PREPARING CHILDREN TO SUCCEED IN SCHOOL AND OUR COMMUNITY
Our donors, advocates, and volunteers are making a difference in EDUCATION. With funding awards to partners that support programs and initiatives that mobilize resources and volunteers, we are helping kids prepare for school and be part of a safe and vibrant community.
We all win when our children stay in school, graduate, find work and build lives. The first years of life are critical to a child’s overall success in life. When our children don’t enter school prepared, they are more likely to fall behind or drop out.
PREPARING CHILDREN TO SUCCEED IN SCHOOL
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT: Children are more successful in school when they are prepared to learn.
Children who are read to have a larger vocabulary; start school ahead of other children; have normal brain development; and, are more likely to succeed. Investing $1 in a child's success early on saves $17 down the road, with tangible results measured in lower crime, fewer single parents, and higher individual earnings and education levels.
What we need to accomplish:
75% of children in Olmsted County pass the kindergarten assessment.
75% of 0-5 year olds in Olmsted County receive books through Imagination Library.
PREPARING YOUTH TO SUCCEED IN OUR COMMUNITY
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT: Investing in youth early provides greater long-term returns and is less costly than interventions later in life.
The estimated difference between the lifetime earnings of a high school dropout and a college graduate is $1.1 million. Every Minnesota high school dropout costs taxpayers $415,986 over that person's lifetime. That's about $908.96 per taxpayer annually.
What we need to accomplish:
Low-Income youth participating in community-based programs (a) demonstrate connection to a caring adult and community; and, (b) leadership in the community.
Registered low-income k-12 youth start school each year with appropriate school supplies through Running Start.
Partnering Programs & Initiatives: EDUCATION
Boys & Girls Club, Byron Community Education, Child Care Resource and Referral, Civic League Day Nursery, Community Gang Initiative, Family and Children Center, Friends of Quarry Hill Nature Center, Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys, Good News Children’s Center, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, Rochester Area Family Y , The Reading Center, Running Start for School, Tri Valley Opportunity Council.
Our donors, advocates, and volunteers are making a difference in EDUCATION. With funding awards to partners that support programs and initiatives that mobilize resources and volunteers, we are helping kids prepare for school and be part of a safe and vibrant community.