Happy 5th Birthday CYCLE!
On November 13, 2022, CYCLE turned 5 years old.
In celebration of five years of CYCLE, we asked our partners how CYCLE has impacted them, their work, and the field, and here’s what they had to say!
“CYCLE brings a new perspective to my work— ways of thinking through the relationship and connections between schools, families and communities. The approach is refreshing and invigorating for me.”
“My time at CYCLE was transformative, both personally and professionally. I was honored to have played a part in advancing CYCLE’s vision, which feels more timely now than ever. I am lucky to have worked alongside such passionate, smart, powerful, compassionate, creative, and joyful colleagues, young people/organizers, families, and educators.”
“It was such a privilege to work with CYCLE in its formative days—I can’t believe how far CYCLE has come! Y’all had a vision, and now, 5 years later, it’s a reality. You build power with young people and communities, and you do the work with joy and care. Thank you, CYCLE!”
“CYCLE has impacted my work by showing me what is means to work collaboratively and in community. As someone who is new to community organizing and coalition work, CYCLE has taught me patience but also to be resilient when it comes to creating and fighting for change.”
“CYCLE’s work in youth and parent advocacy and engagement has been created an incredible partnership among LPI and many other organizations that otherwise wouldn’t always be together at the table.”
“CYCLE has been instrumental in our large network’s authentic and respectful engagement of young people - we are truly becoming more intergenerational because of CYCLE!”
“CYCLE is vital space of crossover and connection in the social justice ecosystem of New England. They build intergenerational alliances and links between scholarship and policy, care and justice, struggle and joy. Happy Birthday CYCLE and thank you for the beautiful work that you do everyday!”
“CYCLE provides RYiA and its ally organizations crucial support in our education justice work through technical assistance and research. It has grown and helped ground public education organizing in New England in community and racial justice. The YLI conference is a critical, joyful and necessary space for youth organizers to shine, show out, and share expertise and knowledge. And CYCLE has moved resources to the grassroots. We can’t wait to see what they get up to in the next 5 Years!”
“Community engagement can be defined in many ways and take many forms. What stands out about CYCLE is the incredibly thoughtful and intentional way in which they approach their community engagement efforts. Their approach is asset-oriented with a focus on co-design and community ownership. Watching them take the time to build deep, meaningful connections has influenced how I think about partnership and collaboration in my own work.”
“CYCLE is about one year older than SPHERE. In true older sibling fashion, CYCLE has been a champion, guide, and partner in our work. In true younger sibling fashion, we have looked up to and learned from their approach to community leadership and relationship building. I’m so incredibly grateful for the opportunities that we’ve had to co-conspire on the SCORE project, which is the most challenging, most complex, and most exciting research project I’ve ever worked on. CYCLE is an exemplar for the field of community leadership. Many of us read about it, and we hear people talk about it, but they really ARE about it.”
“The CYCLE team helps us stay grounded in what youth organizing really is - YOUTH led, youth inspired, and fun!”
“The CYCLE Fam has and continues to bring a critical analysis rooted in love, intentionality, and commitment to building community in this fight for education justice.”
“I have had the pleasure of working with distinguished and committed members of the CYCLE team for several years in Central Falls. Their capacity building approach through hands-on skills development is indeed one of the great assets you can provide members of the community, youth, old, parents, non-English speakers— you name it... you truly make a difference in your partnerships. ”
“CYCLE has been a valued NMEF partner for many years, supporting our youth organizing groups across the New England region and helping districts focus on racial equity and operate in community-driven ways. We are incredibly grateful to the CYCLE team.”
“CYCLE is a great partner and it was crucial to have their support when we most needed it. CYCLE provided technical assistance to our Parent Lead Organizers when we working on a project around the Family Engagement Policy for the Revere Public Schools.”
“CYCLE has already been & continues to be a tremendous force in the field bringing deep justice commitments to bridging the worlds of organizing, youth leadership, schools, research, evaluation and educational and racial justice movement building!”
“In the many years that we have had the privilege of working with CYCLE we have learned a lot of new skills that have impacted the growth of what we do and how we do it, CYCLE is the go-to for us and many community groups from all over New England.”
“CYCLE continues and deepens the work we started at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform to center parents, youth, and community in every conversation about true education justice.”
“CYCLE has been an integral partner in the work of creating equitable policies and school systems in Rhode Island. Its work of increasing the power of youth and parents through capacity building, research, and organizing is exactly what’s needed to transform our education system and has shifted policy conversations towards youth-led priorities.”
“CYCLE has been a tremendous support and resource for organizers throughout New England. Through thoughtfully convening youth and their adult allies at NEYON and leading deep learning during its Strategy Institute, CYCLE has been an instrumental piece in the fabric of youth organizing in the New England region.”
“The CYCLE family has been a powerful thought-partner with IDEA in many ways over the years, supporting us to rethink and refine the ways we collaborate with and support the communities we work alongside. And CYCLE has deeply inspired us and the broader field of educational justice and community organizing with the ways in which y’all work from a place of integrity, of equity, and of love.”
“As strategic partners, trusted consultants, and friends, the wonderful people at CYCLE have impacted me in many ways. They have helped me develop a wide range of skillsets at an individual level, implement districtwide programming and changes, and contribute to equity-centered efforts locally and more broadly through multi-district grant partnerships and trainings. CYCLE has shown me that it is possible to center joy and humanity, while focusing deeply and purposefully on the necessary race and equity work needed to impact lasting systemic change. Our work with CYCLE has always been challenging, meaningful, emotional, difficult, and so much fun.”
“I am grateful for all of the ways that CYCLE models accountability and responsiveness to the needs and demands of grassroots community organizers - aligning their skills and knowledge in service of community-rooted and sustained change.”
“CYCLE has been instrumental to growing and deepening youth voice in the New England region. The Nellie Mae Education Foundation could not have built this work without CYCLE’s partnership.”
“CYCLE brings relationship building, strategic process, and spaces for rest and growth to groups on the frontline of education justice movement in our region. If youth- and parent-led organizing groups are the stones of a foundation, CYCLE is a mortar that makes our work more than the sum of its parts. ”
“Youth Leadership Institute (YLI) is one of our favorite times to (re)connect with youth organizations like ours because we get to interact with other youth. CYCLE is a critical part of the education justice realm in Rhode Island, so we’re always enthusiastic in working because we know CYCLE is about youth leadership development and empowerment.”
“Working with CYCLE over the last 5 years has been a great experience. While the issues we face on the daily are so challenging and draining, it has been a wonderful journey to build power and community with CYCLE and our movement family. CYCLE has provided youth organizations like YV the technical assistance and capacity to fight for educational equity and justice.”