Our Education Goal
By 2020, increase the number of low-income children in our five-county area who are on track academically and developmentally by fourth grade by 30%.
Opportunity Gap
In our five-county service area, only 61% of low-income children are proficient in reading, compared to 84% of higher-income children. If a child is not reading proficiently by the time they finish third grade, they are four times more likely to not graduate high school on time. If this same child is also low-income, they are 13 times more likely not to graduate high school on time.
Addressing the Issues
United Way invests in comprehensive strategies so all children have skills and opportunities needed to succeed in school, work, and life:
- Kindergarten Readiness: First, it’s important to help children develop on track and be ready for kindergarten.
- Tutoring and Mentoring: Then, we help students maintain their progress in school and during the summer.
- Reading Proficiency: Finally, we work to ensure students are reading at grade level by the end of third grade.
Read more:
Community Resilience Coalition of East Central Iowa Adverse Childhood Experiences
Read more about issues facing our community in our Education reports:
2016 Early Childhood Education Report 2016 Equity & Well-Being Report 2018 Condition of Youth Report
United Way addresses six different aspects of a child’s life to ensure that she or he has the supports to be successful:
Partner Programs
With our local partners, we support the following programs and strategies:
A community approach to get students reading on grade level.