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Community Impact Valerie’s Story - One in five Nashville adults cannot read. Valerie…

Community Impact

Education

Meet Howard

Howard used to fall in the category of children from at-risk neighborhoods whose likelihood for school success was slim. Having returned from foster care to live with his father, Howard enrolled at Fannie Battle day Home For Children, Inc. and their Metro Pre-Kindergarten/ Read to Succeed Classroom.

Early assessments placed Howard on the low end of the spectrum for reading readiness, and each day was a challenge for the young boy academically, as well as socially and emotionally. At the outset of the school year, he had difficulty sitting through short lessons and spending much of the day crying. However, with the dedication and trained Read to Succeed staff, Howard began to grow and thrive. During the school year, Howard’s teachers watched the marvelous transformation of a child who, with the right guidance and curriculum, was able to end the year in a much different place than where he began: a happy, hard working student, equipped with the skills needed to achieve success in kindergarten and beyond.

Howard’s story is just one of the many lives that have been changed through one of United Way’s program partners. To read about other lives changed visit our Success Stories page

Education Statistics

  • 27% of students in the Metro Nashville Public Schools won’t graduate. To help combat this problem, United Way supports 16 tutoring, after-school & healthy choice programs which result in 420 students increasing academic performance and 3,600 students increasing healthy behaviors.
  • Students are 5 times more likely to graduate if they have supportive adult relationships. They are also 3-4 times more likely to drop out in later years if they enter school without basic literacy skills.
  • Children who attend Kindergarten without basic reading skills are 3-4 times more likely to drop out.

Focus Areas

Getting Ready for School Programs and Partner Agencies

Ensures that 1,400 pre-school children enter school ready to learn through parent outreach programs, and Read to Succeed, United Way’s early literacy initiative.

Succeeding in School

Ensures that 4,300 middle school children in 11 of Nashville’s lowest performing schools don’t become high school dropouts with quality after-school activities, mentors, tutors and life skills training.

Education Focused Days of Action

Summer Day of Action: Neighborhoods to Stuff the Bus, 2010
March Day of Action: Board Books for Babies Book Drive, 2010
June Day of Action: Stuff the Bus, 2009

Education Program Partners

Getting Ready for School Partner Agencies

School Based Family Resource Centers and Lead Partners

Succeeding in School Programs and Partner Agencies

Valerie’s Story

Valerie’s Story

One in five Nashville adults cannot read. Valerie Brown was one of them until she began working with volunteers at the Nashville…
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