Mayor Randall Woodfin and Birmingham City Schools Superintendent Mark Sullivan on Monday announced the creation of the Birmingham Children and Youth Commission, an initiative designed to create a coordinated, citywide strategy to drive economic mobility through a unified cradle-to-career system.

Standing in front of Woodlawn High School, Woodfin recalled having committed at the beginning of his third term that children would not be just part of the agenda. Instead, he said, “they would be the why behind every decision we make.

“Today, I am here to tell you how we’re going to keep that promise,” the mayor said. “This commission will bring together leaders from across Birmingham — educators, community leaders, employers, faith leaders, philanthropic partners, parents and many more — to align around a shared vision and develop a road map that will guide the city’s investment in our children for years to come.”

The commission will convene three sessions during coming months. In that span, members will review citywide data, identify systemic gaps and opportunities and develop a child-focused economic mobility road map, a public blueprint that will guide the city’s investments in children and families into the future.

“In Birmingham City Schools, we say Success Starts Here,” Sullivan said. “Success starts with us empowering our students, our community to come together to support an effort from cradle all the way through career. In Birmingham City Schools, we have seen some great improvements over the last five years, but we recognize that there has to be a connection between what’s happening in the classroom and what happens in real life.

“Students do not learn in isolation,” the superintendent continued. “They learn with their parents. They learn in their communities, and so as a community, we need to all come together to make sure that students — our students, our scholars — have the skills necessary, not only to be successful in school but to be successful in life.”

Woodfin said the commission is not a study group and it is not a listening tour. It is designed to create a plan and to execute that plan.

“There are 73,000 children in the city living in poverty,” the mayor said. “Only about 6% of children born in poverty in Birmingham will reach the top levels of income as adults. In some of our neighborhoods, that number drops to 1%, 2% or 3%.

“That means for too many of our children, far too many of them, the ZIP code they’re born in still determines the life they get to live,” he said. “Where they grow up is determining what’s possible for them before they ever set foot in a classroom. That is not acceptable, it’s unacceptable, and it’s not inevitable.”

Woodfin cited successes that are already in place. Small Magic works with families, teachers and community partners to ensure every child in Birmingham can thrive. He acknowledged Birmingham City Schools getting its highest score on the state schools report card last year.

And he referred to Birmingham Promise, saying it has transformed the lives of more than 2,000 young people with more than $17 million in tuition assistance to students. He added that Promise scholars are graduating college, “coming back home, teaching in our schools, working in our hospitals, starting businesses right here.”

“From Small Magic to Birmingham City Schools to Birmingham Promise, the pieces are in place,” he said.

The initiative is one of a growing series modeled after Harlem Children’s Zone, a national nonprofit specializing in Cradle to Career initiatives. Christian Rhodes, chief national impact officer of Harlem Children’s Zone, was on hand for the announcement. “This is the first time that we’ve seen in the country that a mayor and a superintendent have come together to build a commission for children, which signals the importance of children in this city,” Rhodes said. “That the superintendent and mayor are both willing to put their time and their energy towards children of the city is a pretty significant step.” Members of the commission include Carlos Aléman, CEO of the Hispanic and Immigrant Coalition of Alabama (¡HICA!); Samantha Williams, executive director of Birmingham Promise; Mariohn Michel, executive director of Breakthrough Birmingham; Dr. Ashley Samuels, executive director of the Birmingham Education Foundation; and other leaders across the city’s sectors.