New bills creating Indiana Works Councils and the Indiana Career Council were signed into law Monday, April 15th by Governor Mike Pence after both measures received unprecedented unanimous, bipartisan support in both chambers of the Indiana General Assembly. These new Councils are designed to increase coordination between the state’s educational, job skills and career…
Category Archives: News
Involving Youth in Your Evaluation
Evaluating your organization, its services and impact is fundamental to create sustainable and transformational change in your community. Where is your organization in the process of evaluation? Has your organization included youth, or another stakeholder group, in the evaluation process? How did you use their input to inform decision-making? The Minnesota Youth Work Institute…
2013 Investing in Innovation Fund (i3) Grant Competition
The U.S. Department of Education announced the start of the $150 million 2013 Investing in Innovation (i3) grant competition. The i3 program aims to develop and expand practices that accelerate student achievement and prepare every student to succeed in college and in their careers. The i3 program includes three grant categories: Development Validation Scale-up…
New Competition with Head Start Providers
The Department of Health and Human Services announced that it is working to strengthen quality and accountability in Head Start. For the first time ever, Head Start providers had to prove that they are providing the best early education services available in their community. A new rule implemented by the Obama Administration require that…
5 Lessons Learned about Student Success
Union City, New Jersey, an urban city just across the Hudson from Manhattan, has done the unthinkable. They went from having one of the worst school districts in the state to competing with the best. What was their success? Professor David L. Kirp reveals in Improbable Scholars how a poor urban school district has 90…
New Tool to Find Evidence-Based Programs
There’s a NEW TOOL for schools, government agencies and community-based organizations to help identify and fund scientifically proven programs with a track record of promoting children’s health and development. A new interactive website called Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development makes it easy to select cost-effective programs, based on scientific evaluations of those programs that show…
Where is Your Governing Board in Its Life Cycle?
All organizations go through different life cycles. Where does your organization fall in the life cycles described below? Stage One: The Organizing Board Organizing boards tend to be one of two types, boards that follow a leader/founder and boards that lead or control an organization. Leading boards tend to be small, are often slow to…
Begin with the End in Mind
I am sure that you have heard of the quote by Yogi Berra, “If you don’t know where you are going, how are you going to know when you get there?” Why begin with the end in mind? Spending some time to think about your long-term goals – what you hope to accomplish in…
Welcome to the Ripple Effect News
Greetings! Welcome to the Ripple Effect News produced by Transform Consulting Group. At Transform, we believe in the ripple effect that one organization or individual can have on others. We are privileged to work with clients that are making a difference in the lives of children, families, schools and communities. Through the blog, we…