Springfield recognizes that COVID-19 has impacted meeting our goals. As soon as the community has a better understanding of those impacts, we may need to adjust our timeframe for completing our goals. Until then, we will still continue to “Strive for 2025″. Our leaders continue to build inclusive excellence locally and in our state that include an equity focus. Other recent changes include: 

• July 2019, Springfield’s City Manager publicly announced that diversity in procurement, hiring and civic engagement are a top priority in the city.
• July 2019, Missouri Governor Parson announced the new Fast Track program. Fast Track is a state financial aid program to transform the state’s workforce and infrastructure by accelerating credential and degree completion with an employer-driven education training program. Financial aid is provided to adults with some or no college to pursue an industry-recognized credential in an area designated as high need. As the fastest growing city in Missouri, Springfield had escalated efforts to increase postsecondary attainment by promoting Fast Track!

• July 2019, the city of Springfield, Springfield Public Schools (SPS), Community Partnership of the Ozarks and Leadership Springfield started aligning with Missouri State University, Ozarks Technical Community College and public entities to implement the Inclusive Excellence Change Model to enhance systems that provide access to community resources.
• August 2019, SPS publicly announced that diversity ad inclusion is their priority and established an Equity and Diversity Advisory Council to make recommendations to the school district to address inequities. This is important for long-term impacts to career and college pathways for students of color and underserved students.
• 2020, SPS adopted the recommendations found in the Equity & Inclusivity Resolution, the community hired a Diversity and Inclusion Director and the City of Springfield and Community Foundation hired similar positions.