All children enter Kindergarten happy, healthy, and prepared to succeed in school and beyond
39% of children from households with low income begin Kindergarten ready to learn and succeed
The Success By 6 Coalition is a network of child and family advocates — providers, parents, policymakers, civic leaders, and experts — working together to transform our early childhood system.
The first 2,000 days of every person’s life are foundational. Studies show that a child’s experiences during those early years literally build the architecture of their brain. While 90% of the brain develops before age five, only 6% of public education spending goes to the early years — and just 4% and 6% of education philanthropy and edtech investments.
Driven by a community-wide strategic plan, the Success By 6 Coalition works to make the most of every child’s 2,000-day journey from birth to Kindergarten.
As part of our collective impact work to fight poverty, United Way for Greater Austin convenes a Success By 6 Coalition in both Travis and Williamson counties.
To further the efforts of the Success By 6 Coalition, United Way for Greater Austin and E3 Alliance formed Early Matters Greater Austin, a group of business leaders committed to strengthening early childhood education. Early Matters Greater Austin advocates for local and statewide policy and funding to increase high-quality early education, promotes family-friendly workplace practices to support young children and families, and advances innovative solutions to challenges of access and affordability in the early education sector.
Businesses can qualify as a Best Place for Working Parents® through a self-assessment highlighting 10 family-friendly policies that have research-proven benefits to businesses’ bottom line.
$890,000
invested in early childhood education, through our Community Investment Grants
$1,451,702
supports Family Connects and other home visiting programs
$345,000
supports home-based child care
$98,500
supports professional development of Pre-K Partnerships teachers
$21,000
supports local early childhood initiatives
United Way runs these proven programs to ensure all children enter Kindergarten happy, healthy, and prepared to succeed in school and beyond.
Expanding access to high-quality pre-K is critical to United Way’s mission to fight poverty, because children who participate in high-quality pre-K are more likely to enter Kindergarten ready to succeed in school and beyond. That’s why, in partnership with Austin ISD and Round Rock ISD, we run Pre-K Partnerships. We partner with child development centers in the Greater Austin community to deliver high-quality pre-K and provide partner centers with resources that help them improve and sustain quality services for children.
Learn more here or contact Madison Mattise at Madison.Mattise@uwatx.org.
Family Connects Texas is a nurse home visiting program offered to every family with a newborn in Travis County to give babies the best possible start in life.
United Way partners with Austin Public Health to provide the clinical staff and expertise for Family Connects Texas. During a home visit, Registered Nurses provide a complete family assessment in the home, give immediate maternal and family support in areas such as breastfeeding or safe sleep, and are able to provide warm referrals to a comprehensive database of community resources. At full scale, all families in Austin/Travis County will be offered a home visit from a Registered Nurse.
To learn more, visit the Family Connects Texas website or contact Jessica Luckey at Jessica.Luckey@uwatx.org.
We know that parenting can be challenging. Bright By Text can help! Bright by Text is a free texting service for caregivers of children from prenatal to age eight, promoting child development and access to local programs and events.
To sign up for Bright by Text, text SMARTATX to 274448 or sign up here for tips, resources, and information about local events.
Bright by Text is a United Way and Austin PBS partnership and part of the statewide Start Smart Texas campaign supported by United Ways of Texas and Texas PBS.
To learn more, contact Stephanie Gatica at Stephanie.Gatica@uwatx.org.
of children from households with low income begin Kindergarten ready to learn and succeed (up from 29% in five years)
of children under 6 from households with low income participate in high-quality early education settings
of children under 3 from households with low income have parents participate in research-based home visiting or parent education
families with newborns received nurse home visits through Family Connects
businesses received the Best Place for Working Parents® designation by promoting family-friendly policies and practices
United Way for Greater Austin awarded a total of $2.2 million in strategic grants to 68 nonprofits in Travis and Williamson counties. The recipients represent a diverse set of community leaders collectively serving over 13,000 local children and fami...
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Blog by Bridget Tobin, Mission Advancement Intern, United Way for Greater Austin The Success By 6 Coalition is a community-wide collaboration of child and family advocates – providers, parents, policymakers, civic leaders, and experts – with a s...
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COVID-19 has impacted all of us, including young kids. As the reality of the pandemic set in, and schools closed abruptly to keep students and their families safe — many students were navigating the challenges of remote learning for several months....
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