An Opportunity Neighborhood provides all children access to effective schools and strong community support systems to help them succeed academically and professionally. It coordinates seamless support services from early childhood through college and career. Key principles include a collaborative of stakeholders working together with data-driven decisions and strategies to ensure all children are ready for school, succeed in school, graduate high school, and are prepared for college and careers.

1. What is an Opportunity Neighborhood?
All children growing up in an
Opportunity Neighborhood have access
to effective schools and strong systems
of family and community support that
will prepare them to attain an excellent
education and be successful in college
and career.

2. An Opportunity Neighborhood
Wraps its Children in
High Quality
and
Coordinated
Support
Focused on
Improving
Educational
and
Developmental
Outcomes

3. An Opportunity Neighborhood provides
a Seamless Continuum of Services for its children
from Cradle to College to Career
Career
College
High
Middle School
Elementary School
Early School
Childhood
Schools

4. Opportunity Neighborhoods Model
A need for Solutions that incorporate Positive Outcomes
solutions for Aligned We Can Achieve
children and Community, Schools and
families: County Students meet
Infrastructure and outcomes at
Are ALL children
ready for School?
Leadership
Effective Community Services developmental stages
and are ultimately
(Nonprofits, Faith-based)
prepared for college
Are ALL children and careers
and youth healthy? High-Performing Schools and
Academic Programs
Engaged communities
Are ALL youth that support the
graduating from healthy development
high school?
Strong Family Supports
and well-being of
children and families
Are ALL youth
prepared for
college?

5. Key Principles of
Opportunity Neighborhoods: Mount Vernon

6. How Opportunity Neighborhoods
Can Work in Mount Vernon
A broad-based alliance
of public and private
stakeholders… Solutions that a
…sharing incorporate Aligned Positive Outcomes
Community, Schools and County
commitment We Can Achieve
• Youth, Parents and Families …and working
Infrastructure and Leadership
to the same results…
• Together We’re the Answer
Community Collaborative and together to:
• ALL children are prepared for
the Mount Vernon Task Force
school entry
• Nonprofit and Faith Based
• ALL children and youth succeed
Organizations • Serve an entire neighborhood
in school
• Capital One and the Business • Create pipelines of supports
• ALL youth graduate from high
Sector and services
school and succeed in post-
• George Mason University- • Build community
secondary/career
Center for Social Science • Use data to drive decisions,
• Families and neighborhoods
Research policy, and funding
support the healthy
• Fairfax County Public Schools- • Cultivate a culture of
development, academic
Mount Vernon HS, Whitman engagement, involvement and
success, and well being of their
MS, Mount Vernon Woods success
children
ES, Riverside ES, Woodlawn ES
• Fairfax County Government
• Center for the Study of Social
Policy

7. Building a Broad-Based Alliance of Public
and Private Stakeholders
WHERE DO YOU FIT IN?
Schools Community County
Government
Parents
Families Youth
Non-Profits
Residents
Faith-based Organizations Neighborhood Business Sector
Associations

8. Opportunity Neighborhoods: A New Perspective
RESULT: Families and
RESULT: All youth neighborhoods support
RESULT: All children RESULT: All children
graduate from high the healthy
are prepared for school and youth succeed in
school and succeed in development, academic
entry school
post-secondary/career success and well-being
of their children
Indicators to Indicators to Indicators to Indicators to
track success track success track success track success
Informed by data and supported by a broad-based community collaborative
Commitment Commitment Commitment Commitment
to Strategies to Strategies to Strategies to Strategies
that work that work that work that work

9. Opportunity Neighborhoods Policy Implications
• Strengthen collaboration between county, FCPS, and community
and establish MOAs to advance the work
• Create mechanisms for sharing and tracking longitudinal data
• Assist staff, partners and families to develop the
commitment, processes and skills to meet the needs of children
and families
• Help find resources to replicate countywide those services and
processes that work
• Approve reallocation and realignment of resources for maximum
impact
• Support plans to access new funding sources and create flexible
funding processes
• Commit to reinvestment of funds saved by efficiencies

10. What Opportunity What Opportunity
Neighborhoods is….. Neighborhoods isn’t….
• It is a framework……. • …... not a program or an
initiative
• It builds on the successes
and lessons learned from • …… it’s not necessarily
current/prior efforts…… “something new”
• It helps us to figure out
how we all share a piece • ……it’s not focused on an
of the puzzle…….. individual organization
• It is ultimately about • …….it’s not just a “county”
meaningful community or “FCPS” initiative
engagement……..