Strong early education is the key to a child's success

By Tim Justice, Chair, United Way School Readiness Council
Originally published 04/10/2011 in The Greenville News (subscription required)

As a small business owner, I know how important it is to have a long-term, strategic vision. Every decision, every customer interaction made today can impact the future of the company. Smart investments now can reap great rewards down the line.

And as a father of two boys, I know the same is true for our kids. Parenting decisions we have made every day — from what we ate for breakfast to what books we read at bedtime when they were young — have shaped the development of our children. Raising children to become intelligent, safe and healthy adults requires the investment of our time and resources right now.

United Way of Greenville County understands the value of investing in our young children. Under its mission to improve the quality of life for all in our community, United Way is working to create what it calls the “Cycle of Success.” This cycle starts with the youngest members of our community.

We know that children who enter kindergarten and first grade ready to succeed are more likely to excel through the years and graduate high school. We know that teens who graduate from high school are less likely to get into trouble and more likely to earn a livable wage. And we know that higher wages produce greater financial stability for families, with more savings for higher education, healthcare and home ownership. The cycle of success is complete as those families with increased finances are more likely to raise children ready to succeed in school.

The long-term goal is to ensure all children in our community are ready for school success. This means that children will enter first grade on track in the five key developmental areas of communication, cognition, physical development, social/emotional development and self-help skills. It’s an ambitious goal, considering that nearly 25 percent of Greenville County children currently do not meet these standards. It’s a goal worthy of our efforts, because unfortunately, if children start out behind, it can lead to an uphill battle for the rest of their lives.

Solving this challenge will not be easy. It will require a community-wide effort, and United Way’s School Readiness Council is currently working to bring together educators, business leaders, faith-based organizations and representatives from public, private and nonprofit agencies to create a detailed action plan dubbed the School Readiness Roadmap.

We know the formula starts at home with families equipped to provide the nurturing and developmental stimulation so critical in the early years. With so many families reliant on child care providers to watch over our children during the workday, we must also ensure all children — regardless of their family’s economic situation — have access to affordable, quality care. And finally, we must make children a priority in our community. That means employers that create a family-friendly workplace and leaders willing to stand up for programs and funding that support the healthy growth and development of children and families.

In addition to rallying the community around the development of the roadmap, United Way is already working toward the school readiness goal through a couple of key initiatives. United Way Child Care Resource & Referral (CCR&R) offers parents links to quality child care settings, while providing professional development training to area child care centers and family care providers.

United Way is also partnering in the development of the Upstate Quality Rating and Improvement System to help drive up quality across the region. And in partnership with Greenville First Steps, United Way recently began a child care scholarship program to eliminate the affordability barrier for families seeking high-quality child care services.

The long-term benefits of all this work will be huge and can have a far-reaching impact on our community. A recent Federal Reserve study found a 16 percent real rate of return on the initial investment in future costs for remedial education, criminal justice, prisons and other public assistance.

I have no doubt that providing our children with the quality early care and education they deserve will create healthier children, higher-achieving students, a more productive workforce, stronger families and a better community.

To help bring awareness to these issues, we are joining the national celebration of the Week of the Young Child (April 10-16) with a couple of special events. On Wednesday, April 13, we’ve teamed up with Greenville County Recreation District to host a “Picnic in the Park” at The Pavilion for families and child care providers. Visit CCR&R online at www.childcarehelpline.org for more details.

On Thursday, April 14, at 5 p.m., United Way’s Young Philanthropists will cut the ribbon on their first Born Learning Trail in Cleveland Park — an interactive learning experience for young children and their parents. Supporting the strategies developed by United Way’s School Readiness Council, this group of United Way donors age 40 and under have adopted the national Born Learning Campaign as one of their community service projects.