Connect Casino Road is an Everett, Washington-based consulting firm specializing in education services. ¹ It is named after the Casino Road neighborhood of South Everett, Washington, and purports to be a collaborative made up of Casino Road community stakeholders aiming to make all community members “feel interconnected” and bring each other’s “vision and dreams” to life. ²

Connect Casino Road supports left-of-center racial ideologies associated with critical race theory and has been identified as having received funds from public school districts. ³

Background

One of Connect Casino Road’s core “values” is the left-progressive notion of “equity.” The firm claims to “prioritize communities who are furthest from justice” and “replace inequitable systems and practices within our community with more just ways of being.” ⁴

Connect Casino Road claims on its website that Casino Road is a diverse, high-poverty, densely populated neighborhood close to Everett’s downtown. Connect Casino Road cites rising rent prices as one reason why institutional intervention in the local economy is necessary. Additionally, the firm claims that “a myriad of systemic barriers” keep the neighborhood’s immigrant and refugee families in poverty. ⁵

Connect Casino Road provides research on community demographics, including statistics on population size, race, citizenship status, language spoken at home, income, disability status, health insurance coverage, and other socioeconomic factors. The report claims to “highlight stark inequalities within the same school district that disproportionately impact POC households in select geographic regions.” ⁶

Activity

Connect Casino Road aims to secure public and private funding for the Casino Road Neighborhood. It also spearheads community initiatives with left-progressive narratives focused on systemic and institutional racism as a cause of the community’s poverty. It advocates for systemic reform in order to provide a “more supportive and equitable community” for local families. ⁷

Connect Casino Road purports to use “restorative practices” and “trauma-informed practices” to reduce “toxic stress” in the community and “heal the intergenerational impacts of trauma.” ⁸

Partners

Connect Casino Road in the wake of multiple poverty-alleviation community efforts. It receives logistical and administrative support from the Community Foundation of Snohomish County. It works with schools, nonprofits, community groups, churches, and volunteer organizations. ⁹ These include ChildStrive, Everett’s City Council, Washington State Family and Community Engagement Trust, Casa Latina, Volunteers of America, and the YMCA. ¹⁰

Funding

While Connect Casino Road is a private for-profit entity, meaning most of its funds are derived from private transactions and thus not tracked publicly, the firm has received public school funds multiple times in the past. ^{11 12} Connect Casino Road contracted with the Mukilteo (WA) School District to provide $3,395 worth of services between May 12, 2021 and August 31, 2021. ¹³ The school district agreed to become a partner in Connect Casino Road’s initiative, “Creating Open Road to Equity Team.” ¹⁴

Leadership

Sara Boyle is the director of Connect Casino Road. She has a background in education. ¹⁵

Yelitza Medina is the lead family development coordinator, who primarily oversees the “All Families are Ready” Action Team. She is also employed by the eight other partners that make up the Action Team. ¹⁶

1. Connect Casino Road Homepage. Accessed November 15, 2021. https://www.connectcasinoroad.org.
2. About Us. Connect Casino Road. Accessed November 15, 2021. https://www.connectcasinoroad.org/about-us
3. “Consultant Report Card.” Parents Defending Education. October 20, 2021. https://defendinged.org/consultantreportcard/.
4. About Us. Connect Casino Road. Accessed November 15, 2021. https://www.connectcasinoroad.org/about-us
5. “Connect Casino Road At a Glance.” Connect Casino Road. Accessed November 15, 2021. https://www.connectcasinoroad.org/casino-road-at-a-glance
6. “Data Center.” Connect Casino Road. Accessed November 15, 2021. https://www.connectcasinoroad.org/data-center
7. “Our Work.” Connect Casino Road. Accessed November 15, 2021. https://www.connectcasinoroad.org/our-work
8. “Our Work.” Connect Casino Road. Accessed November 15, 2021. https://www.connectcasinoroad.org/our-work
9. “Connect Casino Road At a Glance.” Connect Casino Road. Accessed November 15, 2021. https://www.connectcasinoroad.org/casino-road-at-a-glance
10. “Our Partners.” Connect Casino Road. Accessed November 15, 2021. https://www.connectcasinoroad.org/our-partners
11. “Consultant Report Card.” Parents Defending Education. October 20, 2021. https://defendinged.org/consultantreportcard/.
12. Nomani, Asra. “About the Consultant Report Card.” Parents Defending Education. October 20, 2021. https://defendinged.org/case-study/about-the-consulting-report-card/.
13. “Connect Casino Road.” Parents Defending Education. Accessed November 15, 2021. https://defendinged.org/report/connect-casino-road/.
14. “Consultant Report Card.” Parents Defending Education. October 20, 2021. https://defendinged.org/consultantreportcard/.
15. “Our Team.” Connect Casino Road. Accessed November 15, 2021. https://www.connectcasinoroad.org/our-team.
16. “Our Team.” Connect Casino Road. Accessed November 15, 2021. https://www.connectcasinoroad.org/our-team.