EducateNKY Launches “Start of School Assistance” Program

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Covington, KY – EducateNKY Board members and staff went back to school this week-literally. With the pilot of Start of School Assistance Program (SOSA), 50+ recruited volunteers including community leaders, NKU students and non-profit employees provided “hands on support” to Covington Ninth District Elementary and Newport Intermediate schools. They welcomed students, assisted with lunch cartons, guided students to classrooms and greeted families and students with a friendly smile.

“At our core, EducateNKY is a group of local leaders and committed volunteers who envision an education ecosystem that ignites every eager, vibrant mind,” said EducateNKY President and CEO Cheye Calvo. “There is no better way to make this work real at the start of the school year than by spending a few hours in our schools to make sure our students, families, and teachers have extra support to begin their year strong.”

EducateNKY was launched in August 2023 and completed a comprehensive assessment of the Northern Kentucky education landscape. The report placed a focus on the the River City communities of Covington, Newport, Bellevue, Dayton, Southgate and Ludlow where socioeconomic disparities result in academic outcomes below state and regional averages. After engaging key stakeholders in work groups this summer to gather input, EducateNKY is preparing to finalize and release its 5-year strategic plan focused in five priority areas: Early Learning, Family Engagement, Out of School Time/Exposure, Mastery Learning and Secondary Options. EducateNKY sees its role as an incubator, activator and accelerator working with other partners collaboratively to implement systemic change that improves education outcomes across the continuum. A key element of EducateNKY’s approach is to engage more community stakeholders in its public schools.

Participating schools felt the SOSA support in a direct and powerful way. “I am so deeply thankful to EducateNKY for arranging the SOSA volunteers for us! It’s heartwarming to know that we can count on you to help create a nurturing and supportive environment for our students. Your involvement not only strengthens our school community but also sets a powerful example for our students about the importance of giving back and being an active part of something larger than themselves. Your dedication, time, and energy made a world of difference to our students, teachers, and the entire school community,” said Dr. Jennifer Michael, Principal, Newport Intermediate.

Volunteers were also powerfully reminded of the EducateNKY mission as they interacted with students and observed first-day activities in the classroom. “Besides having a great time and reminiscing, I was reminded of the critical role our educators-and families have in building these young lives,” said Chuck Session, Executive-in-Residence at the United Way of Greater Cincinnati and an EducateNKY board member. “Students are curious, excited, and ready to learn. As a community, we need to provide the support to help them reach their full potential.”

EducateNKY Releases Landscape Assessment Report

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EducateNKY is pleased to release the final EducateNKY Landscape Assessment Report. This report provides the foundation and emphasizes the imperative for our region to effectively “educate every eager and vibrant mind”. EducateNKY is a learning organization – we strive to improve educational outcomes via data-driven decision making. Before launching any major efforts, we invested in working with an external consultant to complete a comprehensive landscape assessment over the past nine months which included hundreds of key stakeholder interviews across multiple sectors and an in-depth analysis of education-related, community-related data. We are grateful to Cheye Calvo with C Squared Strategies for his efforts on our behalf.

The report includes the identification of emerging priority areas for our work and the data rationale behind them. It is educational, complex, compelling, and sobering in some areas. Our hope is that this report ignites a collective sense of urgency to develop a NKY ecosystem leading to innovation, inclusivity, and community collaboration, with a strong emphasis on empowering teachers and equipping students for the future to make a positive impact on our community and beyond.

You can read the full EducateNKY Landscape Assessment Report, as updated in October 2024, here. 

EducateNKY: ‘It’s not just about education’

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EducateNKY has a mission. The local nonprofit is dedicated to rethinking education in Northern Kentucky.

The organization was launched in March of 2023. But before its leaders did anything, they decided to listen.

“Our researcher interviewed every superintendent in Northern Kentucky, many families, many parents, nonprofit leaders, Judges/Executives—a lot of people—and came up with these findings,” President and CEO of EducateNKY Tim Hanner said. “It wasn’t just about looking at data. It was really about working with people’s hearts.”

Read full article here…

Tim Hanner named president/CEO of EDUCATE NKY, emerges from retirement for OneNKY Alliance project

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Former Kenton County Schools Superintendent and entrepreneur Tim Hanner is named President & CEO of new EDUCATE NKY.

This organization was incubated and launched by the OneNKY Alliance to address bold, systemic change in education throughout Northern Kentucky.

Hanner begins the role on July 1.

The organization will focus on the development of a comprehensive effort to improve student outcomes in underperforming, underserved districts in partnership with educators, business and community leaders, parents, students, and elected officials.

“EDUCATE NKY calls for deliberate strategy development, policy alignment and innovative education strategies that drive the future success of our students and their outcomes,” said EDUCATE NKY chair and OneNKY Alliance board member Greg Fischer (Fischer Homes). “We are excited to have Tim at the helm to steer this effort.”

Tim Hanner

The EDUCATE NKY board includes Greg Fischer (Fischer Homes and Chair of EDUCATE NKY); Garren Colvin (St. Elizabeth Healthcare), Normand Desmarais (Tier 1 Performance Solutions), Tim Fogarty (WCM Holdings, Inc.), Bob Heil (KLH Engineers, Inc.), Jack Kenkel (Victory Community Bank retired president), Lynn Schaber (Community Volunteer), Matt Smith (Ziegler & Schneider, PSC) and Jim Votruba (NKU president emeritus).

The organization is also supported by an advisory council inclusive of a variety of stakeholders.

“We have much to celebrate in Northern Kentucky on the education front, however too many of our students are still left behind, which impacts the progress of our community, our workforce and quality of life,” said Hanner. “I am honored to chart this road map focused on transformational change on behalf of our students.”

Hanner brings more than 30 years of experience in education, as a teacher, program coordinator, principal, superintendent, and consultant to the role. In addition, he offers a diverse background in nonprofits and business, consulting, and professional training.

Tim and Marlene

In these roles, he developed innovative programs including Born Learning Academy (with United Way) and Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) campus. Tim worked with others to create a nonprofit organization to assist middle/high school students and their families in the areas of preparing for life beyond high school – NaviGo College and Career Prep Services. He is the co-founder of the Administrators Roundtable Network, LLC. He holds degrees from the University of Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky University and Eastern Kentucky University. He and his wife Marlene live in Covington, near their family.

“The Northern Kentucky Community has successfully addressed complex issues together for many years,” said OneNKY President & CEO Karen Finan. “We must plan for the future NKY – twenty years out – one where education drives the outcomes, and we continue as a thriving community for all. We know that Tim Hanner will create the path forward for this vision.”

EDUCATE NKY was incubated and launched in 2023 by the OneNKY Alliance to address positive systemic change in education throughout Northern Kentucky, with specific focus on underserved and underperforming school districts. The organization works to identify and implement best practices in successful educational approaches to drive improved student outcomes. By doing so, the wider NKY community will win. For more information, visit: https://onenkyalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Educate-NKY-Announces-New-CEO-5-24-23.pdf