Dr. Klein is honored to be highlighted by Johns Hopkins University's Alumni Weekend Committee as a featured alum, in honor of her 10th reunion! Click on the link below to view her feature: 

https://www.facebook.com/JohnsHopkinsAlumniWeekend/photos/pb.118364958217006.-2207520000.1523407069./1643087759078044/?type=3&theater

STRUCTURED SOLUTIONS is excited to announce a big change - that we have relocated from Baltimore, MD to Columbus, OH! While we will continue to support the work of Baltimore City Public Schools and its families and partners, it is exciting to explore a new area and expand our reach. 



In the upcoming months, Dr. Klein will be presenting at two national conferences - the Community Schools National Conference in Baltimore in May, and the National Family and Community Engagement Conference in Cleveland in July. We are excited for these opportunities and hope to engage with professionals in the field from across the country. 

Structured Solutions has had a busy spring and summer! Here's what we've been up to: 

• May blog feature on the Young Education Professionals (YEP) DC Recess blog: www.youngedprofessionals.org/yep-dc-recess-blog/the-power-of-a-positive-interaction-using-asset-based-engagement-strategies
• June presentation at the Institute for Educational Leadership's National Family and Community Engagement Conference with the Baltimore City Public Schools Office of Engagement team

• August blog feature on the National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement (NAFSCE) website: www.nafsce.org/blogpost/1594644/282191/Don-t-Be-Scared-of-Data--How-it-Can-Guide-Family-Engagement-and-Attendance-Interventions​

On May 12, Structured Solutions owner Amanda Klein graduated with her doctorate from Vanderbilt University. Commencement was an exciting culmination of three years of work, travel, and collaboration that have had a tremendous influence on the foundation and formation of this business. Professors such as Joseph Murphy, shown below, were especially influential and supportive.

Looking forward to using what was gained from this program to better support families, schools, and organizations!

It has been quite a busy few months for Structured Solutions! We are now supporting 22 elementary through high schools in Baltimore City with their family engagement efforts, working to bring big-picture thinking, creativity, and an asset-based approach to work that is often viewed from a compliance lens. We are working with an additional eight schools in Baltimore in conjunction with the Family League, supporting engagement efforts around Pre-K enrollment, early transitions to school, attendance, and partnerships with community childcare providers.

Our work has also expanded to Louisville, KY through a project with Attendance Works! We are supporting a small group of elementary schools in providing tried-and-true practices and strategies for supporting engagement in the area of attendance. 

Structured Solutions believes that this is essential work for helping to improve educational experiences for students, families, communities, and school staff. We are grateful for the opportunities to work with these schools and organizations in pursuit of it!

This month, Structured Solutions celebrated its first birthday! It has been an amazing year full of opportunity and growth, and we are incredibly grateful. 

We are excited to now be supporting over 20 schools in Baltimore City, working to help the Family League of Baltimore City evaluate its pilot grant supporting transitions from childcare/Head Start to Pre-K and Kindergarten, and talking to stakeholders in Baltimore about their needs for career resources and supports. 

Feel free to share our work with your networks, and if you are in need of project support, you are welcome to reach out to us. 

Summer 2016 was a busy one, full of meaningful projects and work with schools and the Baltimore City Public Schools district. Here's a snapshot of what we've been working on: 

• Helping the Family League learn more about the pilot grant for eight Baltimore City schools to improve enrollment for and transitions to Pre-K and Kindergarten. We got to attend a lot of summer and back to school events for families and will be conducting interviews with them in early fall. 
• Overhauled the Baltimore City Public Schools' online guidance to schools and outside organizations around school partnerships, as a project through Baltimore's Promise. 
  • To view the new Partnerships Toolkit for schools, click here. 
  • To view the new Partnerships Toolkit for partners, click here.
• Co-designed and co-presented a training to teachers in Oklahoma through the Academic Development Institute and the Center on Innovations in Learning around their concept of the Four Personal Competencies in student learning.

The biggest development for the fall is an amazing opportunity that came out of this summer work. I will be working contractually as an Engagement Specialist with Baltimore City Public Schools to support the family and community engagement supports for 21 state-identified Priority Schools. I am honored for the opportunity and eager to hit the ground running!

I am so grateful for the support, referrals, and guidance I have received as I have launched my business. Thank you to all who have contributed. 

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The DC Data Summit (www.dcdatasummit.org) on July 14 was a powerful day of learning, networking, sharing, and bonding with fellow data nerds! Structured Solutions presented on how to use data to create a culture of care among the chronically absent student population. The 25 attendees brought great insight and enthusiasm. Check out our events page for the presentation documents. Thanks to all who attended and to those who shared their own insights that day!

What a great six months it has been! I am so thankful for every person who has provided support, encouragement, advice, and referrals as my business got off the ground. 

To celebrate, we have done a BIG website makeover! Take a look around and let us know what you think.