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As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child – supportive parents, well-trained child care workers, friendly and knowledgable doctors and so many others provide the necessary help to get a child off to the right start in life. As we work to make sure all children start off on the right path, we’re looking at the problem from all sides.  That’s why we’ve been reaching out to pediatric fellows doing their training in the Austin area to make sure they understand what early childhood services are available in our community. The goal is to create greater awareness between doctors serving young children about all the other parts of the village, so more children can get the help they need.   “Thanks to this training, I’ve learned more about the importance of a child’s social history in advocating for their wellness.”  – Cory Henson, pediatric fellow Cory Henson is just one of nine fellows we’ve talked to this year. Originally from Houston, he says his decision to become a pediatrician stemmed from “my desire to be a voice and advocate for those that may not speak out for themselves,” the same reason we work so hard to advocate young children.   “As a resident, I have a very active role in managing care for young children. We are often identified as the primary face of the medical profession for families,” Cory told us. “Thanks to this training, I’ve learned more about the importance of a child’s social history in advocating for their […]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhsCzogMYL4[/youtube] In 2005, we launched our Success By 6 program – and made a commitment to support our youngest and most vulnerable children. We wanted to make sure the kind of quality early experiences that change lives were available, accessible and affordable. The first few years of life are critical – children who don’t receive quality early care have lower graduation rates than those who do, and the difference is even more stark for girls and women. More than that, quality care shows a significant return-on-investment – we see savings in fewer children repeating grades, lower criminal justice costs and a more productive, successful workforce. It adds up to a $4 to $9 return on every dollar invested. Unfortunately, our community doesn’t invest enough in young children. Compared to cities like Seattle, San Francisco and San Antonio, our investments per child are shocking low. And it shows: only 50 percent of children in Greater Austin are on-track to be ready for school. In low-income neighborhoods, that number drops to 13 percent. That’s why we’ve put together a portfolio of services to support children in all areas of their lives: We invest in evidence-based early childhood programs, including supporting 14 early care centers through our Center Project. We support parents, a child’s first teachers, by developing innovative programs like Play To Learn.   We make sure our community is working together. In 2012, our supporters successfully advocated to restore $500K of public funding for our youngest and most vulnerable community members. […]

We’ve been working with Famigo for several years to help low-income families prepare their children for success in school by leveraging technology and local resources. Since it’s Digital Learning Day, we asked their team to write this post about why this topic is so important. [hr] Digital literacy is a foundational skill necessary to navigate the schoolroom, peer relationships, academic careers and every other aspect of 21st century life. Famigo and United Way for Greater Austin believe that ensuring that the families of central Texas are digitally literate is of the utmost importance. What is Digital Literacy? Digital literacy is more than just knowing how to download a book onto an e-reader or how to send a mass text message. In today’s society it means knowing how to responsibly use media in multiple forms to accomplish a task. It also means knowing how to avoid unwanted or inappropriate content.  Today, 79% of students are required to submit or access lessons online, and 29% of teachers report that they integrate social media into their coursework—a number that rises to 80% for college professors. These digital literacy statistics are reflected in later life as well. Today, 4 of the 7 fastest growing jobs directly require technology skills, and 80% of Fortune 500 companies only accept online applications. It is therefore extremely important that children learn from their earliest ages how to responsibly manipulate and use digital content.  Fast Facts 79% of students are required to submit or access lessons online 29% of […]

We’re excited to share that thanks to the Freescale Foundation, our Target Graduation program will grow the quality of Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) programs in Austin. Nearly 150 students will benefit from Out-of-School Time programs that are safer, more supportive and more engaging for youth as a result of Freescale’s investment. Thanks to UWATX Investments in STEM: 115 Children will gain basic skills in math and literacy 200 Families will prepare their children for school using technology 150 Students will benefit from higher quality after school & summer STEM programs STEM programs teach students the foundational knowledge and skills that are critical for careers in engineering and technology.  However, research shows only programs that provide high-quality instruction paired with youth engagement and focused learning activities lead to improved academic outcomes for students, while programs that do not exhibit these traits show no effect on school performance. Unfortunately, without metrics for quality or training for staff, organizations are struggling to know whether or not their STEM programs are setting students up for school success. Thanks to this new grant, we will partner with five select STEM-focused nonprofit programs to provide instructors with training, assessment tools tailored for  STEM quality and coaching to implement research-based techniques. We will  implement the Center For Youth Program Quality model, which is used by after-school networks in 27 states and has been shown to improve program quality, increase staff retention and generate lasting improvements for programs that still remain a year after the intervention. This new effort will expand on […]

The City of Austin is poised to begin their biannual Request For Proposal process for social service contracts – the grants given to nonprofit organization for community services – and we need your help to give a voice to the concerns of young children.  In our community, over 28,000 children under four are living in low-income households. Only 5,000 are receiving the early childhood services they need to start school ready to learn.  We are asking the City to increase funding for early childhood services in the upcoming social services funding competition. These services include  Head Start, home visiting, quality child care and Play To Learn.    [cta][/cta] Since the array of services is fairly complex, we are opting not to ask for a specific amount, but rather to increase awareness about the importance of these services for parents to be successful in the short-term and for children, the future of our community, to thrive in the long-term. Once the formal RFP process begins in late February, City Council Members will be restricted from hearing our message because of conflict of interest regulations – so it’s critical that we get the word our early so City Council Members have the right information as they make decisions.  You can help in a few ways:  1. Go on an advocacy visit  To make our case, our staff experts will meet with City Council members for about 30 mins each to give your voice to vulnerable young children. The process is easy and straight-forward (as […]

Thanksgiving is a time when the whole family gathers together to appreciate good food, watch parades and football and be thankful for one another. It’s also an opportunity to support learning. It can be tricky to figure out how to turn a busy holiday into a learning experience, so our experts from Success By 6 and Target Graduation brainstormed a few simple activities:   Cooking teaches math & science skills Children can help in the kitchen in a variety of ways that help them learn. You can introduce young children to measurement by getting their help measuring out wet and dry ingredients. For children through middle-school-age, this can be a good time to practice conversions and fractions, particularly when doubling or halving a recipe. Cooking can also support nonfiction reading skills when children study the cookbook, and learning about nutrition and the chemical processes involved in cooking can further science skills. Read more about cooking with children.   Making place cards supports language development If you’re having your whole family over for Thanksgiving, children can help make place cards as a fun crafting activity. At its most basic, making place cards helps children practice reading and writing, which is important for young children. This activity can range from simply writing names on existing place cards to taking on a more ambitious craft project, which would support fine motor skill development. Enjoy some child-appropriate place card inspiration.   Expressing gratitude supports social-emotional development Saying what you’re thankful for is a time-honored […]

This month, we said goodbye to Hannah Berle and Tyler O’Neill as they closed their year as Americorps VISTA members supporting Success By 6 (SB6), which focuses on our youngest and most vulnerable community members. The mission of Americorps VISTA members is to create and expand programs that bring low-income individuals and communities out of poverty. In 2013, Tyler and Hannah did just that by managing and leading several key initiatives. Their VISTA service connected them to more than 800 community leaders, volunteers and social service providers in the Austin area – and we’re so thankful for their incredible work. “Being an AmeriCorps VISTA at United Way has given me the opportunity to work with and learn from experts. I see the impact of United Way every day, large or small, behind the scenes or directly, and it is incredible.” –Hannah Hannah was responsible for providing support to early education centers serving low-income children in Austin. Through designing and implementing trainings to connect teachers to high-quality curricula to support their classrooms, Hannah helped ensure that nine early education centers had teachers trained to use Numbers Plus Preschool Math Curriculum. This curriculum, developed by HighScope Educational Research Foundation, is a comprehensive set of activities in English and Spanish designed to deliver developmentally appropriate content in five areas: Number Sense and Operations, Geometry, Measurement, Algebra, and Data Analysis. These activities help set the stage for later mathematical concepts. SB6 is dedicated to lasting academic gains for young children and Hannah’s diligent coordination […]