Our Approach - Chattanooga 2.0

THE CRADLE-TO-CAREER COLLABORATIVE OF CHATTANOOGA-HAMILTON COUNTY, TN

CHATTANOOGA 2.0 WAS ESTABLISHED TO ENSURE ALL CHILDREN AND YOUTH RECEIVE A QUALITY EDUCATION AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES THAT HELP THEM REALIZE THEIR FULL POTENTIAL.

As the convening entity that brings partners together to align resources and strategic focus along the cradle-to-career education pathway, Chattanooga 2.0 is working to improve outcomes for over 96,000 learners including early childhood, K-12, and higher education students. We emphasize shared accountability and measure results along each step of the continuum, from early childhood to higher education and into the workforce.

Together, we are doing what no one entity can do alone: ensuring the success of every child from birth to career.

Vision

Chattanooga-Hamilton County enjoys a thriving and inclusive economy, where social and economic mobility is achievable because children, students, and families are equipped with the resources and supports needed to reach their full potential, cradle to career

MISSION

To create proof points and drive collaboration, measurement, and alignment of policy and practice to ensure all children and youth receive a quality education and career opportunities that help them realize their full potential

Coalition values

Collective Impact

No one organization can do it alone. We are committed to working as an alliance for combined action to generate shared accountability for student and community outcomes.

Transparency

We build and maintain trust by ensuring authentic participation, and share information and decisions openly through the coalition.

Equity, Inclusion, & Diversity

We embrace strategies that are culturally competent, inclusive, and actively work to end systemic racism. We lead with equity. Every time.

Student-Centered

Children and students are our reason “why”. We place their interests at the center of every decision and every strategy.

Continuous Learning

We prioritize evidence-based strategies and tactics and we learn from data, research, and community voice to improve our work. We learn from missteps and adapt.

Strong Leadership

Our work calls for brave and visionary leaders across the cradle-to-career continuum who will innovate and work boldly to advance change.

What is Collective Impact?

Collective impact is a multi-sector, collaborative approach to change systems and solve deep-rooted community challenges. By uniting organizations across Hamilton County to work together to address problems at their root cause, we can solve our greatest challenges permanently.

Collective impact and systems change initiatives like Chattanooga 2.0 move beyond programmatic or charitable responses to a community challenge and, rather, focus on addressing the structures within organizations and systems that hold a problem in place.

We work to fundamentally change the way systems behave, because we believe that’s what it will take to change outcomes of our children, students, and workforce.

A systems change approach ensures that we are not just treating the symptoms of systems that don’t serve our community. Instead, together we are building something better–a new approach and a new system in Chattanooga-Hamilton County that will change the future of our community and economy.

2030 gOALS

What is a Thriving Wage? Chattanooga 2.0 defines a Thriving Wage as the annual income needed for a single 18 to 25 year-old to live and contribute to a thriving economy in our county and is currently calculated at $32,000 or more annually. As the rates of college-and-career readiness and postsecondary attainment increase, so too should the share of young adults earning a Thriving Wage in our community.

OUR THRIVING WAGE CALCULATION = United Way of Tennessee’s ALICE surviving wage + savings and extra spending as a percentage of salary + a realistic housing and utilities adjustment