United Way's Early Learning Initiative helps to ensure that Minnesota's highest-risk children are ready for success in school and in life.

Working with our community partners, we've set a goal of having 80 percent of Minnesota's children fully ready for kindergarten by 2012—one of 10 goals in our Agenda for Lasting Change.

Learn more about this issue from a recent talk by Art Rolnick, co-chair of United Way's Early Learning Committee.

How We're Preparing Kids for Success

Our early childhood initiative focuses on four areas:

• Access: Supporting the best early education and parenting programs so children are fully prepared for kindergarten. Our United Way goal is to educate 8,000 of the most at-risk children each year from 2008-2012 and beyond.
• Quality: Working collaboratively with existing community efforts such as Parent Aware, to evaluate and rate childcare centers, preschools and home-based childcare sites. Our United Way goal is to provide training for over 1,000 providers to ensure they receive the highest Parent Aware rating.
• Parenting: Finding and supporting the most innovative work being done in early learning, with a special focus on parenting programs and Family-Friend-Neighbor care.
• Systems Improvement: Building strong relationships with the early childhood community, other funders and policymakers with an eye towards systems alignment.

Why is This Important?

• Positive, long-term community benefits

  High-quality early childhood care and education help fully prepare kids for kindergarten. This leads to success in school and productivity in life. It also decreases social costs related to risky behavior, crime and public assistance.

• Half of Minnesota kindergarteners are not fully prepared on their first day.

  Almost half of children in childcare are in Family-Friend-Neighbor care—making parent knowledge and education extremely important.

  Childcare program quality in Minnesota varies greatly and providers lack the resources and information needed to sustain and upgrade quality.

  Childcare is too expensive for most families. The average cost is $11,000 per year, per child.

• Our community doesn't get another chance.

  If a child doesn't reach developmental goals by age 5, there is a strong chance that child won't live up to his or her potential.
  
  By 2013, we will have 10 percent less high school graduates. And, as the Baby Boomers retire, the challenge of maintaining a qualified workforce to sustain our current economy will increase.

Our Expertise

Today, at the 56 early childhood care centers funded by United Way, over 90 percent of children show age-appropriate development—an important factor in school success.

United Way now requires and provides training for all our funded childcare providers on a Work Sampling System which will help ensure providers receive the highest Parent Aware ratings.

We know what works. And with your help we can meet our goal, ensuring the majority of our children are fully prepared for success in school—and life.

Funding

In 2007, the following generous gifts were made to support the Early Childhood Education Initiative collaboration between United Way and Minnesota Early Learning Foundation (MELF):

$1,000,000 Plus

3M Foundation • Cargill Foundation • General Mills Foundation • The McKnight Foundation • Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Foundation • UnitedHealth Group

$500,000 Plus

Medtronic Foundation • U.S. Bank

$250,000 Plus

Best Buy Company • BlueCross BlueShield of Minnesota Foundation • Robins, Kaplan, Miller, Ciresi, L.L.P. Public Foundation • SUPERVALU Foundation

$100,000 Plus

Opus Foundation • Warren Staley

Find Out More

• Programs, Community Partners, Resources
• Born Learning
• Parenting Tools