As part of Sonoma County’s ambitious goal to become California’s healthiest county by 2020, the Department of Health Services is leading the Cradle to Career initiative, in partnership with close to 100 Sonoma County community-based organizations, government agencies, and businesses.
Cradle to Career is based on a vision that the community must come together to find innovative solutions to address barriers and challenges to educational attainment and workforce development, so that every child in Sonoma County has ample opportunities to succeed and achieve their life potential. Cradle to Career promotes five lofty goals: (1) every child enters kindergarten ready to succeed; (2) every child succeed academically; (3) every child is supported in and out of school; (4) every young adult is prepared to achieve their life and career goals; and (5) every young adult thrives and becomes a contributing member of the community.
Cradle to Career efforts include developing a county-wide agenda with clear goals; building commitment among families, businesses, government agencies, educational institutions, and nonprofits to align their work with the five Cradle to Career goals; aligning private and public funding to support the agenda; and measuring and reporting results.
According to Kellie Noe, Cradle to Career project manager, “Cradle to Career provides a strategy, for the first time ever, mapping out the educational pipeline in our county, and identifying areas where we can make significant, systemic improvements to ensure we are investing together to promote better outcomes for young people.” She added, “This effort is not about simply adding programs or increasing funding. It’s about changing the way we prioritize our work – being better partners, setting bolder goals, and making decisions that help more children, youth, young adults and families succeed.”
Sonoma Valley Unified School District is a strong partner with Cradle to Career. Superintendent Louann Carlomagno said, “We are very excited about our work with Cradle to Career. Our District’s strategic plan is directly aligned to the goals and objectives set by Cradle to Career with a strong focus on preschool for all, as well as all students reading at grade level by the end of third grade. We believe there are a number of opportunities for collaboration which will lead to better outcomes for our students and their families.”
Several nonprofits operating programs in Sonoma Valley have pledged to align their programs with the goals of Cradle to Career in an effort to help close the achievement gap in our county, including the Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance, Ceres Community Project, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley, the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation, and Social Advocates for Youth. Kathy Witkowicki, founder and executive director of the Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance said, “Mentoring is without a doubt a key component in Cradle to Career. Since 65% of our mentors have at least one college degree, they know what it takes to help kids succeed and can help their mentees develop a roadmap for their future. An important part of our program is exposing students to elements of what’s next, and we hope that’s college, a career, or both.”
Sonoma Valley nonprofits, businesses, and government agencies are encouraged to make the pledge to support Cradle to Career in a way that aligns with their mission by going to c2csonomacounty.org and clicking on ‘Take Action. By working together, Sonoma Valley’s youth can have a bright future with a clear direction toward a post-secondary experience and a meaningful career.
Dr. B.J. Bischoff owns Bischoff Performance Improvement Consulting, a Sonoma firm that builds the capacity of nonprofit organizations and public sector agencies to better serve their stakeholders. She is Past President and Board Secretary of Impact100 Sonoma, and assists Sonoma County Department of Human Services in its implementation of the Sonoma County Upstream Investments initiative. Contact her at bjbischoff@bjbischoff.com.
