Contact:  Adam McFadden @ (585) 370-2816

Rochester, NY  September 25, 2007

The Rochester Children’s Zone, Inc. Board announces the release of its August 2007 Implementation Framework; formation of a transition team to recruit an executive director and prioritize a variety of start up and continuation actions required to make the Rochester Children’s Zone vision a reality; and the recruitment of an individual to lead the transition team over the next few months.

THE IMPLEMENTATION FRAMEWORK
In March 2007, the Rochester Children’s Zone Community Plan was released to the public.  That plan included 40 multi-year objectives and more than 190 strategies developed by eight working teams, a Strategy Team, and a Strategy Team Subcommittee.  The Community Plan represented hundreds of hours of volunteer work and the culmination of the first four phases of the planning process—design of the planning process, vision development, problem and asset identification, and solutions/related research phase (strategy formulation).

The Rochester Children’s Zone has now completed the fifth planning phase, implementation planning.  An Implementation Team met three times between a May 22-24 Implementation Conference, Moving from Plan to Action and July 2007.  The Implementation Team’s task was to ensure that the 40 multi-year objectives were prioritized into an actionable list of objectives and strategies that will be the focus of work in the Zone in the immediate future.  The implementation planning phase has reduced and consolidated the Community Plan objectives from 40 to 8 and strategies from 190 to 35 strategies.  The eight objective areas focus on:  resident capacity; financial efficacy; prenatal & early childhood development; high school graduation; community safety & environment; health status; adult education & employment; and coordination of service delivery. (Copies of the Implementation Framework are available in English and Spanish on the following website:  http://www.rcsdk12.org/rcz.)

TRANSITION
The idea for a Rochester Children Zone project and focus on children commenced within the Rochester City School District, under the leadership of former Superintendent Dr. Manuel Rivera, because of the performance and poverty levels of students in selected North East Rochester schools.  The District’s Office of Planning provided staff, infrastructure, the majority of funding, and leadership to the community planning process.  Now, in response to community desires and the need for the District to focus on its core mission of educating its students, the project’s oversight is entering a new stage.  With the completion of the five planning phases, responsibility for the community-wide coordination, facilitation, attention to community mobilization, funding, policy analysis, project management, and communication has transitioned from the Rochester City School District to the Rochester Children’s Zone, Inc., a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
The immediate actions for the Rochester Children’s Zone, Inc. focus on securing the $4 million ($2.8 million for 2007; and $1.2 million for 2008) in New York State dollars included in the Governor’s 2007 budget.  In addition, the Rochester Children’s Zone, Inc. is recruiting an individual to lead a transition team and convening a transition team to secure New York State dollars, finalize a budget, set up office logistics and communications, recruit an executive director, and prioritize a variety of start up and continuation actions required to make the Rochester Children’s Zone a reality—in the short and long run. 

TRANSITION TEAM LEADER
The Rochester Children’s Zone, Inc. is currently recruiting an individual to lead the transition team over the next few months.  The individual should possess project management, organizational, and overall management experience and demonstrate strong communication, facilitation, and problem-solving skills.  This transition team leader will work closely with the Rochester Children’s Zone, Inc. Board and the transition team but will not serve as the “public face” of the Rochester Children’s Zone.  Resumes will be accepted for this paid, interim position through October 10, 2007.  Applicants should expect to be available between October 15, 2007 and December 31, 2007.  All resumes and recommendations should be forwarded to the Rochester Children’s Zone transition team at:
Rochester Children’s Zone Transition Team
c/o Boylan, Brown, Doce, Vigdor, & Wilson LLP
2400 Chase Square, 24th Floor
Rochester, NY  14604