In classrooms, on job sites and everywhere in between, the work is the same: removing the barriers that keep children from reaching their potential.
measure of success. Graduation rates, college acceptances and academic milestones matter, but they begin with something much more fundamental: helping children discover confidence, find a sense of belonging and believe in what ' s possible.
" My definition of success is having a student who is happy and able to move to the next grade with the knowledge they ' ll need to be successful."
She pauses before describing the vision that continues to drive her.
" I ' ll never be truly satisfied until every student in our community has a roof over their head and food on their table."
As employers continue asking where tomorrow ' s workforce will come from, Hosseini believes the answer requires communities to look much earlier in a child ' s life. Too often, she says, people assume schools alone can prepare children for success. But educators cannot solve every challenge families face. That responsibility belongs to all of us.
Businesses, nonprofits, schools, government agencies and community members each have a role to play in ensuring children have access to the opportunities that allow them to thrive.
Because workforce development doesn ' t begin with a résumé. It begins by removing the barriers that keep children from discovering what ' s possible.
Sometimes that ' s hunger. Sometimes it ' s transportation. Sometimes it ' s a birth certificate. Sometimes it ' s simply believing you belong.
Talent is everywhere. Opportunity isn ' t. The communities that recognize that— and commit to closing the gap between the two— will be the best positioned ones to build the workforce of tomorrow.
Kate Sark has over a decade of experience in marketing, communications and public relations. A native of Daytona Beach, Florida, she resides in the area with her husband and daughter.
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