Preparing Aurora's young children for greater success in school and life.
SPARK is the hub of a valuable wheel.
An education initiative of Fox Valley United Way, SPARK (Strong, Prepared and Ready for Kindergarten) connects underserved Aurora, Illinois, families with early education and childcare opportunities that prepare their young children for success in school and life.
Families
SPARK helps underserved Aurora parents with children age birth through five by connecting and enrolling children to early childhood programs and education, parent workshops and offering developmental screenings.
Community
Aurora citizens can make the city stronger for themselves and their neighbors through becoming involved in SPARK.
Program Providers
SPARK supports early childhood teachers and professionals through Early Childhood trainings and events offering professional networking opportunities.
Policymakers
SPARK encourages city, state and federal representatives to raise awareness of the value and importance of early childhood development and to influence policy.
Funders
SPARK’s work in early childhood development is made possible with support from foundations, grant issuers, community leaders, organizations and citizens.
Early Childhood Development: The Challenge
Aurora has Illinois’ second-largest population with nearly 200,000 diverse residents: 41% Hispanic/Latino, 40% White, 11% Black/African-American and 7% Asian.
The city also includes 20,000 children age five and under. Currently, 44% live at or below 185% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL); more than half of these children (4,554) live below the 100% FPL, with family incomes that qualify for Medicaid and the Free and Reduced-Price Meals program. In addition, 6,214 Aurora children under five live in households isolated by language.
Studies show that children who enter kindergarten without early social, math and literacy skills will likely remain behind their peers throughout their education. They are also at a high risk of not completing high school.
Children are typically least prepared for school if their parents are young or single, have a low income or education level, and speak limited English. As many as half of all children under five in Aurora face one or more of these risk factors with their parents.
Aurora is one of Illinois’ most underserved communities for early learning services. It has only 49 slots of publicly funded preschool for every 100 three- and four-year-olds at high risk of not being ready for kindergarten.
Improving Aurora’s early childhood development calls for systemic change to inform public policy, attract greater program funding and motivate families to act on available resources.
Early Childhood Development: The Advantage
The most important period of life is not the age of university studies, but the first one, the period from birth to the age of six.
– Maria Montessori, Founder of the Montessori method of education
If you’re going to equalize the academic playing field, you’ve got to get the kids in early childhood programs.
– Paul Vallas, former CEO of Chicago Public Schools
There are only 2,000 days between the time a baby is born and when that child shows up for the first day of kindergarten. When we invest in children’s earliest years, we get a lifetime of results for our children, our community, our state and our economy.
– Smart Start & The North Carolina Partnership for Children, Inc.
Young people who were in preschool programs are more likely to graduate from high school, own homes and have longer marriages.
– National Education Association
Quality early childhood education is a cost-efficient strategy for reducing deficits and promoting growth.
– First Five Years Fund
What We Do
Developmental Screenings
Participating in a screening will give you time to talk about your child’s development. You will also receive fun and simple activity ideas you can use with your child to help them continue to learn and grow.
Click here to set up your screening.
Gateways to Early Childhood
SPARK’s Gateway to Early Childhood Programs serves as a single point of entry for Aurora families with children from birth to age 5 who are interested in learning more about and enrolling in early childhood programs and resources.
Click here to complete our interest form and get started.
Playgroups
These free events are an excellent way for your little one to interact with new friends and to try new things.
Click here for information on our upcoming events.
Playful Learning Aurora
Our collaborative project has transformed the everyday public space of a sidewalk into a learning opportunity.
Click here to check out our installation at Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry.
Lantern (previously Bright By Text)
SPARK has partnered with Lantern to provide invaluable information from early childhood experts on topics including developmental milestones, brain development, mental health and resilience, social-emotional competence, STEM, language and literacy, nutrition, health, and more.
Click here to sign up.