Too many of our young children begin school already behind
the curve.
According to recent statistics, 18.6 percent of Greenville
County first-graders start school failing to meet the standards for school
readiness in English/language arts, math and personal/social development. And,
tragically, if children start out behind, it can lead to an uphill battle for
the rest of their lives.
When compared to children who do enter the first grade
properly equipped to learn, we know that those not meeting developmental
standards are more likely to repeat a grade, drop out of high school, become a
teen-aged parent, earn a lower wage, require public assistance or be
incarcerated. These issues not only stunt an individual’s potential for growth,
but also create a costly burden for families and the community at large, now
and in the future.
Addressing the needs of our young children and providing
them and their families with the support needed to ensure school readiness is
of critical importance to the future of our community.
To solve any problem, you must first identify the causes. We
know key risk factors contributing to the problem of school readiness vary from
family income and education level to the number of parents at home and whether
or not English is the student’s first language.
Knowing that, considerthese Greenville County facts:
21.6 percent of children under 5 years old live in poverty
40.7 percent of babies are born to single mothers
24.5 percent of babies are born to mothers who didn’t
graduate from high school
11 percent of children use English as a second language
The Solution
The first three years of a child’s life is a time of
enormous social, emotional, physical and intellectual growth. Research
indicates that nearly 90 percent of brain growth occurs during these early
years. The pace of this growth depends on whether the child’s eagerness to
learn is appropriately stimulated by her/his environment.
For this reason, it is essential that all families have
access to a coordinated system of resources that support healthy child development
and education, and that high quality, affordable child care programs are
available to working parents.
Robust community investment in children now can save higher
taxpayer expenses in the future. According to the 40-year High Scope/Perry
Preschool Study, the economic impact of investment in high quality early care
and education may generate returns to taxpayers as high as $17 per every $1
invested.
By investing in early education and associated support
services for our youngest children, we can lay the foundation for their future
success, which will then positively impact the other key target issues in our
community – increasing the high school graduation rate and creating greater
financial stability.
The Goal
As a community, we will decrease the percentage of
Greenville County first-graders “not consistently demonstrating readiness” for
first grade from 22.9 percent in 2008 to 12.9 percent by 2018.
To realize our vision that all children enter school ready
to succeed, we must ensure:
Quality programs for all levels of early childhood
development, education, intervention and health services.
Voluntary, public pre-K education is available to all
children.
A Quality Rating Improvement System for child care centers
and family caregivers is established that will help families determine the best program for
their children.
How We Get There
United Way of Greenville County will:
Concentrate funding and volunteer efforts on work supporting
early childhood development.
Identify the early childhood development programs that work best
and provide support with a focus on serving at-risk populations.
Facilitate the development of the South Carolina Institute
for Child Success, a planned institute for research and demonstration of best practices.
Advocate for legislation, policies and community practices
that support the vision.
How You Can Help
Contact your local, state and national elected officials.
Explain the problem. Ask them to support and promote policies and programs that
ensure students begin school on track: developmentally ready in literacy,
social skills, emotional ability, physical development and health.
One voice, your voice, can make a difference.
Elected officials love to hear from their constituents. Reach out and contact:
For additional information on United Way of Greenville
County’s policy priorities, contact Laurie Rovin,
Director of Community Affairs, at 864-467-4804, or click here to e-mail.
Click here to download United Way of Greenville County's advocacy flyer on school readiness.
