Summit Education Initiative

Recently, we hosted our Spring PK–8 Collaborative Breakfast, bringing together educators, community partners, and leaders from across Summit County who are committed to helping children thrive.

The PK–8 Collaborative serves as a space for partners to align efforts, learn from one another, and take action around two shared goals: increasing Kindergarten Readiness and ensuring more children are reading proficiently by third grade.

This year's conversation focused on early literacy and highlighted the bright spots happening across our community. Together, we explored the importance of strong early learning experiences, family engagement, relationship-building, and whole-child supports in helping children become confident, successful readers.

We are grateful to the schools and organizations that shared their successes, strategies, and resources. Real progress happens when communities work together, and we left inspired by the collective commitment to ensuring every child has the opportunity to succeed.

A special thank you to the Akron Zoo for hosting us and providing such a welcoming space for connection, learning, and collaboration.

Community voice in action.

At SEI, we believe meaningful change starts by listening—and grows when community voice helps shape decisions, strategies, and solutions.

Your voice doesn’t just matter. It drives the work forward.

Ever wondered what Summit Education Initiative means by “Transition Points”?

Transition Points are key academic milestones that research shows strongly predict long-term success: from early childhood through postsecondary education.

At SEI, we track progress at critical moments, including:

📚 Kindergarten Readiness
📖 Third Grade Reading
➗ Eighth Grade Math
🎓 Ninth Grade Success
🎯 College & Career Readiness
🏫 Postsecondary Enrollment

These milestones matter because each one builds on the next.

For example:
• Kindergarten readiness predicts later reading success
• Third grade reading proficiency is linked to high school graduation
• Ninth grade GPA predicts future academic outcomes
• Postsecondary enrollment is strongly connected to economic opportunity

Success isn’t defined by one test - it’s shaped across a lifetime.