Our Story

Rochester Education and Development for Youth is a 501c3 nonprofit that emerged from a two-year community engagement process led by Dr. Shanai Lee and is supported by a number of community-based organizations, national and local foundations, and Rochester community members.

The process included community outreach and collaboration, deep research, and formulation of a response and solutions.

How We're Creating Equitable School Access

In response to what we’ve learned, READY has launched several initiatives to:

Support the expansion and growth of current quality schools
Incubate new schools for Rochester alongside Rochester educators
Contribute to our local teacher pipeline
Engage parents and caregivers in advocacy efforts
Help families navigate the school search process

Our People

READY exists because we believe in the power of community and collaboration. We know that nothing in our community should be done without input and guidance from the people within it.

From our parents, to our board, to our staff, each of us possesses a strong commitment to improving outcomes for Rochester’s students and families, and in turn, our larger community, which paves the way for our students and our city to thrive.