Ready For Kindergarten? More Kids Can Say Yes

By United Way of King County, on August 6, 2018 | In Helping Students Graduate, Success Stories

It’s disheartening to know that 3 out of every 4 low-income kids in Washington starts kindergarten behind where their peers do. Some haven’t held a crayon or built a puzzle before. They might not know what circle time means.

These kids are just as smart, just as capable as their peers. But their families face bigger obstacles, particularly poverty.

United Way believes that every child should have an equal chance at success. This is why we set a huge goal of making sure 80% of kids are ready to start kindergarten. How will we do it?

With the Parent-Child Home Program.

We can set such an ambitious goal because this program is seriously effective:

Kids in the program are 30 percentage points more likely to graduate than their peers.
85% showed significant increases in school-readiness skills, like being able to focus on activities and using language to communicate their needs.
95% of kids who start the program two years ago completed it successfully.

Kindergarten, here they come! The kids, parents and home visitors are all having fantastic experiences with the program. Here are few snippets:

Meet Sammy, proud graduate

Sammy is proof that the Parent-Child Home Program works. He graduated from the program many years ago and continues to thrive in school, in part because he got off to strong start.

Meet Florida, home visitor

Florida has worked with kids for as long as she can remember, and is a mother herself to four boys. She participated in a similar program when her boys were younger and sees the importance of helping parents learn alongside their child, practicing until they’re comfortable and empowering parents to be their kids’ teachers.

Meet Jennifer, parent

Jennifer enrolled her daughter Connie in the program because she noticed Connie was shy and not getting much interaction as the only child in the house. Connie will head into kindergarten this fall fully prepared and is excited to meet new friends. Jennifer loved the program so much she is going to become a home visitor herself so she can help other families.