With Oct 31^st being her last day, Nyesha McCauley spent a little over 7 years of her professional life with all of us here at Achieve Hartford. From old staff to new staff, from old board members to new board members, and from old partners to new partners, everyone speaks of Nyesha as one of the most good-natured and committed advocates for Hartford kids, families and the city itself.

But this short story isn’t about what everything thinks of Nyesha; it’s about what I as the Executive Director for the past 10 years owe to Nyesha. For the past decade, my organization has had to adapt to the changing conditions in the city’s education landscape and continually find ways to add value on behalf of the intense and urgent needs of Hartford children. Sometimes, that meant being the school district’s “critical friend,” while other times it meant acting as an incubator of new community programs, or a think tank, or neutral convener, or a coalition-builder, and the list or roles goes on. The only way I could have ever pivoted the organization to play those roles, was by having Nyesha on staff.

Nyesha not only facilitated all the different methods for communicating to such different audiences over the years – from tv shows, to events, to letters, to community trainings, to Get Out the Vote campaigns, to social media, to publications, etc. – but she also helped the organization find its voice each and every time we made a pivot. Even in our most recent pivot, almost two years ago, when we decided to apply the tenets of community organizing to our work recruiting and supporting individual leaders throughout the private sector, Nyesha was there to help us communicate who we are, what we do, and make it look beautiful both in print and online.

Reflecting on this, I realize that perhaps even greater than her talent in the diverse technical world of communications, is her talent in adaptability. She has risen to whatever the challenge and has always found the unique angle and message, and always delivered on time. Add to this her warm and positive demeanor, with a deep sense of urgency and justice for those who need it most, and you get an incredible human being.

Nyesha, you were at Hartford Public Access TV for 10 years, then Achieve Hartford for 7 years, and now you’re looking to launch your own venture helping community members who want to solve problems find their solution, find their strategies, find their voice, and find their potential. I can’t think of anyone better to take on that much-needed role in our city, and on behalf of the entire board and staff, we wish you nothing but the best of luck, and are always here for you. For the 7+ years of amazing work, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

If you’d like to thank Nyesha, or wish her the best, or just keep in touch, you can reach her at her personal email: [email protected].  She’s always right here, in Hartford, somehow making us all feel right at home.

Achieve Hartford has released two new reporters on its SmarterHartford.org site. The Proficiency Testing Report provides results of standardized tests taken by Hartford Public Schools (HPS) students in the spring of 2019 while drawing comparisons to other districts. This report includes SAT results as well, given that this is the only test used to gauge academic progress at the high school level. The results are sobering, and worth a look for the nuances that exist between magnet and neighborhood schools.

The Chronic Absenteeism Report answers questions related to student attendance at HPS. The rates of chronic absenteeism at the six neighborhood high schools are not just high; they are the highest rates in a district which has among the highest rates in the state. More than half of their students were chronically absent during the 2018-19 school year. Many of our other schools are doing poorly, but these six high schools are the driving force of our exceptionally high rate of chronic absenteeism. It is on those schools that resources must be focused to solve this problem. Thankfully, the District is reporting a drop in chronic absenteeism this first quarter of the 2019-20 school year, compared to the same time period last year.

Some 50 people from businesses, nonprofits, higher education, and philanthropy gathered for ALL IN!’s full coalition stakeholder caucus in October to brainstorm ideas for new action teams.  

At the stakeholder caucus, held at Upward Hartford, Achieve Hartford staff divided the group based on the two priorities set by the ALL IN! Coalition Steering Committee – student advising at the high school and/or college level and academic remediation at the high school and/or college level. 

Participants brainstormed ideas and came up with four action team proposals – which are being fleshed out this month before being brought to the ALL IN! steering committee in December. The plan is to launch at least two new action teams in January. The four ideas include: 

• Bringing more private-sector advisors into the lives of high-school students. 
• Training and supporting current college career/academic advising staff on high-demand career pathways and what it takes for students to navigate them. 
• Training afterschool professionals on how to provide stronger academic support for high school students. 
• Creating dual enrollment opportunities for high school students to experience college.  

If you have an interest in helping flesh out any of these four ideas – or if you have other ideas – please reach out to us at [email protected].