The greatest potential for sustainable change in place-based initiatives is the willingness of stakeholders in a community to embrace complexities and work together to co-create change. Leaders in Tehama County, no doubt, understand the benefits of joining hands in cross-sector collaborations to achieve the shared goal of building a brighter future for children in Corning, California; this has been their story. As part of the Corning Promise initiatives, partners have embraced the critical nature of the work and have refined, reiterated, and adapted to align solutions to community needs. These efforts are yielding positive results, some measurable in numbers, others are captured in stories.
Since 2017, the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians, stewards of the Promise Neighborhood funds, have provided funds to several Tehama County organizations to deliver quality early learning programs for children birth to five years of age. Initial results show an increasing percentage of students demonstrating age-appropriate functioning.
The Tribe has been strong advocates for community improvement initiatives, they recognize there is an abundant return for the entire community when resources are invested in children and as such, more than half of all Promise Neighborhood funds have been invested directly in the two Corning school districts. The focus of the investment is to improve reading, language, and mathematics outcomes. Results show measurable improvement in teacher practice and student performance across the K – 12 platforms. Corning Promise is also supporting several programs in the local high school to ensure all students successfully graduate and that students are ready to engage in post-secondary educational programs.
Beyond the academic focus, the districts’ efforts are complemented by licensed therapists who offer the highest quality of early intervention, crisis response, individual and group school-based therapy to children and adolescents at all school sites. In addition to these school-based programs, the City of Corning engages students in recreation and enrichment programs during out-of-school hours and during the summer months. The strategic weaving of children into enriching activities is building a stronger, more cohesive community.
Desiring long-term changes, over 30 leaders from across the community convened and developed additional community targets in 2019. Their convening has led to the development of three-year targets that are ambitious, yet achievable, with the help of the entire community. As Corning Promise enters 2020, year four of implementation, the focus is on deepening implementation of programs and practices, engaging stakeholders fully around a clear vision for improvement, and implementing sustainable measures to ensure long-term success for children in Corning. The collective goal is to build a brighter future for our children!