United Way works every day to advance the common good by focusing on the building blocks for a better life – Education, Income and Health.
United Way of Mat-Su’s Community Plan: Children and Youth Achieve Their Potential
Every parent’s dream is for our children to succeed-and for their success to surpass ours. United Way of Mat-Su has put a stake in the ground on education. We want to boost every child’s chance for success in school, work and life.
If our community’s children are to be successful, we must place emphasis on helping them be prepared for school. The pre-kindergarten years are an important learning period, the time of cognitive, social, emotional, and sensory motor skill development that provides the basic foundation for children to enter school ready to learn. Every early experience frames a child’s social, psychological and intellectual development. Quality early education experiences are important for all children, but especially important for those who are potentially at risk.
As children grow, the need for a good educational foundation continues, and is merged with other concerns. As youth look toward their roles in the community, they are powerfully influenced by those around them. Proper social development, along with continuing academic development, is crucial.
High school graduation is a major milestone on a youth’s path to successful adulthood. Over their lifetime, high school graduates earn 74 % more than those who drop out 1. High school graduation is the single most powerful predictor of whether a young person coming from generations of poverty will break the cycle. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that the median yearly income of high-school dropouts in the U.S. was about $20,200 in 2006. Those with slightly more education, a high school diploma or a GED, earned nearly one-third more, or about $30,200 a year.
Besides a staggering loss in wages, Americans who fail to finish high school are also likely to experience poorer health, higher unemployment, greater need for public assistance, and an increased likelihood of going to jail. 2
Despite the importance of a high school diploma, more than 4% of our community’s youth do not graduate and 17% of our 18-24 year olds are not attending school, not working and have no degree beyond high school. 3
Consider:
- Up to 90% of a child's brain has developed BEFORE the age of 5
- Students who are behind academically in the third grade will most likely never catch up and are at greater risk for dropping out.
- Without strong academic and social development, youth are more prone to engage in risky behaviors, which may continue into adulthood.
United Way helps ensure that every child has the chance to succeed. To achieve that goal, we invest in, and partner with, programs and organizations that:
- increase access to high-quality early childhood education
- help children be promoted at the end of their school year
- help families and students be supported, engaged and connected to schools
- engage youth in the development of competencies, assets, positive attributes and resiliency
- engage parents in supporting their child’s educational progress
- foster exposure to year-round learning opportunities
- support positive youth activities and social development in the community
- help prepare youth with career and life skills
The impact that United Way of Mat-Su and its partners have on education can ripple through our community, improving health and financial stability. These building blocks of a good life are critical to lasting community change.
Resources and Community Collaboratives
Best Beginnings-A MATter of SUccess: Best Beginnings is a public-private partnership that mobilizes people and resources to ensure all Alaska children begin school ready to succeed through support from businesses, foundations, nonprofits, government, and individuals.
Best Beginnings Report to Alaska 2008
Imagination Library: Beginning with “The Little Engine That Could,” children receive an age-appropriate hard-cover book FREE each month from birth to age five. “Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come” is the final book each child receives as they prepare to enter kindergarten.
Thread-connecting early care and education to Alaska helps to provide a resource and referral network for parents or caregivers.
State of Alaska Early Learning Guidelines 2007
Alaska Education Plan 2009
Alaska Ready to Read, Ready to Learn 2006
Kids Count Alaska
Kindergarten Assessments and Reading Proficiencies—Mat-Su Borough School District
View the full Community Plan here (.ppt 431KB)
Download a viewer here.
1. Brady, H. Hout, M., and Stiles, Return on Investment: Educational Choices and Demographic Change in California’s Future.Berkeley: University of California, 2005.
2. J. Laird, G. Kienzl, M. DeBell and C. Chapman, Dropout Rates in the United States: 2005 Compendium Report. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, June 2007.
3. National Kids Count Program, 2007.
