Spotlight: Senior Fellow, George Lefkowicz
In order to bring change, we must deeply understand the issues we attempt to tackle. Senior Fellow George Lefkowicz exemplifies this caring, deep approach to civic engagement. Furthermore, George understands that narrative building and education about the issues we care about are intrinsic to coalition building. Without coalition, bridging is impossible.
As a Fellow at Great MN Schools, George has championed projects that aim to connect parents to the knowledge that empowers them to make the right choices for their children’s education. Amongst these projects is an initiative to make parents aware of the progress their children are making at school. Finding that 92% of parents think that their children are on grade level, while only 48% of children actually are, George has built the operational infrastructure needed for parents to utilize Minnesota Standards Family Guides with the intention of enabling them to be active and informed in their children’s educational outcomes.
George cares deeply about people being empowered to make the right choice, but recognizes how difficult that can be, and thinks hard about how to increase access in a way that makes resources easily accessible to those that need them. As part of his Practicum (a Professional Development course created and administered by Civic Bridgers Fellows for the rest of the cohort), George asked the rest of the Fellows to utilize the Minneapolis School Finder, showing how many factors play into the choice of where parents send their kids to school. Although the School Finder exists, utilizing it to the advantage of the parents and children is a process that can be overwhelming, leading to questions about how to empower people to make the right choice, even when provided with information.
George is also a champion of responding when the community is in need. George boosted the financial capacity of Great MN Schools to reach more families through his intense grant writing efforts. This included the purchase of laptops, take-home workbooks, and new bus routes to support virtual learning in a time where many students could not attend school in-person. George’s relentless work and adaptive skills grew the ability of his Host organization to enable thousands of children to continue their education under strenuous circumstances.
This critical thinking and thoughtful engagement with the community leads to better outcomes. George always asks questions and thinks about how to improve systems around him for the mutual benefit.
