Tag: teachers

New YeaR, New Work

Posted on by impactllcs

On this first day of the new year, I am reflecting on the year that just ended and setting intentions for 2025.

In 2024, imPACT grew into new spaces carrying the same values of voice, equity, measurable impact, and joy that have been so critical to our work in schools.  We built partnerships with Spectrum of Hope Health, Wellness & Community Services, Arcadia Strategy Group, and Educator Support Collaborative to broaden our practice into advocacy, strategic planning, and community organizing.  Meanwhile, outside of business hours, I invested in honing my advocacy skills with The Arc of Maryland Partners in Policymaking and Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Maternal and Child Health Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Other Related Disabilities (LEND) Program.  

BUILDING SUPPORTIVE BRIDGES with Hope Connections

Spectrum of Hope: Prince George’s County MD

In 2023, Spectrum of Hope invited imPACT to support the development of a holistic program to support families of autistic children as an education specialist. In 2024, Spectrum of Hope was awarded a grant from the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission to implement the Hope Connections Program.  Hope Connections provides family navigation and other services to lay the foundation for greater well-being and holistic advocacy for autistic youth and those with other behavioral health and co-occurring conditions, and their families. imPACT provides professional development for schools, and educational planning support for families to ensure that school and home are collaboratively focused on the child’s best interests.

ALIGNING OPERATIONS and CHARTING PATHWAYS TO JUSTICE

Reparations Commission, Greenbelt MD

In March 2022, City Council members in Greenbelt, Maryland, empaneled the Greenbelt Reparations Commission as a result of a referendum passed by voters for a commission to review, discuss, and make recommendations related to local reparations for African American and Native American residents of Greenbelt.  In order to meet its charge, the Commission has been researching actions that led to inequities over time among Greenbelt’s African American and Native American population and will suggest ways for the City to rectify these inequities. 

One of their partners in that work has been the team of imPACT Educational Consulting and Arcadia Strategy Group’s Peter Metsopoulos.   Cristina and Peter facilitated a Theory of Change process to align the Commission’s operations with its charge, and co-created governance, reporting, and meeting structures with the Commission to both center the Commission’s content expertise and to ensure accountability within the Commission’s committees.

ENGAGING COMMUNITY VOICES

No Boundaries Coalition and Invest York Road, Baltimore MD

Cristina and Peter later presented their Theory of Change approach at the Beyond Boundaries Civic Engagement & Democracy Conference hosted by the No Boundaries Coalition of Baltimore, MD. There, we shared what we learned about process versus content, and how to engage many voices in a planning process for change. At the same conference, Cristina had one of her last engagements with Invest York Road, sharing the community investment model as a means for positive and equitable outcomes in community development. It has been an honor to participate in a project so focused on equity and community as a community finance educator.

CENTERING EDUCATOR WELLNESS and EXPANDING IMPACT

Educator Support Collaborative, Baltimore MD

The Educator Support Collaborative’s (ESC) mission is to activate Baltimoreans to thank and support our City’s Public School Educators.  By harnessing the power of their network, ESC has leveraged volunteers to transform teachers’ lounges from spare rooms to beautiful spaces that meet teachers’ needs for community, connection, rest, and professional space.  Now, imPACT has joined to grow their work beyond the lounge.  With our knowledge and experience, we will center educators’ voices in identifying projects that truly shift school culture and impact teachers’ professional satisfaction so they can continue to pour into our communities.

Renovated Teachers’ Lounge at Mary Ann Winterling Elementary at Bentalou

Our work is deeply rooted in principles that will be challenged in this year to come.  The idea that we must center the voices of those among us who are most vulnerable and have the least power has taken a direct hit across the fields of education and politics.  There will undoubtedly be strain and struggle, and so finding joy in progress will remain crucial to how we operate. We remain committed to voice, equity, growth, and joy in our goals for 2025.

  1. To continue to grow our practice by taking on high impact projects in strategic planning, program management, and k-12 education.
  2. To develop a formal advocacy branch, focused on joy, equity, and voice through story-telling, as a resource to families and educators of students with disabilities.
  3. To deliver measurable progress to our clients and help them celebrate success.
  4. To amplify the voices of educators who continue to uplift our communities in the most challenging of times.