Tuesday, April 16, 2013

The Tie That Binds


Commons has had six Executive Directors in its 118 year history.  On May 7th, I am leaving to move to Oregon after a great 8 years as Director and 15 years of service to Commons.  The fact that my tenure is "short" compared to past Directors is amazing to me.   

I have been thinking about exactly what kept me here so long?  

The tie that binds is the historic, inspirational culture of this organization.  

In the words of Commons’ founder, Graham Taylor, this is a place that truly works WITH people, not just FOR them.  This is such an important distinction.  There are no hand-outs at Commons.  Successes are earned here.  

This is a place (a ‘Commons’) where people come together to make life better on an individual, family and community level.  I witnessed countless lives improved for the better.  And my own life has improved by sharing in the mission with so many other wonderful people.  The lessons I have learned here will serve me well for the rest of my life.  And I will always consider myself part of the Commons’ family.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Cutting Terraces into the "Cliff"

Mayor Emanuel and City of Chicago are starting to release information about the Ready to Learn initiative (which was announced last year at the Commons' Nia Family Center!) .

One of the first highlights, a new "sliding scale" allowing parents to pay for half-day Pre-K according to their ability to pay.  Sun times headline is that more affluent families will pay up to $4,000 per year for a half day Pre-K program.  But this misses the point a little.

This new sliding scale is a big step away from the awful "eligibility cliff" that is the norm in early learning programs for parents with modest incomes (see past blog post on the cliff.)   This approach creates a "terraced hillside" instead of a cliff that boots parents from the program once their income crosses an invisible line.

Unfortunately, this will only apply to the city's Pre-K program, and will not change Head Start or State funded Child Care programs (Commons' operates both of these).  So the cliff will continue to a big problem for many parents and many programs like Commons.  Let's hope President Obama's stated desire to create a more terraced approach will eventually move forward in Congress!