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The March for Children and Youth Month Playbook is designed to provide simple steps to advocate for Community Schools as a vehicle to address inequities children face every day!

March for Children and Youth Month was launched in 2017 as an annual campaign to concentrate our advocacy efforts among our national, state and local partners. Our collective advocacy as a Coalition is important both to build champions among our policymakers for policies and funding that support children and youth and to strengthen our role as advocates for children and youth who are facing systemic inequities in their communities. Although we have seen a steady decline in child poverty rates over the last few years, the percentage of Black and Hispanic students living in poverty is almost four times that of their white peers. With racial disparities in school, we can no longer sit on the sidelines and hope others advocate for more equitable conditions-it must be us, it must be now, and we must speak with one voice.

The Stages of Development serve as a guide for states as they build or scale their state coalitions for Community Schools. The four stages are: EXPLORING There is talk of developing a coalition, but only informal communications or plans have been made. Someone convenes a group of people to move the plans forward. EMERGING Commitment to developing a coalition by actively convening partners and putting in place a governance structure with initial goals and benchmarks outlined. EVOLVING There is an official coalition in place, a wide range of partners are involved, regular communications to local practitioners, and a leadership team and professional learning convenings occurring. EXPANDING The coalition has added key committees, is regularly tracking impact and stories, and is widening sphere of influence through new partnerships, expanded public communications, and ongoing capacity building.

Stages of Development for creating and growing your State Coalition.