The people in community–you build on those assets. You develop your assets and they become your ambassadors. That’s what distinguishes COFI from other places.

COFI’s approach is to say, "Hey, there’s a problem. Let’s figure out how to solve it." And their parent leaders are the ones who give the perspective.

We were pointing at data. Rosazlia was always the person who would distill it down to how it was going to help parents.

You can respect parents' judgment and believe what they say. They are willing to work in the trenches, not just show up for photo-ops.

They are persistent on the issue and are respectful about working with us to find solutions because we’re losing too many kids.

COFI parent leaders bring voice to parent concerns, including parents who are not able to or confident sharing their own feedback. 

Parents are really the true champions, the true fighters. That gives me the fuel that I need to be able to push while I'm here in Springfield.

All the stories I've had the privilege of hearing from COFI parents have stuck with me. No matter the venue, I've had some of the best moments of my career with COFI parents.

Bringing parents through the process that COFI does has shown success that I haven’t seen much of elsewhere.