 2024, we’ve been so happy to reconnect with many folks at convenings like the Regional Alignment meeting we hosted in August. We are also re-booting our Aligned Funders coalition this fall. Funders, please save the date for a luncheon on Thursday, Oct. 10 — and we’ll be in touch soon with more information about that.
As we step into this new chapter for CCER, we look forward to gathering with all of you to talk about the data we’re seeing, the research we’re doing, and your insights into the best ways we can improve student experiences at school. (For a glimpse into some exciting recent work, check out this short video about how we’re helping reengagement providers use street data.)
Together, we can create a future in which the educational system serves the well-being and success of every student at any age. We can prepare young people to thrive in school, college, the workforce, their communities, and the world by centering the lived experiences of marginalized students.
We have a lot of good work to do! In the coming weeks, I hope to connect with as many of you as possible, and I encourage you to reach out to me to share any feedback and ideas you may have.
More soon,
LaEisha Howard
Executive Director
Community Center for Education Results
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