Special to the Times
United Way of Central Alabama (UWCA) received $150,000 to improve reading proficiency for Birmingham City Schools elementary students.
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, Schools Superintendent Lisa Herring, and Drew Langloh, UWCA President announced the initiative on Wednesday.
UWCA applied for the grant using the strengths of the Bold Goals Coalition of Central Alabama and incorporating key elements from the “The Woodfin Way” transition plan and the priorities that the Birmingham City Schools have identified. This grant commences an intensive 6-month effort to streamline and align all stakeholders behind one plan to improve student-centered literacy efforts.
“We know that by aligning all of the community’s resources around an actionable plan that the sky is the limit for children, not only in Birmingham, but throughout Central Alabama,” United Way of Central Alabama President and CEO Drew Langloh said. “The Bold Goals Coalition of Central Alabama convenes partners to make real change happen in Central Alabama, and this grant helps accelerate that change.”
The grant is an award from the Together for Students initiative, created by three national, education-focused nonprofit organizations — the Coalition for Community Schools, Communities In Schools, and StriveTogether — with support from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and the Ford Foundation.
Birmingham was one of just 10 communities nationwide selected for this grant. Other key local partners in this grant include Birmingham Education Foundation, Norwood Resource Center, and Alabama Possible.
The Bold Goals Coalition of Central Alabama aligns the community to address disparities in education, health and financial stability in Blount, Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair and Walker counties. Impact-area workgroups are made up of key regional leaders from businesses, non-profits, government, and education systems. These workgroups examine root causes, establish common, measurable goals and align community partners. This collective impact process encourages collaboration and looks at an “upstream” approach in order to make a greater impact in our community. United Way of Central Alabama is the backbone organization for the Coalition.
The Coalition for Community Schools, an initiative of the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL), is an alliance of national, state and local organizations that utilize community schools as an equitable continuous improvement strategy for public schools, and an approach to build stronger and healthier families and communities.
