United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania

Community Impact

Investing in Results
EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN

HELPING CHILDREN AND YOUTH ACHIEVE THEIR POTENTIAL

Learn about how...

United Way helps children enter kindergarten ready to learn.
United Way helps youth stay on track to graduate from high school with the skills they need for college or post-secondary employment.

Community Impact: Early Education - Success by Six ®

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THE CHALLENGE:

More than half of children under five in Philadelphia live in low income families.
Nearly half of Philadelphia third-graders are “below” proficient in reading.
While research shows that young children, particularly those at risk, are more prepared for school when they have participated in high-quality, early learning experiences, less than 17% of the more than 1000 childcare centers in the region are rated “high quality’ by the Pennsylvania Keystone STAR quality rating system.
Only about one-third of young children in the state participate in high-quality, early childhood programs that could ensure they are prepared for school – that’s close to 500,000 young children left behind.

OUR GOAL:

United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania helps children enter kindergarten ready to learn.

THE OPPORTUNITY:

Education is the cornerstone of individual and community success. Children who participate in high-quality, early education are more likely to graduate from high school, to attend college or quality job training programs and become valuable members of the workforce. But the benefits don’t end there. The public also benefits when children are prepared to be successful in school because a more competitive workforce means a greater tax base and reduced public expenses in special education costs, public assistance and costs related to public safety and crime reduction.

THE RETURN:

Every dollar invested in quality, early childhood education yields a $17 return. That return not only benefits the child who is more likely to attend college, avoid crime and have higher lifetime earnings, but it also benefits the community because special education, public benefits and incarceration costs are all reduced.

OUR STRATEGIES:

Improve and sustain the quality of early learning experiences in child care centers by providing technical assistance, financial support and professional development opportunities.
Provide better nurturing techniques in the home by supporting on-going, formalized parenting education programs.
Increase the professional skills of those working with young children and their families by providing professional development training to early childhood educators.
Advocate for increased public support for high-quality early childhood education.

OUR IMPACT:

Improved the quality of 65 childcare centers serving close to 4,500 children that enabled them to achieve Keystone STAR 3 or 4 rating, the highest levels in Pennsylvania’s quality rating and improvement system.
Created a cadre of 300 early childhood and parenting educators who are better trained to support the healthy social and emotional development of young children.
Established the Delaware Valley Regional Early Learning Business Council comprised of more than 20 business leaders whose purpose is to increase investment in early childhood and promote the importance and benefits of high-quality, early childhood education.
Reduced special education placements in Pottstown from 21% to 3% for children who participated in classrooms that were part of Pottstown Early Action for Kindergarten (PEAK).
Built support for investment in early childhood among public officials by ensuring that 75% of Philadelphia’s State Senators and Representatives were visited by early childhood professionals.

Your contributions to United Way Community Impact allow us to partner with nonprofit agencies that delivered the following results:

Impact on Education

A sample of your investment’s performance, YEAR TWO:
Goal		Actual
139	Childcare centers advanced one star level	120
3,921	Parents and caregivers increased skills	5,255
670	Individuals mobilized to take policy action	1,935

Community Impact: Staying on Track

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THE CHALLENGE:

40% of students who begin high school in Philadelphia will drop-out, approximately 6,000 young people per year.
The dropout crisis is not just an urban problem – statewide, 1 of 8 youth in suburban districts fails to graduate.
Over half of students who will eventually drop out can be identified before they even begin high school; they being showing signs as early as sixth grade.
High school dropouts are 8 times more likely to be arrested for a violent crime by the time they are 18 years old.
40% of those who are incarcerated in the United States are high school drop-outs and 60% of prisoners read at or below a fourth-grade level.

OUR GOAL:

United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania helps youth stay on track to graduate from high school with the skills they need for college or post-secondary employment.

THE OPPORTUNITY:

To compete in the global economy the United States needs a well-educated and well prepared workforce. To attract and retain businesses in this region, we must ensure that young people are prepared for 21st century jobs. United Way is focused on identifying young people at risk of dropping out in middle school and early high school years and keeping them on track by increasing the number and quality of out-of-school time and mentoring programs that contribute to keeping young people on track to high school graduation, post-secondary education and training opportunities.

THE RETURN:

The average dropout earns approximately only $457,000 over the course of their working lifetime, which is less than half of what a high school graduate will earn and nearly $1 million less than what a college graduate will earn.

OUR STRATEGIES:

Improve and sustain the quality of programs for youth at risk of dropping out of high school by providing technical assistance, financial support and professional development opportunities.
Build the skills of parents and caregivers so they are prepared to become actively engaged in their children’s education.
Support the availability of behavioral health and other social services that remove barriers to learning and development.
Mobilize community stakeholders and volunteers to enlist public support for high-quality systems of learning and development for older youth.

OUR IMPACT:

Trained more than 2,000 youth workers and volunteers, resulting in positive outcomes for more than 25,000 youth.
Improved the quality of more than 125 out-of-school time programs serving thousands of youth throughout the region.
Piloted the “Data-Driven Program Quality Improvement Project” with 25 high school programs serving close to 400 youth to equip them with the skills they need to effectively measure the impact of their programs on the young people they serve.
Recruited nearly 400 volunteers and referred them to mentoring programs that build caring relationships between youth and adults.

Your contributions to United Way Community Impact allow us to partner with nonprofit agencies that delivered the following results:

Impact on Education

A sample of your investment’s performance, YEAR TWO:
Goal		Actual
1,057	Youth increased school attendance	1,511
3,930	Youth improved academic achievement	4,355
5,980	Youth maintained program attendance for one year	6,437
999	Youth graduated high school or received GED	1,059
10,610	Individuals educated about relevant public policy issues	16,577