Much of the day’s conversation stemmed from the idea that young people have all the intelligence, creativity, and drive they need to be successful—unfortunately, adults (and society at large) often limit this independence or otherwise fail to provide the support that young people need to develop their own potential.

Sometimes progress is not a straight line to the top, but instead marked with twists and turns. That’s the case for Lorain County, whose on-time high school graduation rates slid from 81.4 percent in 2009 to 67.8 percent in 2013.

The summit, which was convened by the Northfield Healthy Community Initiative, continued in that spirit of thinking through responsibility, relationships, and action steps, as the Northfield community examines how to better align its various stakeholders and interests in the common goal of seeing improved outcomes for young people.

Education is the single most influential factor in determining a child's success. This is a core belief of The United Way of Wyoming Valley.