The Ames City Council begins at 6:00 p.m., July 21st.  The agenda includes items:

• 1. Youth Collective Impact Planning. The Ames City Council is hosting a workshop on Youth Collective Impact Planning tomorrow night. This should be very interesting to anyone curious about how we can ensure the future of all Ames youth.
  
  As the research mounts on youth programming and its impacts on the success of low Socio Economic Status (SES) youth, it may be time to consider how we address challenges faced by youth in Ames. Collective Impact Planning is starting community conversations about the results we desire for our youth, then moving to evidence-based programming conversations, which allow us to explore the world of ideas on youth programs and to determine which ones might work best for our community. Historically, the Ames Community has done amazing things with regards to youth services. Ames, as the home of nationally-ranked school districts, Iowa State University and the DMACC Hunziker Career Academy, is in a unique position to be a model for the country on how we ensure that all youth - not just those who are fortunate enough to have parents who have graduated from college - have a shot at the American Dream.
  
  I have found the graph listed below, from Robert Putnam's, book Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis, very moving  In this graph there are many anticipated realities, which can be seen. The comparison I find most compelling is to compare the highest scoring 8th graders, who come from the poorest families, to the worst scoring students from the wealthiest families. They are nearly equal in their likelihood of graduating from college (around 30%) despite a great disparity in test scores.
  
  

Poor kids need more than schools. There are so many important elements in the suite of services necessary to create financially independent adults. Out-of-school time programs, transportation, enrichment activities, parent mentoring, and mentors are just a few of such services. It is my guess that the Ames picture is much better than the one described in Putnam's graph, and we may even be a national leader in bucking some of these trends. But to step back and look hard at ourselves as a community could uncover opportunities we have missed.

Collective Impact Planning is understanding that successful kids cannot be just the job of schools. These are our kids, and are the responsibility of our community. Tomorrow night's workshop should prove to be an exciting community-wide conversation.

Thanks for reading,

Matthew Goodman

Ames City Council At-Large

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