Background

In November 2012, Building Blocks for Kids Collaborative held our first Empowered Parents, Informed Educators Summit, a gathering and conversation among parents and educators. After a day of training and dialogue, participants identified the four most pressing issues in schools as:

• The need for two way communication between parents and educators
• Closing the “achievement and opportunity gap”
• Safety, i.e. a need to eliminate violence at schools and in the community
• Ethnic studies, i.e. the need for more culturally relevant education.

Understanding that the current failing conditions of Iron Triangle schools did not happen overnight, we recognized that the work we do to transform these conditions must be consistent and unwavering. Partnering with the Contra Costa County Office of Education to bring Iron Triangle parents to participate in the annual Young Children’s Issues Forum on March 23^rd seemed like a good way to continue the work we started just last year.

Preparing for the Event

The evening of Thursday March 21, 2013 the new Building Blocks for Kids office hosted its first full house as Iron Triangle parents came together to discuss and identify their concerns with the current state of failing Iron Triangle  schools. Issues such as safety, insufficient after school programs, the lack of childcare and pre-school programs, poor food, apathetic teachers, and poor communication with parents were just some of the items discussed. Parents were appalled to learn that on average the state of California spends $150,000 or more per year, per youth incarcerated, yet only about $8,000 per year, per child on public school education in West Contra Costa County. After a large group discussion parents broke into groups and filled out a worksheet explaining their concerns to educators and policy makers. By the end of the evening they were ready to take those concerns to the Annual Young Children’s Issues Forum in Concord on March 23^rd.

The Forum

Concord, California, is a suburban city 23 miles east of Richmond and in many ways very different from Richmond. Despite the distance and difficult public transportation options from western Contra Costa County, Concord was selected–for the second year in a row–as the location for Contra Costa County’s Annual Young Children’s Issues Forum. This forum is a yearly meeting of parents, educators, state and local lawmakers and business leaders, addressing the concerns and needs of children ages 0 to 12 years of age. But ironically no childcare was provided at the event. Nonetheless Iron Triangle parents were determined to make their voices heard. Not to be stopped by the inconvenient location and lack of public transportation, the Collaborative charted a bus to transport parents to Concord. At 7:30 in the morning Iron Triangle parents and residents, some with children in tow, boarded the bus motivated by love and commitment to their children’s future. In Concord they met with other Iron Triangle parents at the event and sat together in solidarity of purpose and presence. Over 30 Iron Triangle parents, children, and residents attended the event. Emboldened by the preparation meeting just a few nights before, parents did not hesitate to pose tough questions to the panelists, though many questions went unanswered and remain so after the event.

Some of those questions include:

• Why not have such an event in Richmond, the Contra Costa County community with the most need?
• Why not provide childcare so that parents can be fully present to engage with the panelists?
• How can we structure these types of convenings in a way to maximize participation and dialogue?
• Moreover, what explains the state’s tremendous spending on incarcerating our youth compared to the small amount spent on their education?
• And what can we do about further cuts to programs like Head Start given the already severe lack of quality pre-school for Iron Triangle families?

Next Steps

Parents came away determined to get answers to these questions. On May 1, Iron Triangle parents will once again convene at the BBK Collaborative office to craft recommendations for next year’s forum. They’ll also develop a plan for engaging with educators and policy makers to hold themselves, and the school district, accountable for living up to the responsibility of ensuring all children graduate from high school prepared for college and the career of their choice.  These “Parents in Power/Padres en Poder” as they have come to be known, are just beginning to see how they are the key to their children’s future and thus the future of the entire community. They are beginning to explore how to overcome existing barriers to transforming the current realities in the education system by using their collective voice and power. Building Blocks for Kids Collaborative will continue to support parents with the tools needed to continue this important work for the future of Iron Triangle youth and families

The immediate goals of the event were that Richmond residents: 1) would learn about policy and how it is developed; 2) learn about the specifics of the soda tax ballot measures N and O; 3) receive balanced information such that they had the capacity to make an informed decision on election day, and have a heightened awareness about the election and the importance of voting on November 6 in order to have a voice in the policies that affect their environment.

The day started off with an overview of local policy describing how communities can organize to create the changes that will make a positive difference (e.g. community gardens, safer streets and the elimination of food deserts). The day then moved on to an overview of Measures N and O, including an overview of the soda industry told through a comical skit, a breakdown of the health impacts of soda consumption and an explanation of what Measures N and O would have accomplished if passed. The day ended with an interactive small group activity where participants were given a fictional scenario about “Raining Sugar Rocks” and asked how they would organize to address the issue. Finally, we ended the day with an invitation to register to vote.

At the end of the event participants were asked to complete an evaluation. Of those that responded the results were:

• 100% of respondents stated that they planned to vote on November 6, 2012
• 92% stated that they either agreed or strongly agreed that attending the event was a valuable experience
• 92 % agreed or strongly agreed that they had a better understanding of Measure N
• 92% agreed or strongly agreed that they had a better understanding of how policy works
• 85% agreed or strongly agreed that they had a better understanding of how people can make changes in their community
• 92% agreed or strongly agreed that they feel more confident about getting involved in making changes in their community
• 93% indicated they agreed or strongly agreed that they liked the activities
• 92% agreed or strongly agreed that they “learned a lot from this event”
• 92% agreed or strongly agreed that they “enjoyed this event.”

Some additional comments were:

“With the voice of people, there comes power.”
“Great job!”
“I hope that I can stop drinking soda.”
“Great youth led facilitation”
“I like your work”

The staff is charged with maintaining strategic coherence of the effort, and working with members and Steering Committee to develop and implement strategies, facilitate effective dialogue between partners, ensure continuous communication, oversee fund development for maintenance of backbone and support resource development for work plans, manage data collection and analysis, and coordinate community outreach.

Jennifer B. Lyle, Chief of Operations
Stephanie Stevens, Director of Community Engagement and Advocacy
[T.B.D.], Community Engagement and Advocacy Coordinator
Laura Capado, Administration and Operations Coordinator
Lakisha Hill, Preschool Enrichment Program Coordinator
Sachelle Heavens, Evaluation and Research Team

Community Engagement and Advocacy Team (CEAT)
Martha Barajas
JoAnn Ford
Cameron Holder-Mitchell
Zadia Saunders
Lizbeth Hernandez

Preschool Enrichment Program Team (PREP)
Melissa Lopez
Brenda Romero
Nekeila Turner
LaToya Wiley

We would like to thank everyone who supported the 2nd Annual African American Community Baby Shower (AACBS) for parents living in the Iron Triangle and Greater Richmond area.  This event was the result of a partnership between the African American Health Initiative (AAHI) and Building Blocks for Kids Richmond Collaborative (BBK).

This year, AACBS took place June 23, 10:30am-3:00pm at the Nevin Recreation Center and was an overwhelming success. It was attended by 124 mothers, fathers, grandparents, and other care providers interested in making sure their babies have a very healthy start. While there, families enjoyed networking, games relevant to parenting, dancing and each other. The 25 participating organizations, provided educational materials and workshops related to nutrition, physical activity, strategies for ensuing healthy baby and child outcomes, and a Men’s Involvement Group.

Some key results from our participant survey:

• 85% of attendees reported that the information provided by agencies was very good or excellent.
• 85% of attendees reported that  the quality of the workshops were very good or excellent.
• 90% either agreed or strongly agreed that the African American Baby Shower is a benefit to the West Contra Costa Community.

Steering Committee 2012-2013
Gabino Arredondo
Iron Triangle Resident
Sean Casey
Executive Director, First Five Contra Costa
Eric Aaholm
Executive Director, Youth Enrichment Strategies
Aja Green
Iron Triangle Resident
Stephanie Hochman
East Bay Program Director, Bay Area Community Resources
Don Lau
Executive Vice President, YMCA of the East Bay
Jeff Rutland
Iron Triangle Resident
Barbara Sheehy
Administrator, Contra Costa Public Health
Cheryl Vaughn
Iron Triangle Resident

Collaborative Membership 2012-2013
Bay Area Community Resources
Brighter Beginnings
Contra Costa County Children and Family Service Bureau
Contra Costa County Community
Services Bureau
Contra Costa County Public Health
Contra Costa Child Care Council
Early Childhood Mental Health Program
East Bay Center for the Performing Arts
First 5 Contra Costa
Office of John Gioia, Contra Costa County Supervisor
Healthy & Active Before 5
Internet Archive
Kaiser Permanente Public Affairs, East Bay
Office of George Miller, US Congressman
The Stride Center
Office of Neighborhood Safety
Pogo Park
Richmond Community Foundation
Richmond Public Library
Urban Tilth
Cheryl Vaughn, resident
West Contra Costa Public Education Fund
West Contra Costa Youth Service Bureau
YMCA of the East Bay
Youth Enrichment Strategies

Each working group is working towards a specific outcome. The Collaborative defines outcome as a change in the status of an individual, group, or population, which is attributable to a planned intervention or series of interventions, regardless of whether such an intervention was intended to change individual status.

Each outcome will be reached through a series of objectives. The Collaborative defines objectives as general statements of what you intend to achieve. Objectives are Specific, Measurable, Audacious, Results oriented, and Timely.

Learn more about the outcomes and objectives of each working group:

Education

Health and Wellness

Early Childhood

Community Engagement and Advocacy

Digital Literacy and Access