Education

The Green Mountain United Way Report to our Community 2014 determined that education is the key to building a better life not only for this generation but for the next generation. Education leads to higher wages and is critical for financial stability and independence. Higher levels of educational attainment are also linked to higher incomes, less unemployment, less poverty and less reliance on public assistance. More education is also linked to better physical and mental health, longer lives, less crime, less incarceration, more voting and greater tolerance. Education is not only good for individuals who stay in school to earn their high school degree or who enter and graduate college, but it is also good for society, paying big dividends in the form of increased civic engagement, greater neighborhood safety and a healthy, vibrant democracy.

Intended Results for Education:

  • Children enter school developmentally on track
  • Elementary students are prepared to succeed in later grades
  • Young people graduate from high school
  • Young adults make a successful transition from high school to work life

Initiatives:

Through community assessments done in 2008 and 2014, Green Mountain United Way identified early learning as a priority area and began implementing the Early Learning initiative (later titled Education) to increase school readiness by helping parents, caregivers and communities create early learning opportunities for all children.

Those early learning opportunities help children and youth achieve their potential through grade-level readiness in school and academic achievement resulting in productive and engaged youth.

In collaboration with local Building Bright Futures Councils, daycare centers, preschools and other early childhood groups, Green Mountain United Way seeks to increase school readiness by:

  • Supporting quality early learning services
  • Building community awareness on the importance of early learning
  • Creating opportunities for businesses and service groups to volunteer in making children’s literacy kits for distribution to local daycares, preschools and elementary schools
  • Communicating and distributing to parents, caregivers and teachers the latest early childhood development research through Born Learning materials that provide easy, “doable” teaching opportunities in every day moments

For more information on this initiative, please contact Green Mountain United Way.

Born Learning

Green Mountain United Way is distributing Born Learning materials in all five counties. For more information on the materials and the National Born Learning Campaign, please visit www.bornlearning.org or call Green Mountain United Way.

Materials: