Working Together for Racial Equity in Early Learning

by Nicole Milbradt, Sr. Marketing Associate

United Way of Pierce County wants to make sure all children start school ready to succeed. To do so, we have to remove barriers and strengthen the systems that are supporting our kids. However, the strategy for doing this is not one size fits all. Making sure our community considers race, culture and language when teaching families how to prepare kids for school is often overlooked. United Way, in partnership with First 5 FUNdamentals, Tacoma Urban League and Centro Latino have been awarded a grant from Washington's Thrive by Five to change that.

Pierce County is one of the most diverse counties in our state. According to the most recent census, it is getting more diverse, with growth in Hispanic and African American families. Recent data from the Department of Early Learning's Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (WaKids) kindergarten readiness report shows that only approximately 35 percent of Hispanic and African American children are starting school with the six essential skills needed to succeed. Thrive by Five believes part of the reason for this is that many early learning efforts don't take cultural differences into account.

Thrive by Five recently launched a plan to Advance Racial Equity in Early Learning. With the grant from Thrive by Five, outreach workers from Tacoma Urban League and Centro Latino with knowledge about the different cultures will help evaluate and revise the early learning efforts in our community.

Thrive by Five's Racial Equity Theory of Change also seeks to intentionally decrease the opportunity gap for children of color, as will the collective work commissioned by the grant. The census also shows that the number of non-white, low-income children is also increasing. Poverty adds complexities that not only include more limited access to learning opportunities but a lack of basic needs such as food and a stable home.

United Way of Pierce County wants to Change the Story for our children by equipping parents to prepare their kids for school, making more opportunities available and helping provide for their basic needs. To learn more about the grant and our efforts in Early Childhood Development, visit www.uwpc.org.