The United Way Success By 6 program is being credited as the driving force behind making sure that families have the support they need to help children succeed in school.
Last month, the Commonwealth of Kentucky released its statewide kindergarten readiness statistics, and for the second consecutive year only about half of the Kentucky students who entered kindergarten in 2015-16 were ready (50.1%, up from 50.0% the previous year). The Northern Kentucky region (54.8%) continues to be slightly above the state level with two districts having shown especially strong improvements within the past year.
Just two years ago Dayton Independent Schools’ readiness score was just 27.7%. It rose to 36% the following year, above the state average to 52% in 2015.
Erlanger-Elsmere Schools jumped from 37.4% to 45.5% and more than doubled their preschool enrollment from 70 in 2014 to 187 in 2015.
Both Dayton and Erlanger-Elsmere have implemented two United Way early childhood-focused programs — the Born Learning Academy and “Me and My School” kindergarten transition project — to help parents understand the importance of early childhood experiences. Both districts have relied heavily on community collaboration, including strong partnerships with Head Start and United Way agency partner Children Inc.
Read the full River City News story here.
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