Today we launch a new effort to move Milwaukee forward.

Dr. Patricia Hoben has been a leader in our community and the PAVE + STCM network for more than a decade as founding CEO of Carmen Schools of Science and Technology. She has a wealth of nonprofit management and public policy experience from roles at the federal, state, and local levels, as well as a doctorate from Yale University.

Our new name communicates the need for dramatic improvement to Milwaukee's education ecosystem as a means of advancing the city as a whole -- its quality of life, its economic success, and its readiness for the future. It also emphasizes the need for all of us to work collectively to eliminate our city's educational inequities.

City Forward Collective will prioritize community organizing aimed at giving Milwaukee students, parents and other communities a true voice in education. We're drawing on best practices from organizations in cities recognized for improving outcomes for students. Examples include the Mind Trust in Indianapolis, Innovate Public Schools in the San Francisco Bay Area and Education Forward DC in Washington, D.C. (Click here for more on our strategy.​)

A lot of our work will be new, designed to meet the needs Milwaukee has right now. We'll also continue in-demand programming aligned to our new strategy. This includes School Leadership Collaboratives, the Burke Fellowship, the Emerging Leaders Program, and some targeted School Leadership Coaching. Like always, we'll be working with all school types – district, charter and private.

We've got a lot of work ahead of us, and we're going to need your help. Please watch for opportunities in the near future to engage in focus groups and task forces that will help inform and hone our strategy.