The My Brother’s Keeper Alliance work is rooted in six key life milestones that research shows are especially predictive of later success, and where interventions can have the greatest impact.
Although the factors that influence success at each stage are complex and interdependent, by focusing on these milestones, doing what works and removing or avoiding roadblocks that hinder progress, we can provide young people the opportunity and the tools to get ahead.
The earliest years of a child’s life are critical for building the foundation for success in school and beyond. During these years, children’s brains develop rapidly, influenced heavily by their experiences.
Children who live in poverty face an array of environmental factors that can harm their development and life outcomes. With gaps between children from lower and higher income families beginning early in life, efforts to narrow disparities and facilitate economic mobility must start before birth and focus on the individuals who are most influential in children’s lives: parents, caregivers and teachers.
To drive real change in our community, we must seek opportunities to:
All children should be reading at grade level by the end of third grade — the time at which reading to learn, and not just learning to read, becomes essential.
Reading well at an early age is essential to later success in education, employment, and life. Students who are not reading at proficient levels by the end of third grade are more likely to struggle throughout their school years, which in turn leads to higher dropout rates and fewer students being college and career ready. Increasing proficiency rates and closing the achievement gap are among the most persistent educational challenges we face. Making significant progress for all children is more likely when families, schools, and communities work as partners to share the responsibility for all children reading on grade level by the end of third grade.
To drive real change in our community, we must seek opportunities to:
Key Principles
Every American child should be college and career ready.
The dropout rate for all students is down, and college enrollment rates are at an all-time high, yet there remain significant gaps, where many young people leave high school without a diploma or the preparation needed to succeed in college or a career.
Research has demonstrated that schools with effective leaders, committed staff, involved parents, a supportive climate, and ambitious learning goals are successful in educating all students. Research has also demonstrated benefits from expanded learning time that enriches students’ learning; partnerships with local businesses and post-secondary partners that link school work to real-world expectations and experiences; and out of school opportunities and community-based programs that enrich learning and reduce incidences of violence and crime. Together, these practices are strengthening the pipeline from high school into college and careers.
To drive real change in our community, we must seek opportunities to:
Key Principles
All Americans should receive the education and training needed for quality jobs of today and tomorrow.
By 2020, an estimated 65 percent of jobs will require post-secondary education. It has been well-documented that higher levels of education lead to higher wages for individuals and, in turn, higher tax revenues for federal, state, and local governments. Additionally, more education leads to increased public engagement of Americans in the life of their communities, regions, and states. The economic and civic health of the nation depends on a well-educated citizenry, and ensuring that all citizens are able to participate and successfully leverage educational opportunities is critical for the nation’s future.
To drive real change in our community, we must seek opportunities to:
Key Principles
Anyone who wants a job should be able to get a job that allows them to support themselves and their families.
Ensuring that all young people have the tools and opportunities to enter the workforce successfully is a goal we must strive to reach. Where there are barriers to participation, we should seek to remove them. Where there are too few opportunities, we should seek to expand them to ensure that all young Americans have the opportunity to achieve their full potential.
To drive real change in our community, we must seek opportunities to:
Key Principles
All children should be safe from violent crime; and individuals who are confined should receive the education, training, and treatment needed to have a real second chance.
On the path to adulthood, youth may fall victim to violence or experience an interaction with the juvenile and criminal justice systems that permanently alters their trajectory for the worse. While crime and incarceration rates have generally decreased across the United States in recent years, violence continues to plague many communities and disproportionately affect communities of color. Persons of color disproportionately have contact with law enforcement, are overrepresented in correctional settings, and face disparate treatment in the juvenile justice system. Our criminal justice data needs to be improved to help us better understand the underlying issues in this realm.
To drive real change in our community, we must seek opportunities to:
Key Principles