Charting Our Future 2025 saw our community come together to share stories, spark ideas, and strengthen a shared commitment to youth success. As we return to our everyday roles, the key insights from this year’s conference offer a roadmap for action and remind us that progress is possible when we center relationships, elevate youth leadership, and lean into the power of local innovation.
“Change happens at the speed of trust. Without relationships, there is no trust. Without trust, there is no change.”
– Dr. Tafona Ervin
A Roadmap for Community-Driven Student Success
1. Community Alignment is Essential
The most successful student outcomes emerge from deep community connections. This isn’t just about having partnerships on paper, but about creating sustained, intentional relationships that reflect students’ values and open doors to real opportunities.
Real Impact in Action:
- CIS-Lakewood underscored the significance of long-term relationship building, describing their partnerships as both “mirrors” reflecting what student’s value and “doors” opening youth opportunities.
- Kids Mental Health Pierce County and Hope Sparks cited challenges in navigating complex healthcare and mental health systems, highlighting the need and effectiveness of integrated, community-based supports.
Strategic Actions:
- Invest in relational infrastructure as a strategic imperative, not as extra work.
- Create structured opportunities for cross-sector collaboration and trust-building.
- Establish clear partnership roles and shared accountability measures.
2. Youth Power is the Fuel for Change
Students are not just beneficiaries – they’re builders. At COF, youth leaders reminded us that systems built without their voices often miss the mark. We must shift from compliance to co-creation, from metrics to meaning.
“True education honors cultural legacies and pulls out innate knowledge, rather than pouring in.”
– Jeff Duncan-Andrade
Student Voice in Action:
Angelo Cruz’s call to action resonates throughout Pierce County: adults must remove barriers and build with, not for, youth. This means including students in decisions that directly affect their lives and creating environments that nurture potential beyond traditional metrics.
“Education is our best weapon… to crack down walls and barriers.”
– Angelo Cruz, student speaker
Strategic Recommendations
- Actively include students in decision-making processes.
- Focus institutional outcomes on student wellness and agency.
- Create environments that recognize and nurture student potential beyond conventional metrics.
3. Basic Needs are Prerequisites, not Perks
From mental health to housing, foundational needs cannot be treated as side issues. Stories from Kids Mental Health Pierce County, Clover Park Technical College, and others demonstrated that when students’ basic needs are met, doors to education and economic mobility open.
400% increase in youth behavioral health crises since the pandemic – highlighting the urgent need for proactive, accessible, preventative mental health measures. (reported by Kids Mental Health Pierce County)
Success Stories:
- Clover Park Technical College’s proactive, community-centered financial aid outreach successfully improved access among historically underserved populations, providing that removing barriers works.
Strategic Actions:
- Prioritize mental health and housing support in all student success strategies.
- Advocate for sustainable funding that protects foundational services.
4. Local Power and Resilience
Community organizations are navigating intense pressures without abandoning equity. Instead, they’re adapting creatively: diversifying funding, embracing tech innovations, and staying laser-focused on who they serve.
Adaptive Innovation:
- “We were told to remove the acronym [DEI], so we did, but replaced it with the names of the specific communities we serve.” – Amara
Strategic Actions:
- Conduct fiscal “run-rate” checks – ensure programs can run 12+ months if grants end.
- Diversify funding streams proactively.
- Leverage technology and AI for administrative efficiency.
5. Sustainable Impact Requires Rest and Reflection
In a field that often demands more than it gives, rest is revolutionary. COF’25 underscored the urgent need to center wellness – not just for students, but for the adults working alongside them.
“If you want to do this work and stay in this work, rest is necessary.”
– Erin Jones
The Heart of the Work:
- Jeff Duncan-Andrade reminds us that educators are first responders to youth trauma: “You have to win the heart to win the head.” This emotional labor requires intentional support systems.
Strategic Actions:
- Normalize rest and wellness practices at the organizational level.
- Celebrate wins and create space for collective healing.
Carry the Power Forward
The insights from Charting Our Future 2025 aren’t just reflections—they’re instructions. They call us to lean deeper into trust, youth voice, foundational support, local resilience, and care.
About Charting Our Future:
This initiative brings together educators, community organizations, students, and families across Pierce County to reimagine education through collaborative action. These insights represent the collective wisdom of dozens of community partners committed to improving student outcomes.
