Summit Education Initiative

As we wrap up another incredible year of the Summit County Youth Coalition, we are filled with pride for the student leaders who showed up, spoke up, and worked to create meaningful change in their schools and community. 💙

This year, our youth leaders gathered feedback from more than 1,000 of their peers, analyzed data, developed action plans, and presented recommendations to school and community leaders. Through their leadership, they demonstrated that young people are not just the future—they are powerful changemakers right now.

A special thank you to Akron Public Schools for their partnership and commitment to elevating student voice. Together, we are creating opportunities for students to help shape the systems that impact their lives.

To our student leaders: thank you for your courage, passion, and dedication. We hope you have a fun, restful, and well-deserved summer. We can't wait to see all that you accomplish next year! ☀️✨

Community voice in action.

At SEI, we believe meaningful change starts by listening—and grows when community voice helps shape decisions, strategies, and solutions.

Your voice doesn’t just matter. It drives the work forward.

Youth success doesn’t happen by chance—it happens by alignment.

SEI works across sectors to connect people, data, and action so that every student has the support they need to thrive.

When systems work together, outcomes improve.

Smiles, voices, and a whole lot of impact 💙

The Summit County Parent Coalition continues to create space for families to connect, build relationships, and lead alongside one another—with their children at the center of it all.

This is more than engagement. It’s about parents sharing their experiences, shaping solutions, and helping drive decisions that impact education and opportunity across our community.

When families are supported, connected, and empowered, we build stronger systems—and brighter futures—for every child.

Myth: Data is only for researchers.

Reality: Data is for everyone—educators, parents, community leaders, and partners—to make informed decisions that move outcomes forward.

At SEI, data isn’t just collected. It’s shared, understood, and used to drive action.

When partners come together with a shared vision, real change happens.

Hearing directly from those we work alongside reminds us why this work matters—using data and collaboration to better support every student, every step of the way.

Ever wondered what Summit Education Initiative means by “Transition Points”?

Transition Points are key academic milestones that research shows strongly predict long-term success: from early childhood through postsecondary education.

At SEI, we track progress at critical moments, including:

📚 Kindergarten Readiness
📖 Third Grade Reading
➗ Eighth Grade Math
🎓 Ninth Grade Success
🎯 College & Career Readiness
🏫 Postsecondary Enrollment

These milestones matter because each one builds on the next.

For example:
• Kindergarten readiness predicts later reading success
• Third grade reading proficiency is linked to high school graduation
• Ninth grade GPA predicts future academic outcomes
• Postsecondary enrollment is strongly connected to economic opportunity

Success isn’t defined by one test - it’s shaped across a lifetime.

The Barberton Preschool Collaborative came together for a hands-on training focused on curriculum and strengthening high-quality learning experiences for young children across our community. By learning side-by-side, educators are building stronger connections across programs and aligning around what matters most—ensuring every child is supported with engaging, developmentally appropriate experiences as they prepare for kindergarten.

We're hiring!

Summit Education Initiative is seeking a part-time Research Assistant to join our Research & Data team. This role will support research, data analysis, and evaluation work that helps inform community partnerships and improve educational outcomes across Summit County.

This is a great opportunity for a graduate student or early-career researcher interested in applied research and data-driven systems change.

🔗 Learn more and apply: seisummit.org/careers

Building a cradle-to-career continuum means more than supporting individual moments—it means creating a system where every child is supported at every stage.

At Summit Education Initiative, we do this by bringing together schools, community organizations, and leaders to align around shared goals, use data to guide decisions, and invest in strategies that move outcomes.

Together, we’re connecting the dots—from early childhood to career—so every child has the opportunity to thrive.

Because when systems align, outcomes change. 💫