Youth & Community

At Education Northwest, we know that our education system is stronger when young people have equitable opportunities for growth and enrichment and when communities are authentically engaged in decision-making. Whether you’re an education leader or represent a philanthropic foundation or nonprofit, we can help you create and evaluate youth development programs and identify opportunities to better engage and serve families and students. Our team’s knowledge and experience in culturally responsive, evidence-based practices and systems improvement will support you in delivering services that are more effective, engaging, and equitable.

Family Engagement

Families and communities are key partners in any youth-serving program, school, or district. We can help you develop, implement, and evaluate a family engagement plan that offers community members multiple ways to participate in their children’s learning and creates feedback loops between educators and families. Our approach engages all families while amplifying the voices of marginalized groups so that you can better understand the priorities and strengths of the communities you serve and address equity gaps in your program.

Youth Development

Education Northwest’s core values of equity and evidence drive our work to support youth development. With years of experience working in education settings and with out-of-school programs and providers, our team understands that practical, evidence-based, culturally responsive practices are key to improving programs and systems that serve youth. We also frequently support philanthropic partners to ensure that community investments make a meaningful impact on the lives of the young people they aim to serve.

STEM

Equitable engagement and success in STEM programs can have a positive influence on academic achievement, personal outcomes, and interest in STEM careers, especially for students from historically underserved groups. Education Northwest’s team has experience conducting impact studies, evaluations, and landscape scans that describe and assess STEM programs. We provide actionable recommendations to improve access and engagement so you can better serve all young people.

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Institute for Youth Success

The Institute for Youth Success impacts the lives of thousands of youths by building the capacity of leadership and staff of youth serving organizations to innovate and deliver high quality services.

Early Childhood Education

Education Northwest partners with stakeholders to align preschool and the early elementary experience, improve program and instruction, and answer critical questions through evaluation, applied research and professional development.

Resources

Contact - Celeste Janssen

Photograph of Celeste Janssen

Celeste oversees Education Northwest’s work on youth development and out-of-school time. She focuses on social and emotional learning, equity, trauma-informed care, continuous improvement, and facilitation. Celeste studied education at the University of California, Berkeley and has extensive nonprofit experience as a program director, consultant, and leader of the Institute for Youth Success. She is a Robert Wood Johnson Ladder to Leadership fellow and a Positive Discipline parent educator.
Celeste Janssen; Director
Contact Celeste