Local Kids Get $9.3 Million Boost to Help Prepare for School
2013 Allocation Brings Total 4-year Commitment to $34 Million
Glendale, Arizona (Oct. 6, 2011) – First Things First(FTF) delivered a check for $9.3 million to help kids birth to 5 in the Northwest Maricopa region prepare for the high expectations they face when they enter kindergarten.
“Every child deserves the opportunity to be successful in school and in life,” FTF Chief Executive Officer Rhian Evans Allvin said at the event. “These funds help local communities provide the education and health programs that ensure kids will be prepared when they enter kindergarten.”
The stakes have never been higher. Under a new state law implemented last year, kids who are not reading well enough by the end of third grade will be held back. The law applies to kids who will be in third grade during the 2013-2014 school year (current kindergarteners and first graders).
FTF funds education and health programs that give kids the tools they need for success in school and beyond, including developing language and early literacy, said Dr. Deborah Pischke, chair of the Northwest Maricopa Regional Partnership Council.
“I’ve worked in early education for over 30 years. Never before has there been more understanding and support for the powerful impact of early experiences and learning that occur in a child’s first five years,” said Pischke, who is the early childhood director for the Peoria Unified School District. “Through programs such as pre-K scholarships, early literacy training for parents and family resource centers we can help close the achievement gap before students reach the kindergarten door.”
Among the school readiness supports funded locally through First Things First are:
· Pre-kindergarten scholarships which helped 402 preschool-aged children, whose families might not otherwise be able to afford preschool, attend high-quality preschool programs this school year;
· Early literacy classes which have helped over 1,200 families to better understand the importance of early literacy and learn ways to provide high-quality literacy-rich environments for their young children; and,
· Family Resource Centers, which provided over 10,000 parents and children with direct assistance or connections to resources.
Today’s event, held at the Glendale Elementary School District board room, included various community leaders representing city government, local school boards and early childhood services providers.
Karen Burstein, director of Southwest Institute for Children and Families, which receives FTF funds to provide early literacy parent education classes throughout the Northwest Valley, said she has seen first-hand how these monies help prepare kids for school.
“Parents want to help their young children reach their full potential and sometimes they just need help to know how best to do that,” Burstein said. “We do that in a fun, friendly way with our family literacy nights which we hold in schools, libraries and community centers.”
The check presented today will fund services from July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013. The regional council will work with community stakeholders for the next three months on a plan to build on the early childhood services already funded in the region and to address other needs of young children in the area.
To learn more about your local regional council and the early childhood services funded by FTF in the Northwest Maricopa region, please visit: azftf.gov/northwestmaricopa.
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About First Things First – First Things First is a voter-created, statewide organization that funds early education and health programs to help kids be successful once they enter kindergarten. Decisions about how those funds are spent are made by local councils staffed by community volunteers. To learn more, visit azftf.gov.