Our Cradle-to-Career ecosystem
What is Bridgeport Prospers Cradle-to-Career? Bridgeport Prospers is a place-based partnership working to create exceptional results for our young people and community.
We are conveners who believe in working intentionally across the entire cradle-to-career continuum and using data and evidence to inform our decisions. We are engaging cross-sector partners and community members from all backgrounds to track our progress and adjust our course.
how we work
Achieving large-scale change involves working in new ways. Bridgeport Prospers has adopted the following conditions towards the collective impact in Bridgeport.
Common Agenda
Shared Measurement and Evidence-Based Decision Making
Mutually Reinforcing Activities
Continuous Communication
Backbone Support
Working to improve education success for every child through a data-driven, quality collective impact approach. Connected by their work on the ground, StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network members (like us) are committed to sharing knowledge, building upon what works, and driving action to improve key outcomes along every child’s path to education success. StriveTogether is a national, nonprofit network of about 70 collective impact movements, which provides a collective impact approach and related Theory of Action. Their nationally recognized Theory of Action is centered on four pillars: shared community vision, evidence-based decision making, collaborative action, and investment sustainability.
Key outcome areas
Bridgeport Prospers has identified key outcome areas for the focus of our work. They are key milestones on the path to economic mobility. Our collective efforts to shift policies, resources, practices, and power structures will drive better and more equitable outcomes in the following areas:
Maternal & Infant Health - Increase the % of healthy and thriving pregnant persons and infants in Bridgeport
Kindergarten Readiness - Increase the % of children who are socially and emotionally ready for kindergarten in Bridgeport
High School Graduation - Increase the % of Bridgeport youth who will complete high school, leading to postsecondary enrollment, training, or employment
Employment - Increase the % of Bridgeport young adults entering the labor market, and earning a living wage that supports their overall well-being
In each outcome area, we measure what matters, identify effective practices, and align resources so that we are investing in what works.
“We believe that there is no other way society will achieve large-scale progress against the urgent and complex problems of our time, unless a collective impact approach becomes the accepted way of doing business.”
Get to know our Cradle-to-Career Ecosystem partners in Connecticut
Pictured left to right are Isabel Almeida (President & CEO of United Way of Coastal and Western CT), Althea Marshall Brooks (executive Director of Waterbury Bridge to Success Community Partnership) Edith Presley (President of Stamford Cradle to Career), Katerina Vlahos (Executive Director of Bridgeport Prospers), Bridget Jancarz (Vice President of Network Impact at StriveTogether), Jennifer Barahona (Executive Director of Norwalk Acts), Melissa Hannequin (Executive Director of Danbury Collective) and Kathleen Callahan (Policy and Civic Engagement Director of CT’s Cradle to Career Coalition).
Pictured left to right are Edith Presley (President of Stamford Cradle to Career), Katerina Vlahos (Executive Director of Bridgeport Prospers), Jennifer Blatz (President & CEO of StriveTogether) and Jennifer Barahona (Executive Director of Norwalk Acts). Not pictured are Althea Marshall Brooks (Executive Director of Waterbury Bridge to Success) and Melissa Hannequin (Executive Director of Danbury Collective).
What is COLLECTIVE IMPACT?
Imagine if we were able to achieve this vision: every child succeeds from cradle to career.
The impact would be tremendous. Children would thrive. A sense of hope would emerge for neighborhoods, communities, and regions. Our economy would also improve as a more skilled workforce feeds innovation and growth.
We are building a civic infrastructure in the Bridgeport community to support improved cradle-to-career outcomes. This infrastructure involves local stakeholders as part of the solution. This is long-term, roll up our sleeves work that will help us connect and align efforts, use data to inform us about what is working and why, and will position us to advocate for what works. Across the country, local stakeholders, practitioners, policy-makers, and funders are recognizing the need to work in this collective way to solve complex social issues.
Watch a workforce development conversation about career exploration and readiness for students in grades K-12, in partnership with the Bridgeport Regional Business Council, Bank of America, and Fairfield County’s Community Foundation.