July 19,2011
What can you do to support quality education?
The Challenge
United Way of the National Capital Area views education - from prenatal through work and life readiness - as vital to individual and community success. Working strategically with partners, United Way NCA focuses primarily on the early and transition years for students:
Early child care and education: Children who have not developed some basic literacy skills by the time they enter school are 3-4 times more likely to drop out in later years, according to the U.S. Department of Education. And nearly half of today’s kindergartners start school behind. United Way NCA is helping our local communities do better.
College and career readiness: In the poorest areas around us, almost 30 percent of students do not finish high school. Even those who do are often not prepared for the workforce. United Way NCA works to identify and support best practices around the region to put our children on the road to life success.
The Goal
The United Way NCA will work in partnership with member nonprofits, government agencies and the business community to significantly increase the literacy rate of the population of the national capital area in underserved communities by 2016.
Success Story: Five Year Old Stephiny Finds Her Voice
Not so long ago, Stephiny's silence would have been total. According to her mother, Roxana Serrano, Stephiny never spoke at all. 'We didn't know what to do.' But the staff at Seven Corners Children's Center in Falls Church did. Read More »
The Opportunity
There are many places along the education continuum up to age 24 where students can fall behind. We are addressing all of them, with a focus on the early and the later years.
Education initiatives:
Early Childhood Education
We help ensure all children are ready for kindergarten and are on the path to reading at grade level by grade 4.
Workforce and Post-Secondary Education Readiness
Students graduate from high school prepared for success in work or post-secondary education.



