Is the starting line equal for all kids?
Only half of Minnesota's students are prepared to learn when they enter kindergarten, and children from low-income and communities of color fare worse. It's true: by age 3, the average child in a high-income household knows more than twice as many words as a child in a low-income household. Children who receive good care and quality early education are more likely to enter kindergarten ready to learn and dramatically do better for the rest of their lives. Whether measured in school completions or income potential, significant research show the impact of quality early childhood care and education on not only individual children but the overall success of the state. The Minneapolis Foundation is committed to ensuring every child receives the high-quality education needed for individual and regional prosperity. To accomplish that, we invest in what works, such as promoting early childhood learning, high-quality teaching, parent and community involvement, and ensuring Minneapolis public schools deliver an enriching academic experience to all students. Over the past few years, The Minneapolis Foundation has joined with other local funders and charitable organizations to make quality early childhood care a reality for every family in Minnesota. Those efforts are starting to show success.
Making headway on early education in Minnesota
The Minneapolis Foundation joined 11 other agencies to form the School Readiness Funders Coalition. Based on research, the coalition supports a comprehensive approach to transforming our state's early childhood care and education system:
- Focused and coordinated leadership in early education
- Clear accountability principles and measures
- Adequate funding
The coalition has already had striking success in the area of early education leadership. Gov. Dayton recently signed an executive order that reauthorizes a panel on early childhood education – a key victory in the coalition’s early learning strategy. Visit the School Readiness Funders Coalition online for the latest on the coalition’s activities and more.
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