Jim Bailey has been promoting the concept of an Anchorage Roundtable organization to help deal with community issues. The idea is to develop community-wide solutions for community-wide problems such as dropouts, juvenile violence, and workforce readiness. The Leaders Roundtable is an example of a community collaboration in Portland, Oregon, that has been effectively dealing with community issues since 1983. I think Jim's idea can be effective tool to help us focus on community solutions.
The Leaders Roundtable is an informal yet influential coalition of top educational and private sector leaders and elected officials in Multnomah County, Oregon, all working toward one common goal--100% student success.
In existence since 1983, the Leaders Roundtable has been working to insure that all children complete their schooling with the skills to access post-secondary education or work. By aligning the activities of our various organizations and institutions toward the common goal of school success and measuring results, we can achieve better educational outcomes for our community's children and youth. http://www.leadersroundtable.org/site/
The Leaders Roundtable does not provide direct service or run any programs itself. It is at its core a forum where community leaders can openly discuss what it takes to make students successful. In our diverse community there are some common issues that could be the goals of the Roundtable. Potential goals for Anchorage include: juvenile crime, dropouts, and readiness of youth for the workforce. The goals can be changed or altered on an annual basis as needed.
Roundtables could focus on "Fostering healthy, educated, safe, culturally inclusive and successful communities." The Roundtable could support the expansion of such programs as Bridgebuilders, which has been a leader in bringing our community together.
We need people on the Board who are open to new ideas and are looking for ways to craft community-wide solutions for the issues facing us. We need people who really listen and can make things happen. Let me hear from you and let's forge a new Anchorage.
