In 2015, community members developed a bold agenda–The East Side Aligned Roadmap–aimed at creating the conditions for all children and youth within the East St. Louis School District 189 footprint to be:
Healthy and Safe in their Environments
Socially Connected and Emotionally Secure
Successful in School, College, and Work
Positively Engaged in their Community
Comprised of over 180 strategies, the Roadmap reflects the community’s aspirations for young people as well as the willingness of people and organizations to work together to create the conditions for children and youth to thrive across the cradle-to-career journey.
In 2022, East Side Aligned, the organization, was formed to sustain the work of strengthening community collaboration to facilitate systems transformation with and for young people.