Success Stories

OLYMPIC-KITSAP PENINSULAS EARLY LEARNING PARTNERSHIP

Foundation for Early Learning Grant: $50,000

• 4 counties
• 8 tribal nations
• 15 school districts
• 6 military installations
  

The Olympic-Kitsap Regional Early Learning Partnership is a group of parents, childcare providers, tribal members and local educators. As their coalition’s tagline reads, they want to “support healthy development and learning success for all”. In working to create learning opportunities in this rural region, coalition members discovered the need for early intervention and counseling services to address the mental health of children, birth through age five. This work was inspired by one child’s needs.

Two teachers at an area preschool witnessed a 4-year-old hitting, biting and kicking other children. After countless attempts to address the child’s behavior, the teachers were out of ideas. Distressed by this situation, the center brought in a mental health consultant who was able to intervene, and counseled both the child and the staff. The teachers discovered how to engage the child and to address the emotional needs of everyone. This single interaction turned into a model for how the Olympic-Kitsap Regional Early Learning Partnership was able to organize mental health screenings, conduct teacher trainings and support children and families.

With a grant from Foundation for Early Learning, the coalition scaled this initiative to the larger community. This enabled over 430 children to be screened for mental illness and 194 childcare providers to be trained. Because of funding from the Foundation, 18 children were identified as needing intervention and were referred to counseling services. By intervening during the early learning years, these children can overcome these developmental and behavior challenges. To learn more about our programs and successes, please visit www.earlylearning.org.

WALLA WALLA EARLY LEARNING COALITION

Foundation for Early Learning Grant: $50,000

• Rural & Remote Community in SE Washington state
• 4th highest teen pregnancy rate in state
• 2nd highest low-birth weight rate for infants
  

Walla Walla County is known for its unique onions and qualities wines. However, the county is like many in Washington state—rural, with pockets of very low-income families. This means parents and caregivers are often challenged in finding books and resources to prepare their young children for kindergarten. 

Luckily, there are passionate advocates like Samantha Bowen, a mother of 6-year old twins and a member of the Walla Walla Valley Early Learning Coalition. With a grant and support from Foundation for Early Learning, Samantha and her coalition partners launched an initiative to distribute educational materials to needy families at area grocery stores.

Expecting to just pass out snacks, books and learning tips, the coalition was surprised when the same families followed them from store to store, desperate for more books for their children.  For many, it was the first book their child ever owned.  And for some, the only healthy snack of the day.  Parents wanted to be sure each of their children could get enough.  Through the work of Samantha and her coalition partners, hundreds of children and families in Walla Walla were connected with resources and local support services.

This is just one example of how the Foundation’s unique approach to grantmaking inspires creative projects and local action. With support from our donors, Foundation for Early Learning is able to inspire more learning opportunities for children in Walla Walla, and for all of Washington state.

CHELAN-DOUGLAS PARTNERSHIP FOR CHILDREN & FAMILIES

Foundation for Early Learning Grant: $25,000

• Over 1,500 children under age five live in poverty
• Median income is $25,531
• Large English-as-a-second-language population

Over the past twenty years, Chelan and Douglas Counties in Washington state have experienced dramatic changes. This community has seen unprecedented growth, with many low-income families moving to the area. Within just a few years, the Latino student population alone grew by over 1,000%. Many of these children were learning English as their second language, and struggled to keep up with their classmates.  With a school system grappling to support the community’s evolving needs, many children were entering kindergarten unprepared, and already behind.

Fortunately, families in Chelan and Douglas Counties were not alone. For the past twenty years, Chelan-Douglas Partnership for Children & Families, a coalition that includes members from the health department, area colleges and childcare providers, collaborated to improve the learning opportunities for children birth through age five. While this coalition was able to make progress supporting children in the region, they did not have funding to perform a community survey or get feedback directly from families. They knew parents had needs, but no one was asking their opinion.

With funding and support from Foundation for Early Learning, the coalition was able to organize parent focus groups to better identify the needs of the growing community. In addition to gathering great feedback, the coalition also developed a dialog between families, childcare providers and kindergarten teachers. 

Because of this grant from the Foundation, the coalition is now able to organize events, connect parents with local resources, and better leverage a limited funding. This means local communities are working together, and more children are ready for kindergarten.