Learn more about the network and register now to get started with the Ready By 21 approach.
Learn more about the network and register now to get started with the Ready By 21 approach.
We recommend you start by looking over the Bigger Goals toolkit, then move on to the four standards under the Bigger Goals Building Block:
Toby Keith earned his fame in country music, but he sure showed great insight into leadership when he sang, “If you don’t know where you’re goin’, you might end up somewhere else.”
Conceiving goals and indicators is easy. The challenge is getting community leaders to agree on goals and indicators that cover all young people of all age groups, in all aspects of their lives – from education and health to interpersonal skills and job readiness.
While it’s true that “it takes a village to raise a child,” this is also true: The world is full of villages where many young people are not doing well.
You’ve come a long way: Leaders in your community understand each other’s language, agree on goals for young people and have defined the supports that youth need to reach those goals. Now, what does everyone actually do?
Ambitious leaders with big plans sometimes give people TMI: Too Much Information. Hand out a list of indicators about child and youth outcomes, or a list of goals to develop community supports for youth, and you risk creating communications overload. Everyone stalls because they’re overwhelmed and don’t know where to focus.