Bridgeport’s Leadership in Action Program

On May 31, 2007 the Bridgeport Leadership in Action Program (LAP), a results-based leadership development program that puts an identified result at the center of the work, kicked off at Casey Family Services.  The LAP process gets real results for children and families by training people from a wide range of fields and positions who are already working to improve the prospects for disadvantaged children and families. The program helps strengthen participants’ leadership and management skills. It also helps leaders learn to collaborate more effectively, move more quickly toward common goals, and use data to develop action plans that also measure progress. The experience fosters the capacity of organizations, agencies, and communities to sustain change efforts for years to come.

The long-term goal of the Bridgeport Leadership in Action Program is that all Bridgeport children enter school ready to learn.  The group will use the State Department of Education’s Kindergarten Proxy Assessment to measure the effectiveness of the program.  In addition, LAP participants and program management will develop and track performance measures to determine if their actions are making an impact.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation, a major funder of Bridgeport’s LAP, has a long-standing interest in understanding how leadership in states, cities and communities can effect measurable improvements in the well-being of families and children.  The Casey Foundation is currently in its fifth year of testing and implementing the Leadership in Action Program  -- a model that builds the capacity of local leaders while simultaneously accelerating measurable improvements in the well-being of families, children and communities.

The William Graustein Foundation is another major funder of this program, along with the State of Connecticut, the Child Health & Development Center, the Fairfield County Community Foundation and United Way of Eastern Fairfield County, who is also serving as the fiscal agent. At a two-day session on June 28 & 29, participants made key decisions and action commitments concerning the implementation of Bridgeport’s Blueprint for Young Children, a comprehensive plan with goals, benchmarks, strategies, and outcomes to ensure that children are adequately prepared as they take the first steps in their academic careers.

Over the next 14 months, LAP participants will be working together to develop leadership competencies. They will explore issues such as race, class, and culture and how these issues affect school readiness. They will learn how to accelerate and sustain change. Ultimately, they will achieve a better understanding of the actions they need to put into effect to improve school readiness.