Education

​Studies show that children who enter kindergarten without early social, math, and literacy skills will likely remain behind their peers throughout their education.  ​Every dollar invested in high-quality birth-to-five early childhood education for disadvantaged children delivers a 13% annual return on investment, significantly higher than the 7-10% return delivered by preschool alone.

Our Goal
That families have equitable access to the opportunities and resources that support their education, so all children grow up healthy to succeed in school and life.

Our Strategy
As part of our vision of a community where all children have a strong foundation for success in school and life our approach includes health, education, and financial stability. To achieve this goal we partner with and support organizations in our community that provide equitable resources and opportunities that help uplift and support local families.

Our Early Education Initiative
SPARK (Strong, Prepared And Ready for Kindergarten) collaboration, has proven that the best way to help communities thrive is to ensure that children, birth-to-five years old, have equitable access to early childhood resources and education. We strive to ensure that young children are guided, supported, and nurtured in their early learning. For this reason, Fox Valley United Way is committing its resources to promote positive early childhood outcomes and experiences.  We advance positive outcomes for young children through the following strategies:

• Raising public awareness about the crucial importance of early learning
• Grantmaking to programs that support positive outcomes for children birth to five years old
• Scholarship Funding through Waubonsee Community College Foundation to support local students who are pursuing an early childhood degree, addressing the teacher shortage in the field of early childhood. 
• Supporting communities to convene local stakeholders to identify gaps in early childhood and to develop strategies to strengthen the community’s early childhood landscape
• Providing assistance to parents and helping them navigate the complex early childhood system of resources through our Gateways to Early Childhood Program.