The Achievement Gap

Way to Grow

Carolyn Smallwood, Executive Director of Way to Grow, described its work.  In 1989 Way to Grow began as a program of the Minneapolis Youth Coordinating Board.  Its founders envisioned an organization that would strive to eliminate the daily barriers affecting families so parents could prepare their children for success in kindergarten and life.

The agency is approaching its 20th anniversary, continuing its mission to prepare children for academic success by supporting families with culturally appropriate, community-based services for school readiness. Currently visiting 1,400 Minneapolis families, its Family Educators build trusting relationships with parents and their children and  focus on ensuring that young children are physically, socially, emotionally, and cognitively ready to start kindergarten.

Twin Cities Rise - empowerment training

Friday, March 13

Several weeks ago Father Michael O'Connell told us that with the first group of women admitted to Jeremiah, nearly everyone washed out.  They needed a better way to prepare women to enter the program.

They looked to Twin Cities Rise that had developed this empowerment training program. This training helps people change the way they view themselves in relation to the world. It helps them start to understand that everyone is born with the core value that they are important.  Women go through the empowerment training as part of the pre-admission process. Twin Cities Rise has also trained all of the Jeremiah staff in empowerment.

Twin Cities Rise views this training as central to their success in upgrading the employment skills of men and women they work with.     So we will hear more about this powerful tool from Cy Yusten, executive director of Twin Cities Rise, and consider how this training might be extended to more families with small children.

They looked to Twin Cities Rise that had developed this empowerment training program. This training helps people change the way they view themselves in relation to the world. It helps them start to understand that everyone is born with the core value that they are important.  Women go through the empowerment training as part of the pre-admission process. Twin Cities Rise has also trained all of the Jeremiah staff in empowerment.

Twin Cities Rise views this training as central to their success in upgrading the employment skills of men and women they work with.     So we will hear more about this powerful tool from Cy Yusten, executive director of Twin Cities Rise, and consider how this training might be extended to more families with small children.