Initiative

Ready for School, Ready for Life

Ready for School, Ready for Life (Ready Ready) is a backbone organization that serves Guilford County’s youngest children and their families. Of the estimated 6,000 children born in Guilford County each year, approximately half are born into poverty. Our equity driven systems-building approach ensures that every child has access to evidence-based programs and services. We want all children to have a healthy start at birth and in the early years of development—leading to kindergarten preparedness, reading on grade-level in 3rd grade and success in life.

Our work is guided by a set of Values & Principles adopted in 2020 through a collaborative, community process and is focused on six key priority areas: (1) implementing a navigation system, (2) driving continuous quality improvement, (3) building enabling technology, (4) evaluating for learning and impact, (5) and building public will.

Home Pathways Action Map Ready for School, Ready for Life

Fast Facts

Relevant Actions Action 1.3, Action 1.4, Action 4.7
State or Local?

Local
Counties

Guilford
Lead Agency

Ready for School, Ready for Life
Type of Agency

Non-profit
Racial Equity Lens
  • Ready Ready serves as the host of the Guilford Parent Leader Network (GPLN), a group of parents and caregivers who meet monthly to discuss issues related to early childhood and the system of care in Guilford County. Our grassroots leadership strategy empowers marginalized families to connect with (and demand) the resources they want and need to support their families and healthy child development. The GPLN engages with Board and staff members each month to review progress in the six priority areas, Board committee work, public will building efforts, and communications.
  • Ready Ready has created an Equity Action Plan to guide our racial equity work throughout the organization. The Plan is built around Equity Choice Points developed by staff, committee, board, parent leaders and community stakeholders. These choice points are areas where an equity issue has been identified and there is an opportunity to ensure our work addresses it to improve equity.
Community Voice
  • Family Voice is present on our Board of Directors and Committees to ensure the voices of families are present in decision making.
  • Family Voice is brought into key decisions as early as possible in a process.
Impact
  • The Initiative has expanded access to evidence-based programs in Guilford County including Nurse-Family Partnership, Family Connects and Healthy Steps and has launched a Pre-Natal Navigation service to connect expectant families we needed resources.
  • Family Voice representation has been expanded throughout the organization.
Next Steps
  • Ready for School, Ready for Life will expand its work to reach children ages 3-5 over the next few years to ensure more children arrive at kindergarten ready for success. A key focus of this work is to eliminate racial disparities in kindergarten readiness data.
Primary Partners
  • We work with over 100 community partners in Guilford County including educational and human services organizations.
Primary Funders
  • Blue Meridian Partners
  • The Duke Endowment
  • Pritzker Children’s Initiative
  • The Cemala Foundation
  • The Joseph M Bryan Foundation
Contact

Jennifer Woodward

Active Counties