Minnesota Alliance With Youth

Say hello (or сайн уу) to Anarmaa! Anarmaa is joining the Alliance team as a Community Solutions Fellow with IREX from Mongolia, and will be working as our Youth Research Fellow until November! She hopes to engage in advocacy and policy work focused on youth involvement, climate action, research and data analysis, community engagement, and sustainability initiatives. She seeks to inspire young leaders, contribute to environmental conservation efforts, and promote evidence-based decision-making to foster a sense of environmental stewardship within communities. In her free time, Anarmaa enjoys collecting notebooks, exploring nature, spending cherished moments with her children, and finding satisfaction in the simple task of folding clothes. We're so happy to have you here!

Powerful testifying today at the Student Attendance and Truancy Legislative Study Group. I was able to stress that the Minnesota Alliance With Youth brings solutions to the crisis of chronic absenteeism. I left the hearing with a great deal of hope and optomism. The amount of consensus on the challenge was notabke to me. So was the recognition that relationships with caring adults is key to engaging with students in positive, productive, and accountable way. Alliance Promise Fellows and our new Youth Mental Health Corps are uniquely trained and prepared to be the positive difference for students. Excited to collaborate with the legislators on the Study Group and with our nonprofit, school district, and county friends who were also testifying today.

So proud of Alliance AmeriCorps members Lillie and Elsa!

Our Executive Director Jim Davnie and EdAllies Policy Director Matt Shaver discussing chronic absenteeism and the work at the legislature this session to identify and fund solutions at the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare (CASCW)' Be@School Conference today! Learn more about chronic absenteeism and the Alliance's work to support students at www.mnyouth.net

Our Executive Director Jim Davnie was up early this morning, talking with WCCO's Morning News with Vineeta Sawkar about AmeriCorps Promise Fellows and the new Youth Mental Health Corps initiative! 📻 Didn't get up early enough to catch him on air? 👂 Take a listen here: https://bit.ly/JimonWCCO There is still plenty of time to apply to serve with AmeriCorps this school year OR to bring a Promise Fellow to your school! Learn more at www.mnyouth.net Thanks to Pinterest, Schultz Family Foundation and ServeMinnesota!

Did you catch our Executive Director Jim Davnie and AmeriCorps Promise Fellow Kaija Lee on WCCO & CBS News Minnesota yesterday? They talked about serving as an AmeriCorps Promise Fellow and the new Youth Mental Health Corps initiative with Schultz Family Foundation, Pinterest and ServeMinnesota. Watch it here: https://lnkd.in/giDTNApB

"One of my students suffers from a lot of negative self-talk. I was able to work with her this week to help her better cope with not getting in her own way and not being so upset when she lost a game. It felt very rewarding when I was able to help her see good things about herself. Plus, we found out that she is really good at fishing!" 🐟 -AmeriCorps Summer Engagement Fellow Want to help youth find their strengths and talents? Sign up to serve ---> https://lnkd.in/eQgXc98

Did you know that the Alliance has a cohort of Summer Engagement Fellows? These AmeriCorps members are spending the summer months at school-based programs, camp experiences, and community programs. This story about a student working towards high school graduation over the summer is an inspiration! ☀ 👩🎓 "A couple months back I was working with one of my students was behind on credits and she really wanted to graduate on time, so she came to me, and we planned and set a goal for the remainder of the school year. She would come to my office every day and I helped her get a lot of extra credit assignments. It was nice to see her push her limits and at the end, she was so sweet and was telling me how appreciative she was. She walked with her graduating class and now she is at summer school finishing up the .5 credit she has left."

National Partnership for Student Success Support Hub Series of brief spotlights highlight promising strategies districts use to address chronic absence. One spotlight is the partnership between Minnesota Alliance With Youth AmeriCorps Promise Fellows and Minneapolis Public Schools using Check & Connect to combat absenteeism. Visit the National Partnership for Student Success page to learn more about this work and other strategies districts may consider to increase graduation rates for the 2024-2025 school year. https://lnkd.in/gK8Xd2xg

From Awareness to Action: Uniting Efforts to Address the Attendance Crisis We're looking forward to the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare (CASCW) and Hennepin County Attorney's Office Be@School Conference in August! "Together, we’ll focus on chronic absenteeism as well as the intersecting issues of racial justice, mental health, and the impacts of COVID-19, to catalyze meaningful change in our communities." Our very own Jim Davnie will be co-presenting on the state of Absenteeism with EdAllies's Matt Shaver! Reserve your spot today! https://lnkd.in/g-HxNDZV