Empowering Parents and the Community
Overview
We are investing in organizations and tools that help parents and guardians more easily navigate our public education systems and advocate for their children.
We Believe Parent Voice is Paramount
Every parent or guardian wants the best for the children in their care, yet many families often face barriers in accessing vital information and resources. We believe that community organizing centered around families advocating for their children in pursuit of educational opportunity and equity will increase the overall quality of school choices in St. Louis.
We support capacity building for community organizing by investing financial resources in WEPOWER. Founded with purpose and energy in 2018, WEPOWER engages changemakers, risk-takers, and the leaders of tomorrow to co-create opportunities, reimagine policies, and build entirely new solutions – all in areas that impact the lives of people of color daily. Their mission is to activate community power to redesign systems to be just and equitable for all.
Learn More:
- “The Playbook“: a report generated from WEPOWER Tomorrow Builders that illustrates 17 community-designed steps on the path to a transformed early childhood education system
- “On Reading Out Loud and Encouraging Imagination” by Monti Hill of WEPOWER’s Education Power-Building Academy
- “The Secret to Creating Opportunity is Help” by Timothy Daly of EdNavigator
Removing Barriers to Access and Opportunity
St. Louis is a city with a complex landscape of school options, so it isn’t always easy for families to find information and assess which of these options will be a good fit for their children. Navigate STL Schools, launched in Spring 2020, is a non-profit organization provides the community with a school finder website and in-person resources to help parents and guardians identify the best options available for their children.
Our investment in Navigate STL Schools has included financial and human capital to oversee the community-inclusive design process and development of the website, and the launch of an independent 501(c)(3) organization.
Learn More:
- School Navigator Website For St. Louis Parents Relaunched With New Backers by Ryan Delany
- Visit EnrollIndy, EnrollNOLA, and ShowMeKCSchools to see three of the school finder websites that helped inspire the new one for St. Louis