Education Initiative | United Way of Northwest Illinois

United Way works to promote education for all children.

Education is the cornerstone of individual and community success. However, many factors affect a child's ability to perform in the classroom. This is why United Way partners with many different agencies and organizations to work towards preparing children for kindergarten, reading at grade level, graduating high school, and pursing their educational and vocational goals. The trends in education are not always promising. In fact, more than 1.2 million children drop out each year. The cost? These trends are reversible, but only when communities and public, private and nonprofit sectors work together. More than $312 billion in lost wages, taxes and productivity over their lifetimes.

Our Goal

To ensure that every child is ready for Kindergarten and reading at grade level by third grade.

Our Strategy

We can’t focus on 3rd grade alone. Often times the "risk factors" that affect a child's ability to perform at grade level are present from an early age. The sooner we reach this child, their parents, and others in their support system the better chance we have in promoting a positive outcome. United Way's model focuses on supportive communities, effective schools and strong families — strategies and approaches rooted in research. Tackling the education challenge requires reframing education on a birth to 21 continuum. That is why we partner with many organizations to:

Provide access to literacy based programs proven to help reading skills

The United Way of NWIL has provided children access to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library in Jo Daviess, Stephenson, and Carroll Counties. This book gifting program provides more than 2,600 books each month for registered children aged birth to 5. This program has shown to increase a child's vocabulary and better prepare them for kindergarten. Learn more about the program here.

Foster stable & nurturing daycare & home environments

Current funding from the UWNI is helping support the Early Childhood Consortium provide quality childcare at Amity & the YMCA Children's Center. Of the 119 slots funded, 67% of those spots are filled & the numbers are steadily climbing.

Additional funding was provided for Teaching Strategies Gold (TSG), a curriculum for Early Childhood, that ensures that children in our community are going into kindergarten have received the same curriculum. 627 children have been assessed so far this funding period, using a common curriculum and assessment tool, Teaching Strategies Gold (TSG), and nine early childhood centers are working together to provide coordinated results.

Of those 627 students, the following are meeting TSG standards for their age group:

78% Social-Emotional Standards
77% Language Standards
91% Cognitive Standards
81% Literacy (emergent reading) Standards
65% Mathematic Standards

Provide access to high quality learning environments

Boys and Girls Club provided an academic enrichment program, Ticket to Read, during the school year and summer to help students learn and improve on reading and phonic skills. The program had 500 students participate with over 90 participants attending 30 or more days.