Promise Communities
Promise Partnership Utah is achieving better outcomes for kids and families in eight communities across the Wasatch Front: South Salt Lake, Kearns, Millcreek, Midvale, Clearfield, Bountiful, and Ogden.
In Promise Communities, most students attend a Community School and/or civic leaders and cross-sector partners work in deep collaboration to improve outcomes.
Two of these communities, South Salt Lake and Millcreek, have committed to re-doubling our efforts to ensure 100% of students graduate high school with a career plan and have their basic needs met by 2028.
Promise South Salt Lake
Promise South Salt Lake is a city department and a city-wide network of cradle-to-career supports for families. Promise South Salt Lake has brought to life a vision and promise of every child in the city having the opportunity to attend and graduate from college, every resident having access to a clean/safe home, and every resident having the opportunity to be healthy and prosper. They accomplish this through:
• 14 youth and community programs across 6 community centers and 8 schools
• A team of family liaisons helping families experiencing instability navigate the resources they need
• A network of over 100 partners working together to remove barriers for kids and families and create a clear cradle-to-career pathway for all students
Working to create safe neighborhoods characterized by access to affordable housing, plentiful transportation options, and community identity and pride.
Millcreek Promise
Millcreek Promise, embedded in the City of Millcreek, mobilizes stakeholders to work together to improve the community in the areas of safety, health, education, and economic well-being. They align existing programs to create a pipeline of services for residents, create new programs and services to fill gaps, and provide resources for residents. Millcreek Promise works toward these goals:
• All Millcreek youth have the support to maximize academic success on their path to high school graduation and post-secondary education.
• All Millcreek residents have access to health and safety services and resources.
• All Millcreek residents have the opportunities to provide a high quality of life for themselves and their families.
Other Promise Communities
Bountiful, Clearfield, Kearns, Midvale, Ogden, Salt Lake City – Cross-sector partners work together to ensure their communities are places where children and families can thrive. Community schools form the heart of Promise Communities, and partners work together inside and outside of schools to improve outcomes and improve economic mobility.
Our Roadmap to Success
Promise Partnership Utah takes a cradle-to-career approach to improving education outcomes for youth. The reason for this is simple: children benefit from a concrete path to success. They need a continuum of uninterrupted opportunities and supports, each stage of which provides a foundation for those that follow. With a shared accountability mindset, we track the well-being of children over time using the indicators on this roadmap.
Attendance at Granite Park Jr. High
Initiatives focus on improving attendance. These include incentives for students, attendance trackers who are assigned to follow up with students and families, and home visits conducted by family engagement teams who meet with parents and caregivers to connect them to additional resources and services.
Promise Partners Provide Out-of-School Programs
Promise Partners in South Salt Lake and Millcreek are providing high-quality out-of-school time programs with an emphasis on school day alignment. Teachers can identify students who may need extra academic support, and those students receive tutoring and resources that reinforce what they are learning in the classroom. Partners are also working to better align preschool and early childhood programs with K-12 curriculum to improve kindergarten readiness and facilitate a smooth pathway that supports learning from cradle to career.
Career Pathways at Cottonwood High
Cottonwood High School is collaborating with community partners to expose students to different opportunities and career pathways available to them. They are working to offer technical classes that align with student interests and career goals, putting them on a path to graduation with industry-specific credentials. Promise Partners are working on a student navigation system that uses data to identify students at risk of falling behind and gain a more holistic understanding of students’ situations. This allows schools and partners to coordinate the best resources to ensure students have the necessary support to meet their needs.
Social Determinants of Health
South Salt Lake and Millcreek are engaged in a process to develop and implement a social determinants of health plan that addresses community-level basic needs such as mental health resources, food access, and affordable housing for students and families. This work will help enable the community conditions to support students and families and achieve the 100% goals.