On July 31st, we held our second all-coalition event at UTC to reflect on the past year’s accomplishments and take a critical look at the work left to be done. Three sets of panelists at the celebration shared perspectives from a regional, state, and national context on the 4 A’s of Chattanooga 2.0. If you remember, the “A’s” were Jared’s charge at the end of last year’s By the Numbers event: Align priorities, Amplify the message, Accelerate strategies, and Agile innovation. Since last July, Jared, Robin, and I have used these as a “north star” in our work.
In the coming year, as we work within our Action Teams on everything from programs to systems change, I encourage you to keep the 4A’s in mind. In everything we do, how can we align our priorities, amplify our messaging, accelerate our strategies, and create innovative solutions with agility? Chattanooga 2.0 is our community’s collective effort to improve public education, with a focus on ‘cradle through career’ talent development in Hamilton County. In the work we do as a coalition, we are changing systems, ensuring access and opportunity for all students, and establishing local talent pipelines. When we collaborate, we are enacting our community’s commitment to a better future. THANK YOU for being a part of Chattanooga 2.0.
ALIGN PRIORITIES
We have been very intentional within Chattanooga 2.0 that all of our work aligns to the metrics and, in particular, to our two bold goals. Alignment enables us to act with confidence when we make decisions regarding funding, human capital, and where time is invested in creating and implementing strategies.
AMPLIFY MESSAGING
Our collective voice is much louder and more impactful when the work that is going on across the coalition is shared. This means each coalition member, funding entity, stakeholder, and implementation partner must understand the mission and vision of Chattanooga 2.0, so we can share our collective stories to maintain momentum and stay aligned.
ACCELERATE STRATEGIES
A significant role played by Chattanooga 2.0 is that of convening people and organizations to identify strategies that are working and creating capacity to scale those strategies. Accelerating the work is important because a new program or strategy doesn’t always have to be created in order to make an impact. More often than not, it is valuable to identify what is already working within the Ten Urgent Priority Areas and see how what is working can be expanded or replicated.
AGILE INNOVATION
The Cradle through Career continuum changes so quickly and the needs of each area of the continuum are so vastly different, that our Action Teams and Coalition Leaders must stay agile when developing new strategies, scaling up, and building capacity in response to the changing needs of employers, students, and non-profit supports. Being agile means we not only respond with an open mind, but we also respond in a timely manner.
Jennifer Andrews
Program & Engagement Manager
Chattanooga 2.0
