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10-YEAR GOAL
Decrease the percentage of Greenville County children not consistently demonstrating readiness for first grade to 13 percent.
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, making it essential that all families have access to a coordinated system of resources that support healthy child development and education. Robust community investment in children now can save higher taxpayer expenses in the future. By investing in early education for our youngest children, we can lay the foundation for their future success. This strong start will then positively impact other key issues in our community — increasing high school graduation rates and creating greater financial stability.
Facts:
- 33 percent of children under the age of 5 (9,000) live in single parent homes
- 52 percent of children (14,000) under the age of 5 live in low-income families
- 20 percent of children (5,000) under the age of 5 have parents who did not graduate from high school.
- 6,000 students are enrolled in Greenville County Schools' English for Speakers of Other Languages program.
United Way School Readiness Initiatives
Born Learning Campaign
Everyday life is a learning experience for children. Born Learning is a public engagement campaign that helps parents, grandparents and caregivers explore ways to turn everyday moments into fun learning opportunities. United Way of Greenville County's School Readiness Council and Young Philanthropists have launched Born Learning trails. The trails will be built at parks and other venues across the community, offering learning games and activities that build pre-literacy skills critical to school readiness.
Child Care Scholarships
Greenville First Steps and United Way of Greenville County are providing a scholarship program to eliminate affordability as a barrier for families seeking high-quality child care. Eligible families must possess two or more risk factors to be eligible for funds, and scholarships are provided to parents who agree to work with United Way's Child Care Resource & Referral program to increase their understanding of child care and the important role it can play in a child's development.
Institute for Child Success (ICS)
Institute for Child Success is dedicated to early childhood development, education, health, research and training. Through collaborative leadership the Institute for Child Success will foster public and private partnerships to
support coordination and enhancement of resources for the success of all
children. ICS recognizes that the most effective way to improve the
success of children isn’t one child at a time—but by improving the systems that
foster the health and education of our children.
ICS supports service providers and advocates focused on
childhood development, healthcare, and education — all to coordinate, enhance,
and improve those efforts for the maximum effect in the lives of young people.
School Readiness Roadmap
The United Way of Greenville County School Readiness Council is overseeing a community-wide planning process to reach our 10-year goal. The product of this process will be the School Readiness Roadmap. The Roadmap will be complete in December, 2001, and will:
- be built upon the work previously accomplished by our community partners
- be built and owned by community stakeholders
- clearly define strategies, actions, owners, investment levels and timeline for completion
- have clear measurement plans for long- and short-term strategies, a built-in communication plan, and allow for course correction when needed.
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