It all began on Saturday, March 17 as 600 Longmont residents from all corners of the community came together during a city-wide Education Summit called Learn Today, Change Your World Tomorrow.
Sponsored by the Longmont Education Task Force, the goal of the Summit was to bring the community together to participate in in-depth discussions to increase understanding of current challenges and to explore promising practices that can transform Longmont into a community where all children and adults can succeed in school and in life.
Following the keynote address from Glen Hiemstra, an internationally recognized futurist, author and founder of Futurist.com, who discussed future trends in the world today and how they relate to a community value of lifelong learning, participants attended break-out sessions to learn from local and regional experts about promising practices in education including:
As a result of these specialized discussions, several strategies were developed to take the next steps to creating a new atmosphere of learning in Longmont. Many of the day’s participants volunteered to put these strategies into action.
Like Longmont, cities across the nation are realizing that municipal governments, but more importantly, community organizations, businesses and residents, can make astounding contributions to the success of students when collaborative action is taken by all together. The Longmont Education Task Force believes that Longmont can lead the nation by mobilizing community energy to offer technical, scientific, workforce, arts and civic learning opportunities and support to supplement the academic rigor offered students by our education providers – no matter whether pre-school, K-12, college or lifelong learners.
The Education Task Fore is inviting community members who did not get a chance to attend the Summit to participate in this initiative by calling the Longmont City Manager’s Office at 303-651-8601.
On May 15th the Education Task Force presented their findings from the Summit to the City Council.
After the presentation to City Council, a group from the Task Force will continue on as the "Accountability and Action" Team. These members of the community will work towards putting the plan into action by partnering with educational organizations across Longmont and pairing those interested in this endeavor with those organizations.
We thank those of you who have already signed up to help with the action plans that were inspired by the community at the Summit. You will be contacted over the next two months with various opportunities for civic engagement as the plan begins to be implemented. For anyone who is interested and has not yet signed up please contact Sandra Seader, Assistant to the City Manager via e-mail at sandra.seader@ci.longmont.co.us, or by phone at 303-651-8634.
The following are the actions steps determined by the community in each of the seven themed areas that the "Accountability and Action" team will begin to implement.
Theme: Community Awareness |
Breakout Session |
Action Step |
Potential Partner |
| Higher Ed/Career Training |
Create database of transferable credits between different colleges and an awareness campaign of community colleges and their value |
|
| Adult |
Truly City-wide training calendar for employers and Human Resources |
|
| Adult |
"Curiosity Fair" as part of Rhythm on the River |
|
| Adult |
Acknowledge/promote businesses that encourage further education with stipends, promotions, etc...) |
|
| Adult |
Awareness programs around marketing to adults - customizing marketing strategies |
|
| Adult |
Create local consumer reports on education in the community |
|
| All |
An education-focused comprehensive community campaign including ideas such as: an education-awareness article in the newspaper every day, a road show to keep education needs/desires for our community in front of local businesses and organizations, trademark "I love to learn in Longmont" and license it to organizations, a multi-modal communication channel about existing opportunities (kiosks), and a creative marketing "machine" to distribute information - branding campaign, regular education day, businesses asking for $0.01 donation per item for education, etc... |
Times-Call |
| All |
Create clearinghouse for information - adult education, learning opportunities, etc…pull existing information together and distribute it widely |
|
Theme: Community Involvement and Support |
| Breakout Session |
Action Step |
Potential Partner |
| Early Care |
Begin a comprehensive community campaign that speaks to education being everyone's job - it is our responsibility and duty as a community member and a privilege for living here - Include goals to change our community language around early education and raise our community's expectations |
|
| Early Care |
Create "Talk to me" and "Read to me" campaigns |
|
| Early Care |
Create a community culture of warm, welcome and universal home visiting and partnering with care providers to focus on health and comprehensive child development |
|
| K-12 |
Student field trips to business, government, non-profit agencies as part of prep for future |
City, Businesses, LUH, SVVSD |
| K-12 |
Provide community programs with professional organizers (Dr. De-Clutter) to help students learn organizing skills early
|
|
| K-12 |
Work with business to encourage more release time to employees so they can get engaged in education |
|
| K-12 |
Invite businesses to "adopt" a school with personnel and resources |
|
| K-12 |
Develop community service opportunities for elementary students
|
|
| K-12 |
Assess needs of each school and create a master list, which is available to community and businesses (Extras for Education or revamped SOS Model) |
|
| K-12 |
Create and invite community to visit schools on designated "Middle School Week", etc…
|
|
| K-12 |
Develop a partnership with Intercambio and SVVSD to create a multi-cultural learning environment for ESL students |
Intercambio and SVVSD |
| K-12 |
Bring the school staff into businesses and share what is happening and the needs of the schools; create and maintain a database of willing businesses and organizations for the ease of linking schools/teachers/community with available resources |
|
| K-12 |
Create parent advisory groups at all levels to help with parent involvement and link to the community |
|
| Higher Ed/Career Training |
Community education center, have resources, varied education sources, new improved hybrid technology, open to all ages and cultures, centrally located |
|
| Higher Ed/Career Training |
Peer mentoring database resource - college to high school, high school to middle school, etc... |
|
| Higher Ed/Career Training |
Bring the school staff into the business and share what is happening and the needs of the schools |
|
| Higher Ed/Career Training |
Create partnership between employers and schools to understand/create picture of being at work, including mentoring, internships, shadowing, safari, training for parents, parent/teacher partnership
|
|
| Adult |
Multi-use public facilities (schools, City, FRCC, etc...)
|
|
| Adult |
Develop a partnership with Intercambio and SVVSD to create a multi-cultural learning environment for ESL students |
Intercambio and SVVSD |
| All |
Create partnership between employers and schools to understand/create picture of being at work, including mentoring, internships, shadowing, safari, training for parents, parent/teacher partnership, including trade training - getting started, partnership, vocational mentoring, SCORE (Society of Retired Executives), internships - provide a resource list to school with contact person - give the community and businesses an easy way to plug in to the education revolution in Longmont |
|
Theme: Content and Quality of Learning |
| Breakout Session |
Action Step |
Potential Partner |
| Early Care |
Increase quality of curriculum with Qualister rating for all providers |
|
| Early Care |
Cultural awareness/competency classes (dual language) for community |
|
| K-12 |
Strongly encourage all students to be involved in co-curricular activities as part of community's role in supporting the PreK-20 initiative |
SVVSD |
| K-12 |
Support intra-murals to include everyone |
|
| K-12 |
Support Spanish and other language classes in elementary school |
|
| K-12 |
Create community program where teachers and students learn together (i.e. technology) |
|
| K-12 |
Make it easy to stay informed with current events - part of every day discussions at work and school |
Times-Call |
| Adult |
Host regular community events to share global activities |
City, Chamber, Magellan |
| Adult |
Define cultural education opportunities and courses for adults, outreach to neighborhood forums, fairs, courses at FRCC, LFU, Senior Center |
City, FRCC, LFU, Magellan |
| Adult |
Program where tech savvy kids can teach seniors/community their specialty |
City, SVVSD |
| Adult |
Personal Skill and Interest Assessment program to help people evaluate their own strengths and needs |
|
Theme: Educating Educators |
| Breakout Session |
Action Step |
Potential Partner |
| Early Care |
Provide more teacher training, professional development and hire teachers with the right skill and attitude |
|
| Early Care |
Support friends, family and neighbor care effort, including self-identifying, hooking them up with resources, increasing their skills and understanding of what comprehensive school readiness is |
|
|
| Early Care |
Create a "Resource Mobile" |
|
| Early Care |
Commit to truly exploring how to make community resource center model work |
|
| Early Care |
Create more locally-funded school readiness slots |
|
| Early Care |
Host/plan a min-early education summit to enhance efficiencies and effectiveness |
Bright EYES |
| K-12 |
Create evening homework lab centers at community facilities throughout the city (library or community room) |
SVVSD, City |
| K-12 |
After school activities open to all with objective to practice language and value other cultures, hosted by schools, presented by community organizations |
|
| K-12 |
Concierge/counseling service to match needs with resources - cultural brokering/shepherding to help navigate through resources |
|
| High Ed/Career Training |
Create a central place to access all on-line courses |
|
| Higher Ed/Career Training |
Create workshops at least twice annually similar to College Goal Sunday to help students apply for and pay for college, centralize information around available scholarships in the community and have colleges represented at events |
|
| Adult |
Market classes offered on a fee scale for limited incomes |
|
| Adult |
Examine options for education for those with mobility issues (education to seniors) |
|
| Adult |
Concierge/counseling service to match needs with resources - cultural brokering/shepherding |
|
| All |
Provide basic skills training for all (financial, social, etc...) |
|
| All |
Affordability - corporate/business support of mentoring, scholarship partners, audit courses for free at universities, community recognition of "scholarship" |
|
|
| Early Care |
Explore local and state funding for sustainable early education |
|
Theme: Motivation of Learning |
| Early Care |
Comprehensive school readiness - providing a framework and customized programs for all who provide Early Care and Education |
|
| Early |
Comprehensive way to identify all at-risk families and children |
|
| K-12 |
No parent left behind - parental engagement early and forever - "Parent Involvement Day" - empower parents to be actively involved and advocating for their kids' education |
El Comité, Longmont Parent Leadership Program |
| K-12 |
Provide information and assistance to increase the percentage of secondary students participating in higher education and vocational training (perhaps commitment contracts between student/parent/secondary school and provide scholarships) |
St. Vrain Education Foundation |
| Higher Ed/Career Training |
Offer summer programs to get students socially prepared for college |
|
| Adult |
Evaluate the opportunities for adult learning to ensure variety for those retraining/refreshing and those interested in learning for enlightenment |
|
| Adult |
Reframe: Civic engagement vs. volunteering - community building vs. working for free (reference Senior Strategic plan) |
|
