The Strive Partnership

The Strive Partnership is a collaboration among early childhood advocates, district superintendents, college and university presidents, community funders, business leaders, and service providers in the greater Cincinnati area who have a common goal of growing a stronger economy and increasing incomes by improving education. Strive has five overarching goals: (1) every child is prepared for school, (2) every child is supported inside and outside of school, (3) every child succeeds academically, (4) every child enrolls in some form of postsecondary education, and (5) every child graduates and enters a career. Progress towards these goals is tracked through measured outcomes such as proficiency and graduation rates.

The Strive Partnership is focused on the success of children: every child, every step, from cradle to career.

The partnership has identified strategic priority areas that are tracked for progress on an ongoing basis. 1) Partners are investing in what works to prepare children for kindergarten with early childhood education. 2) An array of efforts aim for teacher and principal excellence by improvements to educator preparation, induction, and career support. 3) A "collective-impact" approach brings together nonprofits and school leaders to leverage nonprofit services to improve achievement and to build capacity to increase postsecondary access and success.

In its 2011 Annual Partnership Report, the program reports that 81 percent of its 34 measures of student achievement that the Partnership focused on is trending in the right direction, versus 74 percent the year earlier and 68 percent two years earlier.