Chattanooga 2.0 has been selected for a new initiative that will help seven communities across the country reach their economic mobility goals by expanding enrichment and career-focused opportunities for young people.
Chattanooga 2.0 was selected following an extensive process, which started with an “Open Call” that drew interest from more than 1,700 communities.
Supported by The Wallace Foundation, the Advancing Opportunities for Adolescents initiative is a national effort that will explore how schools, nonprofits, government agencies, businesses, and other entities can deepen their collaboration with the afterschool, enrichment, and summer programs that comprise each community’s out-of-school sector.
The initiative also includes partnerships in Adams County and Broomfield County, Colorado; Akron, Ohio; Poughkeepsie, New York; Monterey County, California; South Salt Lake City and Millcreek, Utah; and Wayne County, New York.
Wallace anticipates investing approximately $6 million to $10 million into Hamilton County–Chattanooga over the course of the initiative. Exact funding for our county will be determined during the planning and pilot years (2026-2027) and based on factors such as poverty levels, number of youth being served, and other considerations. Funding from Wallace is intended to augment investments that participating communities are already making for young people. In addition to funding, the communities will have access to additional resources and supports, such as peer learning opportunities and technical assistance.
The initiative aims to provide adolescents in the middle through early high school years with greater access to out-of-school opportunities that spark new interests, skills, and an awareness of potential future careers they may choose to pursue. Adolescents and their families will have more formalized support available to help them navigate across systems to find programs and resources they need.
Chattanooga 2.0 serves as the cradle-to-career backbone for Hamilton County, facilitates cross-sector partnerships, and leads local initiatives focused on children and youth. These efforts include the Out-of-School Time Alliance, a network of local partners who serve students after school and during the summer; close collaboration with Hamilton County Schools to increase student supports and success; and Viable Pathways to Prosperity, education-to-workforce pathways to thriving wage careers in the community.
“Chattanooga 2.0 is an early adopter of creating supports for young people to navigate their way through challenges and to identify opportunities that interest them, working with a dedicated adult,” said Gigi Antoni, Vice President of Youth Development, The Wallace Foundation. “This has, to date, happened through the school district, and the partnership is eager to expand and deepen this work during the initiative. We’re impressed by the partnership’s ability to garner collaboration across city, county, and school system leadership, and we look forward to working with and learning from them.”
Following a year of vision-setting and planning, Chattanooga 2.0 will concentrate its efforts on a range of core activities, which include:
- Strengthening and Expanding Collaboration with the Hamilton County–Chattanooga youth development sector, including expanding the quantity and quality of opportunities available to youth furthest from opportunity.
- Bolstering Youth Development Practices and Programs by identifying what interests young people and piloting efforts in one or two underserved areas, strengthening programming and focusing on professional development for the adults working with youth.
- Establishing or Strengthening Relationship-Based “Navigation,” pairing each young person with a caring adult who co-creates a personalized, strengths-based plan with them and their support network. These adults will help connect adolescents to resources and opportunities that remove barriers and support their goals.
- Collecting and Analyzing Data across the community to track program availability, cost, participation, and more to support continuous improvement and cost modeling.
- Executing a Strategic Communications Plan to build internal and external support, using compelling stories and data to promote understanding and sustainability.
- Planning for Sustainable Funding by mapping public and private funding sources (federal, state, and local) and identifying how to address gaps and develop strategies to sustain youth development and navigation efforts beyond the life of the initiative
- Participating in National and Local Research to document the impact on youth outcomes, produce evidence-based tools and playbooks, and share lessons learned.
This national research, led by American Institutes for Research (AIR), will span all participating communities’ efforts to document approaches and outcomes across systems, programs, and youth levels. Chattanooga 2.0’s participation in this initiative aims to not only produce local insights for the community but also benefit the broader youth development field by capturing and sharing what is learned.
Organizations providing technical assistance and supporting the initiative as thought partners include Children’s Funding Project; Community Wealth Partners; Every Hour Counts; FrameWorks Institute;The Institute for Success Planning at The EdRedesign Lab at Harvard Graduate School of Education; and The Marlo Companies. Additional partners will be added as the initiative unfolds.