One of the most rewarding parts of the Causeway Challenge experience is taking a step back at the end to admire all the hard work that went into it, and reflecting on lessons learned along the way. With every round of Challenge Winners, we are encouraged by the personal growth of the leaders and the impact of the projects.
Through the fourth Causeway Challenge we funded 12 projects that answered the question, “How can parents help transform public education in Chattanooga?” We invest in grassroots leaders, so that they can then invest in their own communities. That ripple effect can be see through this Challenge. The nine projects that we received data from reached 428 people in 17 zip codes across Chattanooga.
Causeway Challenge projects are meant to be a starting point, or a pilot, that leaves the leader with a concrete example of the project, and some knowledge gained, to move towards a larger impact. We collaborated with Program Partners to track measurable outcomes for each individual project. Even on their first go-around, nearly every project showed a positive increase in parent involvement or engagement with their child’s education. Here is one example of the data each project collected. If you’re a data nerd like us, you can dive into a summary for each project here.
We are so proud of the results we have already seen, and we can’t wait to see these Challenge Winners continue to strengthen and grow their projects, creating new pathways for parents to engage in education.
2017 is almost here! We will start the year off strong working with our Youth Challenge winners, and we are already brainstorming on what our sixth Challenge question will be. Tell us what you think we should ask.
