PAASSS is a community collaborative serving Plano, IL and the surrounding areas with a promise to support children and families in their journey to success in learning and life.
Mission Statement
PAASSS (Plano Area Alliance Supporting Student Success) will strengthen the community by ensuring that all families in the Plano area are aware of and have equitable access to services and supports that empower them to raise children that are safe, healthy, eager to learn, and ready to succeed.
Vision Statement
A community where all children and families are empowered to succeed in learning and in life.
Core Values
Partnering for Awareness and Access to Services Supporting Success
Equity means fairness and justice and focuses on outcomes that are most appropriate for a given group, recognizing different challenges, needs, and histories.
It is distinct from diversity, which can simply mean variety (the presence of individuals with various identities). It is also not equality, or “same treatment,” which doesn’t take different needs or disparate outcomes into account.
Systemic equity involves a robust system and dynamic process consciously designed to create, support, and sustain social justice.
Source: Race Forward, used in Partner Plan Act’s equity workshop.
Our Volunteer-Led Collaboration Model
PAASSS operates through a volunteer-led, backbone-supported collaboration model designed to maximize community investment, minimize administrative overhead, and ensure that resources are directed where they matter most—to children and families.
PAASSS has no paid staff positions. Leadership, governance, and program facilitation are provided by volunteers from across the region, including early childhood educators, healthcare professionals, family advocates, and community leaders. The organization contracts with specialized consultants only when needed for technical expertise such as marketing, communications, or website development.
This model allows PAASSS to:
- Leverage the existing expertise and infrastructure of partner organizations
- Reduce duplication of services and administrative costs
- Strengthen cross-sector collaboration and shared accountability
- Invest limited funding directly into programs, systems development, and family-facing initiatives
As the backbone organization for the IRIS Network in Region 24, PAASSS focuses on coordination, facilitation, data use, and relationship-building—core functions proven to strengthen collective impact efforts. Our success is driven not by staffing size, but by deep trust, shared leadership, and a collective commitment to equity.
This approach ensures sustainability, community ownership, and a high return on investment for funders seeking scalable, systems-level impact.